Tuesday, February 25, 2003
General admission tickets available one hour before show
GOSHEN, Ind. – Reserved tickets are sold out for the event, but Los Angeles Guitar Quartet has given permission for an additional audience located above and behind them on the choral terrace, which adds a possible audience of 100. Terrace seating will be general admission of $10 sold only at the door one hour (6:30 p.m.) ahead of the performance.
When Los Angeles Guitar Quartet musician Scott Tennant clamped alligator clips onto the strings of his bass guitar to simulate an Indonesian "gamelan" ensemble, he had one mission in mind: to explore the guitar’s infinite possibilities. Elkhart County audiences can embark on this exploration when the group performs at the Goshen College Music Center at 7:30 p.m. March 11 as part of the college’s 2002-03 Performing Arts Series.
Popularly known as LAGQ, the quartet has become internationally recognized for their acoustical experimentation, which pays equal homage to Aaron Copland and Led Zeppelin and leaves audiences in awe of their musical virtuosity. While the USC Trojan Family Magazine describes its acoustics as both "rebelliously relaxed" and "amiably iconoclastic," LAGQ’s inventive drumming, strumming and thumping defy categorization and have the paradoxical effect of "pleasurable confusion" upon listeners.
"In New York, you’re either classical or jazz or pop," said Tennant. "Out here all that runs together."
And indeed, even in Southern California, where eclecticism is the norm, a group that combines J.S. Bach and J.P. Sousa and plays bold variations like Pachelbel’s "Loose" Canon will make its mark.
But LAGQ didn’t always innovate their way to success. When Tennant and fellow quartet members Bill Kanengiser, John Dearman and Andrew York began playing together in the early 1980s, they aimed to imitate the legendary family group Los Romeros, which had single handedly invented the guitar quartet genre 20 years earlier. The quartet struggled for artistic survival, playing gigs at USC functions, neighborhood concerts and local elementary schools.
Yet now in their 22nd year, LAGQ has let loose their musical creativity, exploring genres as diverse as jazz, popular, rock, country and Latin and "never have they been more original, more successful or more in demand," according to the USC Trojan Family Magazine. They have toured around the world, receiving acclaim from Nashville to Manila, and have been featured on all major U.S. news networks — although Tennant still rates elementary school kids as the toughest of all audiences.
When not touring, the quartet members teach, publish, arrange and compose music, and meet regularly to rehearse and exchange ideas. The group is still playing chamber music, emphasized Kanengiser. "We’re still this sophisticated conversation between four instruments."
This improvisational conversation is exactly what makes LAGQ so unique. Dearman pointed out that the quartet’s appeal comes from its acoustical exploration. "We tend to play a lot of lovely, tuneful stuff — admittedly with a good deal of success — but I like a concert program to have more contrast," said Dearman. "Going from light to darkness and back again is more dramatic and emotionally satisfying."
For information online, log on to www.goshen.edu/events/performingarts or to LAGQ’s site at http://www.lagq.com.
The last series concert is:
• 7:30 p.m. April 4 — Bach’s "St. John Passion," Music Center Sauder Concert Hall
— Jessica Yoder
Editors: For information, contact Jodi Hochstedler at jodih@goshen.eduor (574) 535-7572.
