Estampas!

One of the pieces the quartet worked on today was Estampas (Torroba).This piece brings back memories...

I recall that many years ago (probably more than a decade!), I did a recording of some songs in this selection with a quartet that comprised - Kwok Kar Mun, Karen Ann Leong, Ivan Goh and myself.

We were the "original" GENUS quartet to stick together beyond a Genus concert, as in those days, small groups were formed purely for the purpose of performing in annual Genus concerts. After the concert, the groups 'disbanded' and new groups were formed when upcoming performances came along.
(note: come to think of it, we STILL are the only small group doing this.... unless I include Xpose, which is not technically a "small group" :P)

We certainly broke that trend, as the four of us felt it was a waste if such a group of like-minded folks only rehearsed one (or two) songs each time. We were capable of doing so much more. So we stuck together and called ourselves... Guitaresque.

Of course, Kar Mun and Karen subsequently departed from the quartet to pursue other priorities in their lives, leaving just me and Ivan as the original members of that group. But we'd welcome new members - Kevin and later Alex. (Alex, who is our newest member, has joined the quartet for more than 5 years now..)

Anyway, playing Estampas again after all these years, I feel we are certainly more able to bring our sounds and expressions which were totally impossible then.

Instead of cherry-picking (we only did 4 pieces previously), we are now rehearsing the entire song, and I find myself enjoying the strong Spanish "feel" of the song!

Hopefully we can find a good occasion to perform this wonderful contribution from Torroba!

英雄无用武之地

It is tough getting a performing gig in this little red dot!

And I'm not even talking about a paid gig. We are prepared to play for free, but it seems that the performing art scene in Singapore is really limited when it comes to finding an organization/location willing to sponsor a venue for a locally-based group.

Sigh....

Anyone looking for a classical guitar quartet to perform in for any occassion? Open houses? Functions, ceremonies? Even.. graduation dinners and.. weddings??

Ivan's birthday - Lunch at Smokin' Frogs