International Classical Guitar Festival in Kathmandu
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| Kishor Gurung |
During the festival a luthier (guitar craftsman) from Japan will showcase a handcrafted guitar of the finest quality made from citrus or spruce, mahogany and rosewood. Classical Guitar Society of Nepal is organising the festival said Kishor Gurung the founder and president of the Classical Guitar Society of Nepal. Twelve world class guitarists will perform during the festival in Kathmandu in October from 17th to 20th.
The representative countries are: Japan, Thailand, USA, Germany, Liechtenstein and Nepal (profiles attached). During the festival a luthier (guitar craftsman) from Japan will showcase a handcrafted guitar of the finest quality made from citrus or spruce, mahogany and rosewood.
The representative countries are: Japan, Thailand, USA, Germany, Liechtenstein and Nepal (profiles attached). During the festival a luthier (guitar craftsman) from Japan will showcase a handcrafted guitar of the finest quality made from citrus or spruce, mahogany and rosewood.
Our thoughts to organize this unique event is inspired by two paradigms: to provide an opportunity to hear live classical guitar music of world standard (which is otherwise not available in Nepal) and secondly, to promote educational aspects of music as so many young Nepalis are interested in learning music seriously.
The concert repertoire includes pieces composed in recent time to centuries back; a fact that is virtually not associated with “guitar music” in Nepal. The visiting artists will conduct Master Classes that are open to students nationwide (some students from Kathmandu, Pokhara and Jhapa have already registered for these classes that run for around three hours a day). Japanese luthier Yuichi Imai will shed light on the types of woods, skills and artistry needed for crafting guitars of highest quality.
Furthermore, the festival will help to establish contacts between the international artists and aspiring Nepali students. Encountering performers who have obtained music degrees can be an opportunity for our youth to learn about the music education program implemented in other parts of the world. I can almost say with certainty that guitar has the highest number of learners compared to other instruments yet not all learners are aware of its repertoire and system of pedagogy.
The festival will help to bridge these gaps to an extent. After all it’s the systematic learning of an instrument that carries the potentiality to open such fields of music as the musicology and ethnomusicology (both are frontier fields for Nepal). The proposed festival is also a celebration of the fact that music can be a means to touch each other’s hearts directly despite the separation by land and culture.
Kishor Gurung was awarded full scholarship to study guitar at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music in California, USA, where he studied guitar with Larry Almeida, George Sakallariou and David Tanenbaum and participated in Master Classes conducted by such distinguished international guitarists as Abel Carlevero (Paraguay), Julian Bream (UK), Michael Lorimor (USA), Manuel Barrueco (Cuba), Jose Tomas (Spain), David Russell (Scotland) and other masters.
For his MA degree, Kishor Gurung pursued graduate program in ethnomusicology at the University of Hawaii in Honolulu with the grant from the East-West Center, Hawaii. His field research led him to the ethnic Gurung enclave of Yangjakot in Pokhara Valley in the foothills of the Annapurna Himalaya. His research about a narrative musical tradition called Ghantu, in which prepubescent girls go into trance, stands as the first ethnomusicology research by a native Nepali.
He has presented his findings in international conferences and universities. During his enrollment as an ethnomusicology student, Kishor obtained basic training in Gagaku (Japan), Gamelan (Indonesia) and Rondalla (Philippines) music. Kishor has appeared as a soloist with the Long Island Youth Orchestra of New York. Since 2011, he has also embarked in jazz guitar playing. Kishor Gurung has arranged and recorded numerous albums of Nepali songs and for many years he performed at deluxe hotel Yak and Yeti in Kathmandu. He also introduced multi-track and MIDI recording technology in Nepal.
Kishor has been a member of the advisory committee for the state-run Radio Nepal and has lectured at the Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu. He is also the founder and president of the Classical Guitar Society of Nepal that has organized International Guitar Festival and Ethnomusicology Seminar, which were participated by luthiers, scholars and guitarists from Germany, Japan, Thailand, Liechtenstein, Finland and USA.
Kishor has written and recorded songs to promote drug abuse awareness programme for the United Nations Drug Control Programme and the American Embassy/Kathmandu. Kishor has presented papers at the St Lawrence University, New York; Society for Ethnomusicology Colorado, USA; Heidelberg University Germany and International Conference on Music Perception and Cognition, Italy; Folklore Society Congress, Kathmandu. Kishor has performed at international guitar festivals in Thailand and France, and has toured Germany, USA, Thailand, Belgium, India and Nepal.
Kishor Gurung has been cited in the Garland Encyclopedia of Music. His articles on Nepali music have been published by daily papers of Nepal. Kishor has taught at the Malpi International College (affiliated with the University of Mississippi, USA, in Kathmandu. He has received various commendations including one from the Government of Nepal for assisting in the making of new National Anthem of Nepal. He is also listed in Who is Who in Nepal. During his stay in UK between 2008 and 2011, Kishor Gurung was enrolled at the City University London as a doctoral student and taught guitar in schools in Harrow. His debut concert in Folkestone (Kent, UK) was received with standing ovation.
Kishor Gurung was awarded full scholarship to study guitar at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music in California, USA, where he studied guitar with Larry Almeida, George Sakallariou and David Tanenbaum and participated in Master Classes conducted by such distinguished international guitarists as Abel Carlevero (Paraguay), Julian Bream (UK), Michael Lorimor (USA), Manuel Barrueco (Cuba), Jose Tomas (Spain), David Russell (Scotland) and other masters.
For his MA degree, Kishor Gurung pursued graduate program in ethnomusicology at the University of Hawaii in Honolulu with the grant from the East-West Center, Hawaii. His field research led him to the ethnic Gurung enclave of Yangjakot in Pokhara Valley in the foothills of the Annapurna Himalaya. His research about a narrative musical tradition called Ghantu, in which prepubescent girls go into trance, stands as the first ethnomusicology research by a native Nepali.
He has presented his findings in international conferences and universities. During his enrollment as an ethnomusicology student, Kishor obtained basic training in Gagaku (Japan), Gamelan (Indonesia) and Rondalla (Philippines) music. Kishor has appeared as a soloist with the Long Island Youth Orchestra of New York. Since 2011, he has also embarked in jazz guitar playing. Kishor Gurung has arranged and recorded numerous albums of Nepali songs and for many years he performed at deluxe hotel Yak and Yeti in Kathmandu. He also introduced multi-track and MIDI recording technology in Nepal.
Kishor has been a member of the advisory committee for the state-run Radio Nepal and has lectured at the Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu. He is also the founder and president of the Classical Guitar Society of Nepal that has organized International Guitar Festival and Ethnomusicology Seminar, which were participated by luthiers, scholars and guitarists from Germany, Japan, Thailand, Liechtenstein, Finland and USA.
Kishor has written and recorded songs to promote drug abuse awareness programme for the United Nations Drug Control Programme and the American Embassy/Kathmandu. Kishor has presented papers at the St Lawrence University, New York; Society for Ethnomusicology Colorado, USA; Heidelberg University Germany and International Conference on Music Perception and Cognition, Italy; Folklore Society Congress, Kathmandu. Kishor has performed at international guitar festivals in Thailand and France, and has toured Germany, USA, Thailand, Belgium, India and Nepal.
Kishor Gurung has been cited in the Garland Encyclopedia of Music. His articles on Nepali music have been published by daily papers of Nepal. Kishor has taught at the Malpi International College (affiliated with the University of Mississippi, USA, in Kathmandu. He has received various commendations including one from the Government of Nepal for assisting in the making of new National Anthem of Nepal. He is also listed in Who is Who in Nepal. During his stay in UK between 2008 and 2011, Kishor Gurung was enrolled at the City University London as a doctoral student and taught guitar in schools in Harrow. His debut concert in Folkestone (Kent, UK) was received with standing ovation.
During the festival daily concerts on each evening will be held and two performers will share the stage, playing solo guitar pieces ranging from modern era to centuries back. Each performer will play for about 40 minutes.
An exception is the Maria Duo from Japan, which is made of two female guitarists and they will perform together.
Guitar Master-Class will be held on October 19th and 20th (Saturday and Sunday) between 12 to 2 PM at Tone Music, Tangal (next to Ganeshthan).
The concerts are open to general public, aficionados of music and especially the students. The students can take part not only as performers for the Master Classes, they can also come
and listen to the instructions given the visiting masters. Music teachers are also most welcome. It is an opportunity to share their ideas with the visiting guitarists (who are teachers themselves). There is reduced ticket rate for students and teachers stated a press release of the society.
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