New London – On Thursday, July 11, at 7 PM, Summer Music Associates will present the Texas Guitar Quartet at the First Baptist Church in New London. The TxGQ, considered one of the best in the country, is known for its daring programs, dazzling virtuosity, and joyful music making.
Formed in 2009, GRAMMY™-nominated Texas Guitar Quartet has been hailed as “Impeccable in every respect” by Classical Guitar Magazine. Recent highlights include performances for the Encuentro Internacional de Guitarra 2016 (Nicaragua), Victoria Bach Festival, Guitar Foundation of America Convention, Festival Internacional del Noreste (Mexico), and Texas Music Festival. During the summer of 2015, the quartet presented a series of concerts in historic cathedrals along the Camino de Santiago, Spain.
Red, the quartet’s first album, was released to critical acclaim and was praised by Guitar International as a “tremendous accomplishment for the classical guitar…the TxGQ perform with virtuosity, clarity, balance, and a refined character which will no doubt help to establish them as one of today’s leading guitar quartets.” Their follow-up album, ICON, features the complete 40th Symphony by Mozart and was released in 2017. (www.txgq.net/)
On Thursday, July 25, at 7 PM, also at the First Baptist Church, pianist Paul Bisaccia will perform a special concert honoring his musical great-great-grandfathers with whom his teacher’s teachers studied. Included in the program will be Beethoven’s “Waldstein” Sonata and compositions by Joseph Haydn, Carl Czerny, and Franz Liszt. Paul Bisaccia is known for his virtuoso performances, as well as his entertaining stories, which delight his audiences and his devoted television fans.
His vast repertoire includes the great piano classics, as well as the complete solo piano music of George Gershwin. He was the first artist to record the complete solo piano music of Gershwin, and his PBS television special, Gershwin by Bisaccia, has been broadcast throughout the US and seen by millions. American Record Guide says, “For Gershwin interpretations Bisaccia wins hands down.”
Michael Feinstein calls Paul Bisaccia and the Great American Piano, his second television show for PBS, “imaginative, fun, well played and totally satisfying.” His third television program, Chopin by Bisaccia, is now available on his latest DVD release, Bisaccia on Television!
Bisaccia made his European debut in Romania at age 17 and has performed concerts on four continents. He is also a prolific recording artist and a versatile performer of both the great classics and Great American Piano. His discography includes over 450 individual compositions, covering a wide range of composers, including huge segments of the music of Chopin, Liszt, and Gershwin. (paulbisaccia.com/)
Tickets are $25 for adults and $5 for students and are available online at www.summermusicassociates.org, by phone 603 526-8234, at Morgan Hill Bookstore or Tatewell Gallery in New London, or at the door the evening of performances.