A: I have an active life-style.  My wife, Glenda, will tell you that I have a hard time sitting still.  My favorite things include playing tennis, playing guitar, writing, cooking with Glenda, and working around the house.  Nothing makes me feel more connected and grounded than caring of our home, garden and pool – things, with my schedule, that I get to do relatively infrequently.  Oh, and almost no weekend goes by without a call to my mom, dad, brother or sister, my family stays in close contact.   

Q: When did you first learn to play the guitar and why were you interested in playing that instrument? 

A: I began playing violin when I was very young.  I was playing cello and piano also before I discovered classical guitar.  In our tiny town in upstate New York, there was just one teacher in the school who taught all of the instruments, so I spent a lot of time with him.  In fourth grade I asked him which was his favorite instrument, and Mr. Vecchio told me it was classical guitar.  I was ten.  If guitar was Mr. Vecchio’s favorite instrument, then that’s what I wanted to play also – we got a small classical guitar right away!  It was four months later, in the heart of a New York winter that Mr. Vecchio – only in his twenties – was snatched from this world after skidding off a frozen road on the way home from school.  It’s amazing that someone I knew for just a few years as a boy could have had such a monumental impact on my life.  My parents ultimately located the man who had been Mr. Vecchio’s teacher so that I could continue my studies.  
 
Q: Why are you passionate about classical guitar? 

A: It’s hard to know if we choose the things we have in our lives or if they choose us.  I love the classical guitar, the instrument, the wood, the feel, the sound, the literature, the many players from around the world I’ve met and worked with, and the great tradition of music it belongs to.  At some point, after pursuing my musical studies, I looked back and realized that guitar had pulled me into its universe almost completely.  What I’m most passionate about, however, is sharing it other people.  Whether it’s as a concert presenter, a teacher, or as a concert artist, I absolutely love guiding people deep into the world of great music. 

Q: What is your fondest memory with classical guitar, at any time in your life – a performance you attended, an interesting story, or one of your performances, etc.?

 A: There are so many.  Perhaps my fondest memory is when I had finally learned and memorized my first complete work by JS Bach.  It was the third cello suite, and I was 16 years old.  The Oberlin Conservatory of Music, where I had just begun college, has a beautiful 175-seat wood recital hall called Kulas, and I snuck in one night after the building shut down.  I didn’t know how to turn the lights on in the hall, so I sat down on the pitch-black stage and played Bach’s 3rd cello suite into the absolute stillness of the empty hall.  Arriving at the place that I could produce such a great work from memory in such a phenomenal acoustic space was magical and transformative, and I’ll never forget it. 

Q: What are your personal inspirations, motivations, or goals for the building of the Austin Classical Guitarist Society over the years, this organization it is today and the community programs you support? 

A: The arts, including music, are a core element of our civilization.  In our society they appear, somewhat, to be undervalued.  This is why so many young artists get the common wisdom that I received from concerned mentors: to leave behind the arts as a career and pursue something more lucrative as a profession.  The truth is, however, that the arts play a vital, and frankly valuable, role in our communities.  Kids in school connect with arts classes when nothing else seems to engage them, retirees return to arts study after years of feeling they were too busy to nurture that part of their lives, and diverse members of our communities come together to appreciate art and artists from different cultures in the healthiest and most important cultural exchanges we have, be they concerts or art exhibits.  There is an ecological chain, then, connecting artists and consumers be they students or patrons, and, in America, the key element of that chain, that determines its vibrancy and sustainability, is the nonprofit arts organization.  Where there are strong arts organizations, there are strong arts communities.  My passion has always been to identify the ways that the arts can serve our community, and then develop and support the programs that will fill those needs.  

Q: What is the most rewarding moment for you as a teacher for in-school music programs? 

 A: We have two brilliant full-time educators, Travis Marcum and Jeremy Osborne, who work their magic in many area schools serving over 600 kids each day.  My job is to support the work they do and work with them on establishing the curriculum that guides our educational efforts.  Without a doubt, the most rewarding moments for me are watching our diverse young people perform beautifully.  So many stars have to align for students to be able to sit down in front of a crowd and play confidently and expressively. It’s a testament to Jeremy, Travis and, of course, the students they work with, that thousands of people each year, including myself, get to see these young people play so beautifully, and so consistently. 
 
Q: Do you have any other charities or cause that you personally support? 

A: Absolutely.  As our guitar organization has grown to be a leading force in classical guitar presentation, many people from around North America have started asking for my help to assist them with their arts organizations.  I am typically consulting with at least one arts organization each week on subjects ranging from establishing a fledgling nonprofit, to fundraising, program development and strategic planning.  I chair the development committee of the board of the Guitar Foundation of America, and locally I am on the musician’s advisory panel for the SIMS Foundation, as well as the advisory councils of Salon Concerts and Texas Choral Consort. 
 

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