Classical guitar virtuoso at Church of Beethoven-Oak Park

Master classical guitarist Steve Vazquez returns to Church of Beethoven, Oak Park Sunday Nov. 15, 2015.

Vazquez is a recipient of the Chicago Artists International Program award which allowed him to study with the groundbreaking great Czech guitarist/composer Stepan Rak in Prague.

He has since performed throughout the Midwest and Chicago area with The Chicago Guitar Quartet, Chicago Guitar Camerata, Ensemble Español, and in duo with Chicago virtuoso guitarist, Brian Torosian, plus many other solo and chamber performances. His diverse classical repertoire spans from music of the Renaissance to modern works, including his own compositions.

His numerous Chicago appearances have included the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series, The Fourth Presbyterian Church Noonday Series, The Old Town School of Folk Music, Harris Theater, Hothouse, The Metro, Double Door, and Reggie’s Rock Club. Steve is on the faculties of William Rainey Harper College and The People’s Music School in Chicago.

Program

Fantasy on Themes from Rigoletto J.K. Mertz (1806-1856)

Homenaje Manuel de Falla

Pour Le Tombeau de Claude Debussy (1876-1946)

Recuerdos de la Alhambra Francisco Tárrega (1852-1909)

OfrendaSteven Vazquez (B.1968)

Tres Canciones Populares Mexicanas Manuel Ponce (1882-1948)

The performance takes place at Open Door Theater, 902 S. Ridgeland Ave. in Oak Park at 10:30 a.m. The cost is $10 for adults and $5 for children.

The Church of Beethoven is “...a ‘church’ with no preaching, just uplifting music, poetry and two minutes of silence in an all-too-busy world.” The goal of the Church of Beethoven is to build a sense of community around the arts, by removing the typically formal atmosphere of classical music, by breaking down the proverbial “fourth wall” between the audience and the performers. Featuring intimate Sunday morning performances by professional poets and musicians, it is located in the Arts District of Oak Park Illinois on Harrison St. Our Mistress of Ceremonies is walking-musical-encyclopedia Val Camilletti of Val’s Halla Records.

The original Church of Beethoven was founded in Albuquerque, New Mexico by Oak Park native and classical cellist Felix Wurman in a repurposed gas station on historic U. S. Route 66. http://youtu.be/F_NekVF9XXY The Albuquerque “Church” grew out of its humble beginnings and moved into The Kosmos, a larger arts space. Felix Wurman died of cancer in 2009, but the Church of Beethoven (now Sunday Chatter) lives on in Albuquerque and has sprouted new branches in Durham, North Carolina, Santa Monica, California and Tucson, Arizona and here in Oak Park, Illinois.

Find out more and order tickets at: www.churchofbeethoven-oakpark.com