International Guitar Night at Bartlett Performing Arts Center in January

For release: December 3, 2009
For event information, contact Bartlett Performing Arts And Conference Center (901) 385-6440

International Guitar Night featuring Brian Gore, Lulo Reinhardt, Itamar Erez, and Stephen Bennett promises to be  an evening that will underscore the virtuosity and diversity within the world of acoustic guitar, bringing a cast of guitar luminaries for a special concert of solos, duets and quartets performing original compositions and exchanging musical ideas with their peers. The concert at BPACC is January 15, 2010 at 8 p.m. General admission is $20 per person. For ticket information contact BPACC (901) 385-6440.

Brian Gore is a melodic fingerstyle guitarist, author, and impresario from San Francisco. He founded International Guitar Night in the 1990s as a cultural haven for the world’s finest guitarists to share their original ideas in a public setting, and has overseen International Guitar Night’s expansion, as a performer and producer, throughout the U.S., Canada, and the United Kingdom.

Lulo Reinhardt is a spontaneous and passionate musician. As a boy he learned to play Gypsy Jazz on his grandfather's Django Reinhardt model guitar. His travels took him to southern Spain in search of flamenco roots, and to South America, exploring various musical styles of Latin Jazz. The result is Lulo's unique style, Latin Swing, which blends the imagination and feeling of the gypsies into a rhythmic, flowing symbiosis of elegance and spirit.

Stephen Bennett is a guitarist to hear, whether playing his great-grandfather's harp guitar, his 1930 National Steel, or a standard 6-string. On stage and in the recording studio, his diverse musical influences and interests reflect a lifelong love affair with the sound of guitar strings. His enduring repertoire for the harp guitar has sparked international interest in the unique double-neck instrument, and keeps Stephen in demand for concerts and clinics worldwide.

Itamar Erez is a classically trained musician and composer whose works have been performed by soloists, ensembles and orchestras in North America, Europe and the Middle East. He formed the Adama Ensemble to explore the connections between jazz and Middle Eastern music and it is these earthy, ethereal melodies that form the backbone of his solo guitar work. A longtime resident of Vancouver BC, Itamar now has returned to his native Israel while performing with groups around the world.