As GUITAR AMERICA 250 – REVOLUTIONARIES AND ROCKSTARS features spoken word by Trevor Neal, Charles Coe, Jeffrey Lependorf, and myself, I decided that the album release concerts should also feature spoken word. So, I invited poets, musicians, speakers, and writers to join me. I am honored by their trust and can’t wait to see what happens!
Learn about the artists by reading the brief biographies below.

The Concerts and Performers (click for links):

• April 10 – Wellfleet Preservation Hall • Guest Felice Coral & Jeannette de Beauvoir
• April 11 – Arlington Street Church Chapel, Boston • Guest Jeffrey Lependorf
• April 14 – King’s Chapel, Boston • Guest Lloyd Schwartz
• April 19 – The Music Mansion, Providence, RI • Guest Trevor Neal
• April 25 – Unitarian Society of  Northampton, MA • GUEST Jeffrey Lependorf
• April 30 – Jacob Edwards Library, Southbridge, MA • Jonathan Blake
• May 3 – Charlene Larsen Center for the Performing Arts, Astoria, Oregon • Julia Hesse and Patrick Webb
• May 16 – Upham’s Corner Library, Dorchester, MA • Richard Hoffman, poet

Poet-musician and friend, Charles Coe, passed away in November 2025. He and I had performed Words & Music programs many times for Convergence Ensemble over the last few years. We had planned to tour again this spring and summer, but it was not too be. Because of his loss and his immense presence works in his honor are on each program. 

Jeffrey Lependorf, April 11 & April 25 – Boston & Northampton, Mass.
Jeffrey Lependorf is a composer and visual artist, and is also a certified master of the shakuhachi, a traditional Japanese bamboo flute. In 2025 he became the director of the John Cage Trust. Lependorf’s music has been performed around the globe — literally, in fact: a recording of his Night Pond for solo shakuhachi was launched into space when the shuttle Atlantis took off on May 15, 1997 and remained for a year aboard the Russian space station Mir. Recently, he has made a return to his first love, visual art, focusing on collage. http://jeffreylependorf.com/

Jeannette de Beauvoir, April 10 – Wellfleet, Cape Cod, Mass.
Jeannette de Beauvoir is a poet and novelist who lives in Provincetown, on the tip of Cape Cod. She writes mystery and historical fiction, and her work has appeared in the Looking Glass Review, Avalon Literary Review, and the New England Review, among many others; she received the Mary Ballard Chapbook Prize and the Outermost Poetry Contest national award. More at jeannettedebeauvoir.com

Felice Coral, April 10 – Wellfleet, Cape Cod, Mass.
Host of Café Classical on WOMR Outer Cape Radio.
https://provincetownindependent.org/tag/felice-coral/

Trevor Neal, April 19 – Providence, Rhode Island
Hailed for his “extremely warm and rich baritone” by Opera News, GRAMMY®-nominated Trevor Neal (he/him) has built an exciting international career that makes him a favorite among audiences in the United States, Europe, Asia, and South America. A 2018 Metropolitan Opera National Council Audition award winner and finalist, Neal has performed leading and supporting roles with renowned companies such as New York City Opera, The Dallas Opera, Opera Philadelphia, Sarasota Opera, Virginia Opera, and Opera San José. 

Lloyd Schwartz, April 14 – Boston, Mass.
Lloyd Schwartz is currently Somerville’s Poet Laureate, for which he has been awarded a major fellowship from the Academy of American Poets. His latest book, “Who’s on First? New and Selected Poems,” is published by the University of Chicago Press. His work has been selected for “The Best American Poetry,” “The Best of the Best American Poetry,” and the Pushcart Prize, and he is the recipient of a 2019 Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship for his poetry. The longtime classical music critic for NPR’s Fresh Air, he was also the classical music editor of The Boston Phoenix, for which he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism in 1994. He is the Frederick S. Troy Professor of English Emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Boston.

Jonathan Blake, April 30 – Southbridge, Mass.
Jonathan Blake has been following the gospel of his heart his entire life. Writer, educator, arts organizer, he makes his home in central Massachusetts. His book of poems, In the Kingdom, can be found at lostvalleypress.com, local independent bookstores, Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

Julia Hesse, May 3 – Astoria, Oregon
Julia Hesse has lived in Astoria for nine years. She works to weave together a sense of community, an awareness of our shared humanity, and a deep belonging within the wider web of the living world. Music has been a lifelong source of inspiration and comfort for her. She is the director of Vocal Uprising, a community-powered chorus that brings people together to raise their voices in service of action, courage, and joy. She offers this poem as another small act of connection—a testament to the power of music and song to soothe, strengthen, and guide us forward. Julia is also a semi-retired tarot teacher and reader. Learn more at www.juliahesse.com.

Patrick Webb, May 3 – Astoria, Oregon
Patrick Webb is the retired managing editor of The Astorian who will celebrate 50 years in newspaper journalism in July. He is an occasional actor in plays at the PAC and most recently at the Ten Fifteen Theater in Astoria where three of his four characters in “Macbeth” were slaughtered. From his childhood in England until now, he has embraced a lifelong love of words and is delighted to be sharing one of Walt Whitman’s pieces, “Proud Music of the Storm.” It was written in 1869.

Richard Hoffman, May 15 – Dorchester, Mass.
Richard Hoffman is the author of five books of poetry: Without Paradise; Gold Star Road, winner of The Barrow Street Press Poetry Prize and the Sheila Motton Book Award from The New England Poetry Club; Emblem; Noon until Night, which received the 2018 Massachusetts Book Award for Poetry, and his most recent, People Once Real. His other books include the memoirs, Half the House and Love & Fury; Interference and Other Stories, and the essay collection Remembering the Alchemists. His Each Child a Disappearance: New & Selected Poems, and Children Elsewhere: Collected Series, Sequences, & Suites are forthcoming in September. He is Emeritus Writer in Residence at Emerson College and Nonfiction Editor of Solstice: A Magazine of Diverse Voices. https://richardhoffman.org/

Charles Coe (1952-2025) – Everywhere
Charles Coe (1952–2025) is the author of three books of poetry: “All Sins Forgiven: Poems for my Parents,” “Picnic on the Moon,” and most recently “Memento Mori,” all published by Leapfrog Press. His novella “Spin Cycles,” about a homeless man living on the street in Boston, was published by Gemma Media. “Peach Pie,” a short film by filmmaker Roberto Mighty based on his poem “Fortress,” has been shown in film festivals nationwide. https://www.charlescoe.org/

Quick Update!

In December, I was awarded the Professional Development Grant from the professional music fraternity Foundation of Mu Phi Epsilon to attend and showcase at APAP NYC in January (Association of Performing Arts Professionals).

Taking place at the Hilton NYC Midtown, I performed two 25min showcases of two programs: 1) Solo Guitar – Revolutions in Music and 2) Azimuth Duo with cellist Stephen Marotto.

With over 3000 attendees in the music industry including Artists, Presenters, Management, and many more, it was a very intense time.

Showcasing is not a small or inexpensive endeavor. I’m extremely grateful for the funds provided by the Professional Development Grant. Getting seen by the buyers in our industry is very powerful and we are already seeing the benefits from it.

Azimuth Duo plays Asturias at APAP: 

In December, the 60-voice choir Kantorei, under the direction of Joel Rinsema, premiered my ‘Cider Meditation’ for SATB + Guitar on a choir & guitar holiday program featuring 18 compositions by various composers including a couple of premieres. I wrote a text inspired by the events happening in the US and the ideals of the holidays: protecting strangers from the cold, and warmth and safety.

Performed six times in a three-week period in the Greater Denver area, it was heard by over 2000 people. It will air on Colorado Public Television later this year. The score is available from the American Composers Alliance.

In December, the American Composers Alliance published my latest collection of arrangements to commemorate the USA at 250: American Patriotic Songs Arranged for Guitar. Featuring 6 solo from pre-Civil War through World War I and an Amended version of the Bill of Rights by James Madison, all the works are featured on my forthcoming album ‘Guitar America 250’ being released on March 6 on Navona Records. Pre-Save the album.

In February, composer and pianist John McDonald premiered the second piano solo, Foraging, from my forthcoming solo piano collection! It is inspired by the Mushroom Hunter, John Cage. The rest of the collection will be premiered later this year.

Foraging (2026):

Aurore (2024):

While out west Dec. 3-22 and between concerts with Kantorei, I will perform twice with the advanced choral group at Cherry Creek High School, my alma mater, the Meistersingers, give a 2-day residency for the Aspen Music Festival and School, a 1-day residency for Bravo! Vail, and a house concert in Taos, New Mexico.

All information can be found on my website calendar.

Aspen Music School and Festival: a two-day residency (12/8-9) where I will visit Lead Guitar programs in Carbondale and Basalt to work with young guitarists and aspiring musicians.

Bravo! Vail: 12/12 – a day performing and discussing being a professional musician at Black Mountain High School and the Community College. 

CCHS: I will perform Jeffrey Van’s ’14 Angels’ at Cherry Creek High School with the advanced chamber choir, the Meistersingers, under Sarah Branton on December 5 & 10. (Dec. 5 info)

TAOS: I will return to Taos, New Mexico for a solo performance at the home of dear friend, Cee Bearden in El Prado. The performance includes a preview of pieces from my upcoming album, Guitar America 250. Info HERE.

In December, I return to Denver, Colorado, where I grew up, for a series of concerts with the choir Kantorei under the direction of Joel M. Rinsema, titled ‘Silent Nights‘. We will have 5 performances in the Denver area on the first and third weekends. Of special note, is the premiere of ‘Cider Meditation,’ a piece I wrote this year for Kantorei and commissioned by the Hatala Family. (program below)

KANTOREI INTERVIEW with AARON (click)

Watch a brief 2′ video on FB about Cider Meditation: 

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/17k2xE7pFK/

**********

While out west, I will also perform at Cherry Creek High School, my alma mater, as well as a give residency for the Aspen Music Festival and School, and a house concert in Taos, New Mexico.

Aspen Music School and Festival: a two-day residency (12/8-9) where I will visit Lead Guitar programs in Carbondale and Basalt to work with young guitarists and aspiring musicians. Details on the calendar

Bravo! Vail: 12/12 – performing and discussing being a professional musician at Black Mountain High School and the Community College. 

CCHS: perform Jeffrey Van’s ’14 Angels’ at Cherry Creek High School with the advanced chamber choir, the Meistersingers, under Sarah Branton on December 5 & 10. (Dec. 5 info)

TAOS: I will return to Taos, New Mexico for a solo performance at the home of dear friend, Cee Bearden in El Prado. The performance includes a preview of pieces from my upcoming album, Guitar America 250. Info HERE.

Aaron’s Concert Calendar HERE

SILENT NIGHTS PROGRAM (Choir-Guitar selections)

1. Eight holiday works by Jeffrey Van
2. Individual holiday works by Ryan Taylor, David Carney, Michael Fink
3. Two works by Alf Houkom
4. Cider Meditation by Larget-Caplan – world premiere (score)

Thank you to The Provincetown Independent and reporter Eve Samaha for the wonderful interview about finding guitar and the upcoming concert on Cape Cod in Wellfleet on Saturday Sep. 13.

Read the full article: https://provincetownindependent.org/arts-minds/2025/09/10/revelations-on-guitar/

Dear Fans and Friends,

Though summer and the scent of Plumeria linger in the garden amongst the still flirtatious birds, the 2025-2026 music season has begun. I am honored to share so much music with so many. I’m especially excited for the premiere of my first work for choir and guitar, “Cider Meditation” which will be premiered in Colorado in December. The score will be published by the American Composers Alliance.

**Go to my CALENDAR for full concert details**

September – 4 different programs in the month with 5 concerts, including:

• Rune of Hospitality by Alf Houkom for choir and guitar in Boston with Mark David Buckles (9/6).
• A Latin American program in honor Hispanic Heritage Month in Hingham, including 2 premieres by Carlos Mauro (Colombia) and Luis Obregon (Mexico) (9/10).
• Revolutions in Music, multiple premieres for Cape Cod including Cloud Lacrymae for guitar & electronics by Douglas Knehans (9/13).
• Composing for Guitar at Boston University (9/16)
• Words and Music with poet Charles Coe, presented by Convergence Ensemble  (9/28).
• An afternoon of New Lullabies at King’s Chapel (9/30)

October

• Debut with the Newport Classical music festival in all-ages New Lullaby Project program (pajamas welcome, milk & cookies to be served alongside contemporary music). New Lullaby Project premiere #79 by Jinhee Han (Korea). (10/12)
• A few days in Portland, Oregon
• Music in Life, A Life in Music – Talk on my career in Music, Mu Phi Epsilon, Boston Alumni

December 

• Six Colorado concerts mark my debut with the choir Kantorei directed by Joel Rinsema as well as the world premiere of my composition ‘Cider Meditation’ for choir & guitar!!
• A two-day residency for the Aspen School of Music schools program.

* All events are open to the public

Visit ALCGuitar.com/calendar for concert details

Read the latest news by clicking the link below:

https://alcguitar.kit.com/posts/july-concerts-and-happenings

• Composing
• Upcoming Concerts
• Recent Collaborations
• Patreon and More!

In early July, I was invited to spend a few days at the John Cage Trust. Located a couple hours north of New York city in Red Hook, New York, it is housed at the wonderfully beautiful Wilson House at Bard College.

The JC Trust was established in 1993 as a not-for-profit institution whose mission is to gather together, organize, preserve, disseminate, and generally further the work of the late American composer, John Cage. It moved to Bard College about 17 years ago. Click here to read more about the JC Trust and a gallery of photos is at the bottom.

Brief Background:

I started transcribing the music of John Cage for guitar in 2013, beginning with the piano part of Six Melodies for violin and piano. My arrangement, premiered at the Boston Conservatory that year, turned out to be the first arrangement for guitar of Cage’s music to be published with the expressed approval of the JC Trust, being issued  by Edition Peters in 2015.

I didn’t know it then, but I quickly descended into a rabbit hole of musical arranging magic, a collection of his early and mid-career solos in Piano Music Arranged for Guitar (2018), as well as the prepared piano work, Bacchanale (2022), for two prepared guitars.

An album of all of the above works came out in 2018 on the UK label Stone Records under the title, John. Cage. Guitar.

Since the release of the album, I have been awarded two residencies focused on continuing my exploration of the music of John Cage. The first was in January 2020, at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity in Alberta, Canada, and the second was in 2022, a Community Artist Residency at the Kirkland Arts Center in Clinton, New York.

It was an amazing honor to be invited by John Cage Trust Director, Laura Kuhn for a third. 

My Work:

I came to Bard College with the intent of researching and presenting a couple of Cage’s later works inspired by Erik Satie: Perpetual Tango and Swinging. 

From the description of Perpetual Tango on the John Cage website:

Cage maintained the rhythm of Satie’s work, but omitted and lengthened certain of its notes, a process similar to that used in the composition of his Cheap Imitation. Pitches are unspecified, but indications for registers are notated and directions are given for the sounding of single notes or intervals.

While at the residency, I also arranged Satie’s original works from “Sports et Divertissements” from which the two works are based, Le Tango Perpétuel and La Balançoire.

These works are fascinating!

Satie wrote 21 short works, each with a different Sport or Entertainment title. Each work also includes an original poem written above the music. Curious on whether the performer should speak the text while playing, I did find a note in the Virgil Thompson edition stating that Satie wanted the poems read before each piece was to be played.

I admit to being slightly disappointed by that, but I may experiment and perform the works with the text, in French of course, on a repeat. Maybe it’ll work and Satie doesn’t like it, well…he can complain to me. 

The Cage pieces do include a poem, a “mesostic” (similar to acrostic, but led by middle rather than initial letters), with each one spelling ERIK SATIE, though they are not presented in the usual vertical manner.

Cage did begin a third work, Hunting, based on Satie’s, but it was not completed. Seeing the manuscript with all of his notes both for the music and the mesostic, was a gift I will cherish.

It should be noted, that Virgil Thompson translates Satie’s musical direction of Modéré et très ennuyé as Moderate and Agitated. I disagree with this and consider Moderate and Very Boring to be the proper musical directions.

The Concert

As the two works by Cage and Satie are both very short, I decided to create a program around arrangements by composers who Cage knew and who were influenced by him. On Saturday July 13, I presented “Arranging Influence.”

PROGRAM:  Music of John Cage, Alan Hovhaness, Erik Satie, Toru Takemitsu, and Larget-Caplan*

• Larget-Caplan – sweet nuance
• Satie – Le Tango Perpétuel
• Cage – Perpetual Tango
• Satie – La Balançoire
• Cage – Swinging
• Takemitsu – Over the Rainbow & Summertime (arrangements)
• Hovhaness – Mystic Flute, Op. 22
• Cage – Chess Pieces
• Cage – In a Landscape
• Larget-Caplan – honey cadence & moving still

*All original works except the Takemitsu performed in arrangements by Larget-Caplan.

I found the program to be quite rewarding. Special note was made of Chess Pieces, a work I have only performed live three times, as many had not heard it performed on guitar. The music literally comes from a painting Cage did on a chess theme for his friend and chess partner Marcel Duchamp. The music written across the painted chess board was not transcribed until 2005 by Margaret Leng Tan. Though written in a grand staff, it does not designate  an instrument or tempo. It is a perfect work for guitar, asking for a variety of colors and textures, and only a couple of spots seem not to be written for the instrument. My arrangement is in CAGE: Piano Music For Guitar.

For a future presentation of the Satie & Cage works, I would present both Satie works and then both Cage works. 

It was a great pleasure to meet Bard College composer Kyle Gann and John Cage fan Ralph Benko.

Presenting my latest published arrangement, Mystic Flute by Alan Hovhaness brought me great pleasure, as I just gave the east coast premiere of his work for choir & guitar ‘How Lovely Are Thy Dwellings.’ Of Hovhaness, Cage wrote: “Alan Hovhaness is like a ‘music tree’ that produces music as trees produce fruit” – NY Times.

The Toru Takemitsu arrangements were a surprise to the listeners. Many musicians outside of guitar do not know that Takemitsu taught himself guitar and wrote a number of solo and chamber works, including a concerto, which Hovhaness did as well. The Harold Arlen and George Gershwin arrangements are two of my favorites and are gems for the instrument. 

My solos sweet nuance and moving still are directly influenced by John Cage. I approached each with a desire to create works that take the listener out of time and celebrate the colors of the guitar. 

Conclusion

I returned home inspired to continue working on my arrangements and to explore further into Cage’s music and life.

I am grateful to JCT director Laura Kuhn for her hospitality. The house sits amongst the incredible landscape of the Hudson Valley, and the grounds of Bard College are immaculate. When one is in the area, I recommend a walk on Poet’s Path; it is incredibly inspiring.

Laura Kuhn is retiring from her position as Director of the John Cage Trust, and I wish her well on her new musical adventures. She and the JCT board have created an excellent space to celebrate and learn about the life, music, writings, and art of one of America’s most important 20th century composers. 

I do hope my work and sharing of Cage’s music opens the eyes and ears of more guitarists and general listeners. There are many things Cage is known for and first and foremost it should be as a composer. 

* The Cage and Hovhaness scores are published by Edition Peters and available worldwide online. Aaron’s compositions are published by the American Composers Alliance and recorded on honey cadence (Tiger Turn). The album John. Cage. Guitar. is on all streaming services and physical CDs are available via Amazon and online retailers. All scores and albums are also available via the Artist’s Bandcamp.

On Friday April 26, I return to Tufts University for the third time this semester for a recital that will complete an Arts Residency.

The recital, Altered Worlds, is on Friday April 26 at 12pm.

In the beautiful Distler Hall at Tufts University, it is free to attend and will stream online at: https://as.tufts.edu/music/news-events/live-streaming

Except for a short arrangement by Somerville native Alan Hovhaness, that was recently published (read about it), the concert features all living composers, the Boston premiere of the Richard Cameron-Wolfe micro-opera Heretic, three new lullabies, the world premiere two new works written by Tufts students, and the world premiere of a piano piece by yours truly played by John McDonald.

PROGRAM

Info Link:https://as.tufts.edu/music/news-events/events/calendar?trumbaEmbed=view%3Devent%26eventid%3D172105413

Boston, MA – March 8, 2024 – Now Musique presents an evening of transcendent musical exploration and distinctive musical premieres with acclaimed guitarist Aaron Larget-Caplan in “Plastic Dream Fugue.” The concert is Friday, March 29, 2024, at 7:30 PM at the historic First Church Boston, located at 66 Marlborough Street.

Larget-Caplan will perform a solo program featuring masterpieces from the 18th and 21^st centuries, including a mash-up violin-organ-lute fugue by J.S. Bach, arranged by Larget-Caplan.

The concert will showcase music specially curated for Larget-Caplan’s award-winning New Lullaby Project by American composers Laurie Spiegel, John McDonald, Dean Rosenthal, and Ian Wiese, as well as Czech composer Štěpán Rak. The concert will include the world premieres of two New Lullaby Project compositions (n. 72 & 73) by Pasquale Tassone and Charles Turner. Lament by Mexican composer and Boston University alumnus Luis Obregon and a stellar multi-movement work by American composer and NEC alumnus Daniel Felsenfeld complete the program.

The New Lullaby Project, a cornerstone of Aaron Larget-Caplan’s artistic vision, represents a harmonious blend of tradition and innovation exploring the genre of the lullaby with over 70 compositions created for it, three albums, and two collections of scores. After all, who’s afraid of a lullaby?!

“We are delighted to present Plastic Dream Fugue, a concert that epitomizes Now Musique’s commitment to exploring the new and neglected in the world of music,” said Aaron Larget-Caplan, founder and director of Now Musique. “The composers featured are of exceptional talent and dedicated to pushing artistic boundaries and make this concert a must-see event for music lovers of all backgrounds.”

Tickets for Plastic Dream Fugue are available for $25 and can be reserved online at Eventbrite or purchased at the door. $5 discount for those in pajamas. Don’t miss this opportunity to experience the lovely lyrical lulling of the guitar in the enchanting space of First Church Boston.

About Now Musique:

Founded in 2019, Now Musique is dedicated to showcasing innovative and boundary-pushing musical experiences that challenge convention and inspire audiences. Through our curated concerts and events, we seek to explore the richness of musical diversity and celebrate the artistry of both established and emerging talents in the recital format. Committed to education through experience and working to tear down the elitist stereotype of classical music, Now Musique brings music to audiences without watering it down. The 22-23 season featured 5 concerts, 4 all-ages programs, a commission from composer Daniel Felsenfeld, and over 30 living composers.