September 15, 2015 - Merced College’s 2015 Performance and Lecture Series kicks off on Friday, September 25 with the return of World Guitar Night, featuring worldrenowned guitarists Francesco Buzzurro and Richard Smith. The performance begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Merced College Theater. Tickets are $14 general admission and $10 for students, seniors, and military. The duo’s performance has sold out before, so early ticket purchases are recommended.
Italian classical guitarist Buzzurro and American master guitarist Smith are celebrating their 10-year collaboration. Their first recording, 2011’s Un Mondo, Due Chitarre, takes its audience on a musical journey outside each respective player’s genres to explore new dimensions in the sound of two guitars. The duo is returning to Merced College in celebration of two prior sold-out concerts in which they performed eclectic mixes of original, folk, classical, jazz and popular pieces that earned them an international following.
Buzzurro and Smith were awarded the Italian Presidential Medallion of Artistic Excellence in 2009. Smith has recorded 13 solo releases and collected accolades such as Best New Artist and Album of the Year with his solo debut Inglewood. He has recorded for six #1 albums for Blue Note Records in his role as guitarist for chart-topping saxophonist Richard Elliot. Smith has chaired the Studio/Jazz Guitar Department at USC for many years where he was instrumental in developing the first bachelor’s degree program in popular music at a leading music conservatory.
Sicilian born Buzzurro is best recognized as an award-winning classical guitarist and one of the world’s foremost authorities on Sicilian folk music. With his continued interest in jazz and folk styles, Francesco has developed a gifted skill that allows him to masterfully play in styles not typically associated with one another. He has been recognized by the Italian government as one of the Ministers of Culture.
Tickets may be purchased at the Merced College Bookstore and the Theater box office, as well as Gottschalk’s Music in downtown Merced. For more information on Merced College’s Performance and Lecture Series, contact the Arts Division at 209. 384-6644.
Source: Merced College
