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Up next at the Fortuna Concert Series on Saturday, Nov. 14 is classical guitarist Nicholas Lambson. He last appeared at the Series in January of '08 and his Nov. 14 engagement is sure to be well-attended. On the north coast, it's somewhat of a rarity to experience high level classical guitar playing and for that reason alone, concert goers should not miss this one.
Originally from southern California, Lambson now lives in Eureka and teaches classical guitar at Humboldt State University and in private.
Always trying to advance the cause of classical guitar, Lambson has, in addition to teaching, authored scholarly articles on guitar technique and oversees a guitar ensemble at the university. In addition, he will be premiering a new work he wrote at HSU on Dec. 10 for guitar quartet and started a book on guitar technique. If you're curious to sample his inspired technique prior to the concert, you can see him on You Tube performing 'Abendlied' by Johann Kaspar Mertz.
Technically challenging, Lambson's musical entree at the Fortuna Monday Club will be without accompaniment. Works written for solo guitar tend to exploit the instruments' capabilities and present challenges that only the better trained musicians can meet.
Opening with one of Lambson's staple compositions by Leo Brouwer, a modern Cuban composer, 'Estudios Sencillos' sets an energetic tone for what is to follow. Other works include the 'Fantasie Elegiaque' of Fernando Sor, a somewhat lengthy work that was inspired by the composers' personal loss. Picking up the pace with Dionisio Aguado's 'Introduction and Rondo in A minor,' Lambson remarked that it's a highly virtuosic piece that stretches the limits of what is possible on the guitar.
”These are both extended works for guitar, which is a relatively rare occurrence within the classical guitar repertoire,” Lambson said. Shorter works are more the mainstay in classical guitar literature. In addition to works by Aguado Sor and Bouwer, Lambson will also perform the 'Koyunbaba' by Carlo Domeniconi, a work that Lambson describes as the most successful composition from a contemporary composer. Other works on the program will include several 'Preludes' by Manuel Maria Ponce and Johann Kaspar Mertz's 'Bardenklange.'
”There is great variety in the program, and I feel that all of the works are masterpieces in their own ways,” Lambson explained. A few of Lambson's favorite composers will be featured in the upcoming concert.
Lambson got his start on the ukulele at age 6, and a year later, his father handed him a guitar and a method book by Aaron Shearer. “I tried teaching myself, but it was difficult at that age,” he said. At 14, Lambson started playing electric guitar, had a teacher for a few months, and got tablature off of the internet. A great deal of his early guitar education came from teaching himself.
”I saw a classical guitarist by chance one evening, the late Terry Graves at the University of Redlands, and began finding classical repertoire and recordings on my own,” Lambson said. “When I was a freshman in college, I began studying with the guitar professor there at CSU San Bernardino, Stuart Green.” After a while, he abandoned his electric guitar, “having been swept up in the music and challenge of classical guitar.”
Although Lambson has always been a self-starter, he hasn't shied from gaining a formal education. He got a Master in Music from the San Francisco Conservatory in guitar Performance and his Bachelor degrees are in Music Performance and Music Technology.
Fascinated in how music intersects with science and the arts, Lambson looks for deeper meanings or absolutes in music and in his performances.
”I've been thinking about Plato's Theory of Forms for many years and about absolutes. Of the absolutes, I believe absolute truth is the loftiest ideal. And music is a form of absolute truth. This truth need not know about me or my guitar or the composer, it simply is. This is why I play. And on the best nights I feel its weight in the room and I know I have served my purpose. It is a powerful experience and when I'm in it, I never wish to leave. But the last note falls and it fleets by but its resonance remains.”
Doors open at 7:15 p.m. Concert is at 8 p.m. The Fortuna Monday Club is at 610 Main St., Fortuna. Tickets: $8 General. $6 Students/Seniors. Tickets at: Green's Fortuna Pharmacy in Fortuna; Fortuna Music Mart in Fortuna/Eureka; Becker's Insurance Agency (Ferndale); Berliner's Cornucopia (Eureka) and at the door. Call 682-6092 or 725-7974 for tickets.
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Nicholas Lambson performs an evening of classical guitar at the Fortuna Concert Series on Saturday, Nov. 14.
