Published: October 26, 2009 11:06 am      

Classical guitarist to perform at library

Classical guitarist Peter Fletcher will perform at the Ada Public Library on Tuesday, Nov. 10 at 6 p.m. The performance is free and open to the public.

Peter Fletcher began guitar study at the age of seven under classical guitar instructor, John Sutherland. In December 1983, he made his formal debut at the age of 15 under the auspices of The Brasstown Concert Association in North Carolina. Fletcher furthered his studies in Master Classes with Jose Tomas, David Leisner, David Russell, Oscar Ghiglia and Pepe Romero. As a performer in Christopher Parkening’s Master Class he was chosen to play in the student recital two consecutive years and, in 1988, the class was broadcast on National Public Radio (NPR). In 1990, the Music Teacher’s National Association (MTNA) awarded Fletcher a prize at its National Level Competition. In 1995, he received the Master of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music under Nicholas Goluses, and was twice the recipient of an Eastman Graduate Award.

Fletcher has been invited to give recitals at the George Eastman House in Rochester, NY; Cincinnati’s Memorial Hall; St. Philip Cathedral in Atlanta; Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina; the Schwartz Center for the Arts in Dover, DE, and many others. He had a special guest engagement in May 2005 at the World Music Series in Oceanside, California. In 2003 he performed on the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series at the Chicago Cultural Center. In January 2005, Fletcher was invited to join the distinguished Jury of the 9th Annual Schadt String Competition in Allentown, Pennsylvania. He made his New York Debut at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in February 2007. He performed at Carnegie Hall again in April 2008 and March 2009.

The library performance will feature selections from Fletcher’s 2008 CD release on Tower Hill Records: Music of the Baroque. Other repertoire will include Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring from Cantata No. 147 as well as the E minor Lute Suite of J. S. Bach: Fletcher’s transcriptions and Edvard Grieg; an unusual and intense piece by Russian guitarist and composer Nikita Koshkin; the ever popular Cavatina from the movie The Deer Hunter composed by Stanley Myers; Maurice Ravel’s exquisite Pavane pour une infante defunte and music of Weiss, Albeniz, Villa-Lobos and Reusner.

The program will culminate with Koyunbaba, by composer/guitarist Carlo Domeniconi. This is one of the most unique and exciting works in the classical guitar repertoire.

The performance will be held in the upstairs large meeting room of the library. For more information, contact Jennifer Greenstreet at 580-436-8121.