BBC Radio 3 iplayer Aranjuez link
k realised this is a link available for 7 days of the repeat concert in Ayr Town Hall, begins with a co-comission of BBCSSO and John Maxwell Geddes which is pretty good. 19:30 if you can’t be bothered waiting.
Hello World!
Is the title of the first post that is automatically published on your blog upon first starting one. It has been a while since I have written anything here, largely because in an attempt to take a holiday I stopped checking my email and going on the pc for reasons of communication. This, unfortunately, only led to me developing emailophobia. So today I checked them and started writing this.
OK so firstly vanity calls. A review of the sellout Brighton Festival gig is here. On that note, Brighton was beautiful and I took a picture with my awful mobile phone camera.
Though not as beautiful as the garden of the concert promoter for the next day’s gig.
Both of these surpassed though, by Italy, when I got off the plane from Budapest at 0730 in April.
Later in June there was an interview I gave that was published in the Glasgow Herald Arts magazine, with a cover photo of some idiot posing in buttercups. Thanks to Kate Molleson for the article 
Now a few shots from the workshop Morgan and I gave to a bunch of schoolkids in Beaminster after our concert:
Hmm now there was some other stuff but I forgot oh yeah here we go. OK so my sister is going to Ecuador next year for a conservation project and she’s set up a blog that is infinitely better than my one – http://riyokoforecuador.wordpress.com/
Ent at nais?????????
Anyway, please all donate for her good cause here – http://riyokoforecuador.wordpress.com/sponsor-me/
And spot a new piano pupil of hers here – http://riyokoforecuador.wordpress.com/about/music/piano-lessons/
Ok ok ok I think that’s all and I leave you with more concerts in my concert diary page and an updated bio.
More concerts on upcoming events page
There are more concerts now up on the concert diary page, check it out if you fancy
Lyminster concert Saturday 26th May
Just a wee note to say that although Brighton festival gig on the 25th has sold out, I am playing the next day nearby in Lyminster. So basically if you wanted to come to the Brighton gig and realised no tickets left just go here to get some http://www.diochi.org.uk/index.cfm?fuseaction=activities.content&cmid=586
Also just a reminder to say that I’m playing tomorrow in Edinburgh’s 100 Princes Street OverSeas House, please come along! 1830 start
Review of Sound Festival concert, Aberdeen
From the Sound Festival website, here you go.
Ullapool trip
So the other day Stewart Kelly and Allan Neave and I all headed to Ullapool for the annual Ullapool guitar festival. It was good fun and we played our show on the Sunday, chinese takeaway and football/iphone/Tolstoy on Saturday.
Friday highlights included Edradour 10yo, Highland Park 12yo, Highland Park independent bottling cask strength 57.1%, Bunnahabain 12yo, Glenfiddich 12yo, Mortlach 1971 distillation, Auchentoshan threewood, Glengoyne 10yo, Balvenie 15 year old, Tennants and Gooseberry Grozet.
High jinks particularly surreal (though not as surreal as 6:21 onwards of this interview, gotta love good ol BoJo).
Pics below taken on phone camera/Nikon FM2n with f2.8 105mm or f1.8 50mm.
First night was pub, the Ceilidh Place. It was very nice and we sampled the above whiskies in careful moderation. Then Stewart and I went for a walk while Allan had a nice refreshing lie in. We had chinese take away that night. Concert was next day so warmup was probably a good idea that morning, but we had to dash shortly after to get back to Glesga so unfortunately missed Hugh Burns’ playing… The ride back was nice cos the countryside of this Caledonia is the real beauty, no city is the true destination. We stopped at the House of Bruar (who have irritatingly started posting me catalogues, no idea why) to get some cake and then, after passing Loch Katrine, arrived back in Glasgow 
Programmes for 6th and 25th November 2011
On the 6th I’ll be playing the Prelude, Giga and Double from the Suite BWV997, J.S. Bach, followed by 3 Schubert songs (arr. Mertz). On the 25th I’ll be playing Rosewood by David Fennessy. Come!
Poster for concert 23/09/11
Is here: Poster for Concert 23/09/11 click on the link for the image file
Interview/concerts
There’s a wee interview I had with Julia Rampen on the fringe + my programming + guitar + ROSL here.
Also I’ll be playing @ 100 Princes Street this week 3 times in total so check out the concert diary.
Come along please xD
New date
H’OK the date of that gig in the Foundling museum for the New London Orchestra young performer’s series is up, August 4th at 1pm.
I leave you with this
Guitar department concert and other things
The concert is on June 7th in the RSAMD, not completely sure where exactly yet, but definitely in the building. Asturias, Electric counterpoint and other strawberries with cream.
Please come
On another note check out the Kelvin School of Music website, where I teach guitar. In addition, piano and violin are taught by other professionally qualified performers with extensive teaching experience.
I’m also mentioned on the Guitar Salon International Blog.
Programme for Concert 25/05/11 Aberdeen Confirmed
I’ll be playing:
Review of ROSL Edinburgh Clubhouse gig 11/05/11
Here is a link to Alan Coady’s generous review of the gig, it’s all good woop wooop woooop 
Third place in the Anna Amalia Guitar Competition for Young Guitarists
Went to me yayyyyyyy
So I got 800EUR and engagements in Hamburg and Weimar (also possibly Rotenburg).
So anyway my exam is tomorrow so please come along if you can make it (Guinness room of RSAMD, 1510), I’ll be playing the Etude 10 by Regondi, the Ginastera Sonata, and the Fete Villagiouse by Regondi again.
Programme confirmed for ROSL clubhouse Edinburgh concert on 11th May
New Aberdeen date now in Forthcoming Concerts
A wee thingy in Aberdeen that I’m doing at the end of next month. It’s the North-East Classical Guitar Society AGM and they always have someone from the Academy play there.
3rd year Performance exam date
I’m playing in the Guinness room on Monday 9th May, 1510, for the performance exam of this year. The external examiner is Paul Gregory. Not sure what I’ll play yet but it’ll come to me.
Updated upcoming concerts page
I’ve put some details of some concerts that I have coming up, a solo recital in Kent in a few months and a wee engagement with the Scottish Flute Trio in June.
A few more concerts
I’ve added to the Forthcoming Concerts page the details of, well… some forthcoming concerts. It seems that these first few months of 2011 will be busy.
Oh and I also added in a wee quote given by those nice EGTA guys to the quotes page re: a wee half recital I gave in England for their AGM.
What I’ve been up to
As usual it’s been a while too long for me to have left the blog without a post. Aaaaaanyway I’ve just uploaded a new video to youtube which you can see here:
It’s just a wee video that’s part of a competition application I’ll be sending away this week. I’ve been doing a little bit of work for Scottish Opera working on the whole “A little bit of Figaro” thing, a small 20 minute reduction of the 3 and a half hour full work. We’re taking it around community centres, schools etc and it’s been really good fun so far.
I won a competition last week as well, the North East Classical Guitar Society Guitar Competition, it’s a wee RSAMD based thing that runs every year, so I’ll be playing in Aberdeen sometime next year. On Sunday I also performed in the pre-concert concert for Pavel Steidl in the Big Guitar Weekend in Glasgow, Playing the above Prelude and the complete “Fandango” Quintet by Luigi Boccherini with some colleagues from the Academy. There was a reviewer there from the Classical Guitar Magazine, so with luck there’ll be a review in there in the next 6 months or so.
That’s pretty much all I’ve been doing in the past wee while, if I remember something I’ll post it up here.
All best
Concerts in Eindhoven last December
Ian Watt and I also gave a recital in Eindhoven, in the Phillips Hall, in mid December on the weekend after our return to China. The programme was basically the same one given in China, and again it seemed to be a success, so we were pleased with how it went. We will return in April to perform 3 times in different spots, and give a class or two in a local school. More details of this will be put up later.
Concert Valentine’s day
Just to say that I’ll be performing in Glasgow on February 14th at 1530 for an hour. It’ll be a programme of romantic music, but nothing specifically romantic itself.
Schubert: 6 songs (arranged by Mertz): Lob der Thranen, Liebesbothschaft, Aufenthalt, Standchen, Die Post, Das Fischermadchen
Villa – Lobos – 5 Preludes
J. S. Bach – Andante, from Violin Sonata no.2 in A minor
Piazzolla – Invierno Porteno, Primavera Porteno (from Cuatro estaciones porteñas)
It’s in the southside, at St. Margaret’s Episcopal church. They also have a blog, so click here if you want to see it.
Upcoming stuff
So yeah, on Thursday I will be performing the Rodrigo Concierto D’aranjuez in Hull with the Isle of Axholme Symphony Orchestra, and that should be good. After that on Monday I fly to Liechtenstein to participate in a guitar competition so I must work for that as well.
Concert next Monday
I will be performing the Sequenza again in the final guitar department concert this Monday coming (I think it’s the 25th), and I think most of the department will be playing as well.
So yeah, come along if you can.
