Herschel Freeman Agency

NOVEMBER 2008 CANADIAN TOUR

Dale Kavanagh, Andy Sheppard, Cecilia Zabala, and Brian Gore

 

For the November 2008 Canadian tour, Brian welcomes internationally renowned classical guitarist Dale Kavanagh, originally from Wolfville NS and now living in Germany; Andy Sheppard, a brilliant young steel string guitarist from Toronto ON, and guitarist/vocalist Cecilia Zabala from Argentina, making her North American debut.

IGN Canada 08

The Performers

DALE KAVANAGH

Canadian-born Dale Kavanagh is one of the guitar world's most gifted interpreters.
She received he undergraduate and graduate degrees at Acadia University, Dalhousie University with Carol van Feggelen, the University of Toronto with Eli Kassner and Banff Center School of the Arts in Canada and the Musik Akademie der Stadt Basel in Switzerland with Oscar Ghiglia.

Between 1986 and 1988 Ms. Kavanagh was a top prize-winner in many international competitions such as Gargnano Competition in Italy, Segovia Competition in Spain, Scandinavian Competition in Finland and Neuchatel Competiton in Switzerland She now performs internationally as a soloist and also in the Amadeus Guitar Duo with German guitarist Thomas Kirchhoff.

She is a regular recitalist and teacher in guitar and music festivals in Canada, Argentina, , China, Thailand, Turkey, Poland, Germany, Greece, Holland, Sweden, Hungary, Mexico, England and the United States and has given more than 700 concerts around the world. Many composers have written works for Dale Kavanagh such as Carlo Domeniconi, Roland Dyens, Jaime M. Zenamon, Stephen Dodgson, Stephen Funk-Pearson, Bruce Shavers, Christian Jost and Harald Genzmer.

Her 12 CDs (Hänssler Classic) have received superlative reviews in international magazines including Acoustic Guitar, Classical Guitar Magazine, Fono-Forum, Hi-Fi-Vision, Gendai Guitar, Gitarre & Laute, La Cahir de la Guitare, Musikblatt, Staccato, Soundboard Magazine, Gitar och Luta and many others. Dale Kavanagh is Professor of Guitar at the Musikhochschule in Detmold, Germany and is also "Musician in Residence" at Acadia University in Canada. She is an exclusive artist with Hänssler Classic since 1999 and plays D'Addario strings.

ANDY SHEPPARD

Andy Sheppard is emerging as a respected songwriter and world-class guitarist.

Andy was born in 1972 in Simcoe, Ontario, and grew up in the nearby hamlet of Lynedoch, in the heart of tobacco country. He first picked up his mother’s guitar when he was nine, playing it until it collapsed from overuse (perhaps a little too much jamming along to his dad’s record collection).

His early musical diet of consisted of everything from Cat Stevens to The Beatles to Beethoven. That diet was enriched further by the fact that his grandfather was a pianist and bandleader, ensuring that Andy was exposed to the music of Oscar Peterson and Count Basie and Louis Armstrong as well.

A trip to Toronto’s Maple Leaf Gardens to see Paul Simon’s 1986 Graceland tour expanded Andy’s musical horizons even further. The rhythms of South Africa opened up new worlds of musical expression, and Andy decided right there, at the age of 14, to dedicate his life to music.

Since then, Andy has traveled around the globe, searching out musical experiences in the South Pacific, Europe, South East Asia, and North Africa. Several of those adventures led to new recordings, as well as work as a correspondent, music producer, and host on CBC Radio.

Andy honed his skills as a musical thinker with a degree at Montreal’s McGill University. It was there where he made his first album, the critically acclaimed ‘Eclectic Guitar’, which led to performances at venues and festivals across the country.

Always looking to improve, Andy studied privately with two legendary guitarists, Don Ross and Pierre Bensusan, eventually sharing the stage with both musicians.

Andy has recorded two more albums since, including his most recent self-titled recording, which is establishing Andy as an important voice in Canadian music, not just as a guitarist, but as a songwriter and composer as well. In 2006, he won the prestigious Colleen Peterson Songwriting Award.

He has written music for several short and feature films, and his guitar playing was recently featured on the third installment of the popular Six Strings North of the Border compilation from Borealis Records.

Andy gave the inaugural radio performance on the new Six String Nation Guitar on the CBC program Sounds Like Canada. The guitar is made of pieces from symbolic sites and items from across Canada, including the famous Haida Gwaii spruce, Halifax’s Pier 21, and part of Maurice Richard’s 1955-56 Stanley Cup ring.

CECILIA ZABALA

Cecilia Zabala was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1975. Throughout her career, she has expressed her musical creativity using her guitar and her voice, creating original compositions that blend sensitivity, emotion, technique and intuition. Her music draws on a rich mixture of influences, from Argentinian folklore, the contemporary language of the twentieth century, jazz, tango, and Brazilian music.

Cecilia is an active participant in the musical scene of Buenos Aires, with a variety of projects as a performer, composer and arranger. She plays as a soloist and is also a member of several different chamber ensembles, such as the guitar quartet “Cuatro en punto”, the tango group “Mala Junta”, and the duos “Las Morochas” and “Alvarezabala.” With “Alvarezabala”, she performed in the productions of “Halo de luz” –2004- (www.alvarezabaladuo.com.ar) and “Milonga sin palabras –2005- (www.lasmorochasduo.com.ar) With “Las Morochas” she made a tour of the U.K., playing at the National Theatre and the Lewes Guitar Festival in 2006. In 2006, she recorded her third solo CD. “Aguaribay” (www.myspace.com/ceciliazbala). with special guests Juan Falú (www.juanfalu.com.ar) , Silvia Iriondo (www.silviairiondo.com.ar) and Quique Sinesi (www.quiquesinesi.com). She also toured in 2006 with Quique. Cecilia’s International Guitar Night tours of Canada in November 2008 and the U.S. in January 2009 will mark her North American debut.

In Argentine she has played at:
Morón University, as a soloist of the Morón Chamber Orchestra
Scala de San Telmo of Buenos Aires (2005)
Reggio Theater in the cycle “When art attacks”(1996)
“Guitars in the World ’96 – 2002 – 2006” Festivals (Hall AB of the General San Martín Cultural Center)
Colón Theatre in the city of Mar del Plata in the “Biennial Exhibition of Young Art ‘97”
“And the Tango Fusion Festival 2006”
Roxi Thatre in the city of Mar del Plata in the “Biennial Exhibition of Young Art ‘2006”
La Plata Town Hall Golden Hall (2003)
Alberdi Hall of the San Martín Cultural Center in the cycle “Música maestro” (2004)
“Latrapalanda Theatre” in Río Cuarto, Córdoba (2006)
“La voz del interior’s Auditorium” in Córdoba (2006)
Cultural Coopertion Center of Buenos Aires (2006)
Renault Museum of Buenos Aires (2006)
International Foundation Jorge Luis Borges of Buenos Aires (2005)
Morón Theatre “Gregorio de Laferrere” (2000)
Economical Science Professional Association (2005)
Beaux-arts Museum (2005)
De la Trapalanda Theatre (Río Cuarto, Córdoba, Arg 2006)
“La Voz del Interior! Auditorium (Córdoba, Arg, 2006)
De la War Pavillion (England, 2006)
National Theatre (England, 2006)
Lewes Guitar Festival (England, 2006)
Jazz and others musics Festival 6° edition (2007)

BRIAN GORE

"Brian Gore's strong, well developed melodies and intriguing chord sequences set him apart from the myriad of steel-string fingerstylists who compose in open tunings.  His finely crafted poetic "songs without words" take the listener on a spellbinding emotional ride.”
    --Ron Forbes Roberts, Acoustic Guitar Magazine

“An artist of the highest caliber.”
--Ray Toumey, the Boulder Chautauqua

San Francisco guitar poet Brian Gore is gaining a reputation as one of the most interesting and influential performers of "the next generation" in fingerstyle guitar. A musical romantic, his compositions draw inspiration from myth and modern literature. Hailed as having "...one of the most unique new acoustic guitar styles on the scene today (News and Review)," his lyrical, understated compositions integrate classical and percussive techniques that display what the Los Angeles Times calls "a characterful bounce and spaciousness all his own."

Gore’s style of playing offers strikingly beautiful tone and dynamics-- qualities that are often hard to find in steel string players.  His melodic, evocative songs rely heavily on the use of open tunings, extending the “stream of consciousness” style of guitar composing he grew up with in Northern California.  “Music started out as a kind of therapy for me,” says Gore.  “Consequently, I am a very emotional player. Now, my style of playing has also become a well honed craft. I am very grateful I can share this with people.”

His buoyant personality and odd sense of humor help add lightness to his shows.  “By the time I’m done with a performance,” explains Gore, “people really know the meaning of the term ‘extroverted introvert’.”  While Gore integrates some of the flashier percussive techniques into his pieces, the poetic quality of his music is preserved.  “Because my music is simple and somewhat rootsy, it’s easy to relate to, which is something I’m thankful for.  Also, it helps keep me grounded.”

Gore is an artist in residence at the Boulder Chautauqua, and endorses LR Baggs Equipment, Ryan Guitars and Morris Guitars. He is founder of the International Guitar Night, sponsored by Acoustic Guitar Magazine. His first CD, produced by Peppino D’Agostino, is called The Path of Least Resistance. His second CD, Legacy: Solo Guitar and Duets, is available on Germany’s Acoustic Music Records Label.  His music has been featured on NPR’s nationally syndicated Echoes Radio, and many other local public radio programs.

Brian founded The International Guitar Night in 1995 as a forum for the world's finest guitarists/composers to play their latest original songs and share musical ideas with their peers in public concert.  This has evolved into critically acclaimed annual tours in the US (starting in 2000),  Canada (starting in 2006) and the UK (starting in 2007),  a CD on Favored Nations Records released in 2004, a guitar instruction book published in 2005, and IGN releases on Warner Music Canada (the 3rd annual CD will be released in 2008).

Press Photos

Cecilia dale Brian Gore andy

 

2008 Tour Schedule

November


5 W  Max Cameron Theatre, Powell River BC 

6 TH  Port Theatre, Nanaimo BC                      

7 FR Alex Goolden Hall, Victoria, BC

12 W Massey Theatre, New Westminster BC

13 TH  Shell Theatre, Dow Cetennial Centre, Ft. Saskatchewan AB 

14 F  Horizon Stage Performing Arts Centre, Spruce Grove AB 

15 S  Bert Church Theatre, Airdrie AB   

16 SU Banff Centre, Banff AB

18 T Thunder Bay Community Auditorium, Thunder Bay ON   

19 W The Studio at Hamilton Place, Hamilton ON

20  Isabel Bader Theater, Toronto ON

21 F Show Place, Peterborough ON

22 S  Theatre Hector-Charland, L’Assomption QC

23 SU  Theatre Lionel-Groulx, Ste. Therese QC

27 TH  Centre Des Arts Juliette-Lassonde, Saint-Hyacinth QC

28 F  Centrepointe Theatre, Ottawa ON

29 S  Centre de Culture de Beloeil, Beloeil QC

30 SU University of Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke QC 


December


3 W Membertou Convention Center, Sydney NS

5 F Chester Playhouse, Chester NS

6 S   Jean de Valois Theatre, University of Moncton, Moncton NB

7 SU Imperial Theatre, Saint John NB


Return to Artist Menu

 

International Guitar Night Main Page

November 2008 Canadian Tour

January/February 2009 U.S. Tour

November 2009 Canadian Tour

January/February 2010 U.S. Tour

 

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