Over 300 performers will take part in Adelaide Guitar Festival (AGF) 2016, which runs 11-14 August. Highlights include concerts by Ricardo Gallén, Wolfgang Muthspiel, Genevieve Chadwick, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, Bandaluzia and Karin Schaupp. In total AGF 2016 features 18 international acts along with 66 national artists and nearly 200 local musicians.
Formed in 2007, AGF takes in classical, contemporary, blues, jazz and world music styles. It also includes masterclasses, events for children, film screenings and the Adelaide International Classical Guitar Competition. The four-day event is hosted by Adelaide Festival Centre, and features four world premieres.
‘It is the breadth, creativity and calibre of guitarists in this year’s programme that perfectly reflects why Adelaide was named as a UNESCO City of Music,’ said Adelaide Festival Centre CEO and artistic director Douglas Gautier. ‘The Adelaide Guitar Festival has gained an international reputation as a prestigious and successful event that showcases both Australian and overseas talent.’
This year’s festival also includes an outreach programme titled Resonance, which will see guitarists playing in hospital wards and homes for older people around Adelaide. Musicians, including festival artistic director Slava Grigoryan, will play for music fans who might not otherwise be able to attend the festival. Additionally, the role of music in healing will be discussed by musicians and doctors in a panel discussion during the festival itself.
Said Grigoryan: ‘This year, our Adelaide Guitar Festival stretches into new territory throughout the city, across platforms and encompasses new ideas and musical adventures.’
Film screenings too make up a big part of the programme, with Girt By Sea (a documentary about the Australian coastline), and Paco de Lucía: The Journey included. The latter is a new documentary from Curro Sánchez, which explores the life of the iconic flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucía.