On Sunday November 20th at Saint Mary’s Episcopal Church in Dorchester, I had the pleasure of collaborating on an exciting program of chamber music for Convergence Ensemble with three wonderful musicians: violinist Heidi Braun-Hill, violist Michelle LaCourse, cellist Hyun-Ji Kwon, and myself. 

Strings Galore featured music duos with guitar for violin, viola, and cello by John Cage, Antonio Celso Ribeiro, and Thomas L. Read, as well two quartets for strings and guitar by Roland Dyens and Libby Larsen. A trio by Beethoven, and two guitar solos by Bach and yours truly rounded out the program.

Directed by Rachel Goodwin, Convergence Ensemble seeks to stimulate, support, and inspire stronger connections within and between New England communities through chamber music concerts and community enrichment programs. 

This was my first collaboration with Convergence Ensemble and the musician, and it was awesome!

Rarely do I have the pleasure of sharing 40min of chamber music, and relatively new chamber music, in a single concert. 

Huge thanks to Rachel Goodwin, Rose Hegel, and the Convergence Ensemble board for organizing the concert.

To the composers and friends Antonio Celso Ribeiro and Thomas L. Read, and to the lovely musicians who were gems to create music with.

We will be performing more, so stay tuned!

Microphone by Your Heaven Audio. Guitar strings by Hannabach

NEW VIDEO:

The first video from God’s Time – Music of J.S. Bach on Guitar

What do you think?

On April 10, I had the pleasure of visiting Guitar Salon International in Santa Monica, California.

This was my third time recording videos for GSI.

I collaborated with  videographer Felix Salazar for a set of six videos on six different guitars.

Starting April 18, one video a week will be released on their YouTube Channel.

I performed my own composition sweet nuance, two pieces by John Cage, and three of my arrangements of J.S. Bach.

I will add the videos to this blog post as they are published.

Your comments, here or on Youtube, are greatly appreciated!

Scroll down for a playlist of my GSI Videos from the 3 visits.

And click to see a 2015 Player Spotlight they made of me.

Video 1: ‘sweet nuance’ by Aaron Larget-Caplan

Video 2: Prelude in D-minor, BWV 926 by J.S. Bach,  Arr. ALC

Video 3: Duo from Three Easy Pieces by John Cage, Arr. ALC

Video 4: Prelude in C-major, BWV 939  by J.S. Bach, Arr. ALC

Video 5: Infinite Cannon from Three Easy Pieces by John Cage, Arr. ALC

Video 6: Prelude in A-minor, BWV 999/872 by J.S. Bach, Arr. ALC

Video Playlist of 3 visits to GSI, 2015, 2017, 2022 (10 videos):

On Friday April 1st, the video premiere of the first single from honey cadence will be live!

sweet nuance was born in early January 2022, from an improvisation and idea: a repeated harmonic figure (ostinato) with a melody floating over. I sought to capture a moment of stillness that is both intimate and timeless. sweet nuance, the first piece on my instrumental album honey cadence, marks my debut as a composer. The solo felt special as soon as I found it and resides close to my heart. Having only focused on performing and arranging for almost 20 years, composing this album in just a couple of weeks was magic.

Thanks for watching!!

Save sweet nuance to your Spotify and Apple Music here: https://fanlink.to/sweetnuance

I’m super excited to be getting back on the road for the first 2020.

3/30 – Class & Masterclass, SF State University, San Francisco
4/1 – Concert, Museum of Northern California Art, Chico
4/2 – Concert, South Bay Guitar Society, San Jose
4/3 – Masterclass, South Bay Guitar Society, San Jose
4/3 – Concert, Center for New Music, San Francisco
4/5-7 – Artist Residency with two concerts, CSU Bakersfield
4/8 – Classes, Cal Poly Pomona University, Pomona
4/10 – Video Shoot, Guitar Salon International (GSI)
4/11 – Guest Artist Performance for the Encinitas Guitar Orchestra
* individual information can be found at the links above or on my calendar: alcguitar.com/calendar

Programs*:
A mix of new Bach keyboard arrangements, popular songs by Gershwin and Arlen, solos by John Cage and from the New Lullaby Project by Antonio Celso Ribeiro, Laurie Spiegel, Ian Wiese, Brian Schober, Ken Ueno, Antony R. Green, and Stepan Rak, the Legend of Hagoromo by Keigo Fujii, new works for guitar+electronics by Tom Flaherty, Lainie Fefferman, and Lou Bunk, and my own original compositions from ‘honey cadence’. Lots and lots of music!

Concerts are still being announced so check back in for more!

*Concert programs vary by venue.

One of my most popular videos, España Cañi by Pascual Marquina is a classical music standard, though not for guitar! Originally written for orchestra there are few transcriptions for guitar solo. I made this at the request of the phenomenal flamenco and bolero dancer Gabriela Granados.

This is the premiere performance in 2011 in Springfield, Massachusetts and filmed on point and shoot camera. Who knew it would take off!?

My arrangement has changed in a few places since 2011, but the energy and excitement of the music remains central to the realization. It combines classical and flamenco techniques into a serious solo. You can find scores (tab and standard notation) in my website STORE.

A brief video demonstrating how one can practice a “lick/run” using rhythmic variations and groupings. The music is from Tango En Skaï by Roland Dyens.

Here’s a video of the complete piece (with lots of variation):

This is a video I made as part of a group lecture given for the 2021 Guitar Foundation of America (GFA) on the subject ‘Developing Successful Practice Habits’ on Friday, June 25, 2021.
Music: Lullaby For Children Of The New World by Ricardo Odriozola

What are some positive habits that you use?

Steps and Leaps (2019) by Tom Flaherty was composed for the 50th anniversary of the first human landing on the moon, its title inspired by Neil Armstrong’s first words from the surface of the moon, “One small step for a man, a giant leap for mankind.” The music brings to my mind the beating hearts, ticking clocks, interlocking actors, rising tension, and release into weightlessness that I associate with that first lunar landing.