On Saturday, February 22, at 8:00 pm the Triangle Guitar Society will present its premier concert of the 2002-2003 season, featuring The Falla Guitar Trio. Acclaimed as one of the best guitar ensembles in the world, the Falla Guitar Trio is known for their virtuosity and innovative programs, ranging from “Bach to Bernstein to the Blues.” The trio “moves freely among classical, jazz and popular music, limited it seems, only by the 18 strings at its disposal” (Washington Post).

The concert will be held at the St. Joseph's Historic Foundation’s Hayti Heritage Center in Durham’s historic Hayti community. The venue features a new 350-seat performance hall in the renovated church sanctuary. The Center is located at the corner of Fayetteville Street and Lakewood Avenue, near exit 12 off the Durham Freeway (147). The program is expected to include compositions by Manuel de Falla, J.S. Bach, Enrique Granados, Samuel Barber, and Dusan Bogdanovic. Tickets are available now from TGS for $22, $17 TGS members. Call Randy Reed at 490-1920 for more information.

The trio, formed in 1979, was originally called the De Falla Trio, after the Spanish composer Manuel de Falla. The founding members of the Trio – Terry Graves, Ian Krouse, and Kenton Youngstrom – met each other in Southern California while studying for their advanced music degrees. In 1985, Dusan Bogdanovic took Ian Krouse’s place in the Trio, which is now known as the Falla Guitar Trio.

Each guitarist of the Trio is a gifted artist in his own right. Kenton Youngstrom earned a Master of Music from the University of Southern California. He now holds teaching appointments in classical and jazz guitar with a number of California educational institutions, such as Pepperdine University, LA Community College, University of Redlands and Colburn School of Performing Arts. He has performed with the Los Angeles Opera and led a jazz band for the opening gala of the 2001Cannes International Film Festival. He wrote the music for the 2000 documentary “Mary Pickford: A Life on Film.” Also, he has arranged numerous compositions for the trio, including the music from West Side Story, Bach’s Goldberg Variations, Mozart’s Symphony 39, and the Nutcracker Suite.

Terry Graves earned his Master of Music from the University of Southern California. He performed with a number of orchestras, including the Midwest Chamber Orchestra, the Los Angeles Promenade Orchestra, and the Pasadena Chamber Orchestra. Terry toured throughout Europe and the United States with soprano Alba Quezada, a member of the original Broadway cast of the “Phantom of the Opera.” He chaired the music department and coordinated guitar studies at the Idyllwild Arts Academy in California.

Dusan Bogdanovic’s style as a guitarist and composer is a unique synthesis of classical, jazz, and ethnic music. A native of Yugoslavia, he studied composition and orchestration at the Geneva Conservatory in Switzerland with P. Wissmer and A. Ginastera and studied guitar performance with M. L. Sao Marcos. Bogdanovic has taught at the Geneva Conservatory, the University of Southern California, and is currently with the San Francisco Conservatory. He has sixteen recordings, both as a soloist and working in collaboration with other artists. Several groups, including the Pacific Dance Company and the L.A. Guitar Quartet, have commissioned his compositions.

Without a doubt, this will be a truly unique opportunity to hear and see a guitar ensemble of the absolutely highest caliber in artistic expression and musicianship. If you are able to attend only one concert in 2003, make it this one!

Falla Guitar Trio Concert flyer