2010-05-01 Masterclasses, Student Recitals and Scholarships
VCGS Is All About Learning Guitar
VCGS is different from many music organizations in that it is actually more focused on student and amateur guitarists than it is professional performances. From the very beginning there were student recitals and scholarships through the Kiwanis Music Festival and the Richmond Music Festival. (Both festival expanded to include classical guitar due to initiatives from VCGS!).
The society started a Loan a Guitar program to provide good quality instruments at no charge to students eager to learn but in need of a guitar. That program still exists today with an inventory of about six guitars. (In fact, VCGS has a new initiative to purchase a top quality Martin Blackwell concert guitar for students and visiting professionals to use. We expect to take ownership of the guitar in 2029.)
Early on, VCGS partnered with UBC and the VSO School of Music to provide students with masterclasses by visiting professional guitarists. We continue this tradition today with most of our visiting concert artists.
Our twice-yearly Student Open Stages have always been important events in the society as a place for students to hone their performance skills. Dozens of kids as young as 6 years old perform solo and in duets and ensembles before an appreciative audience of family and friends. Many of these young students have gone on to win competitions and pursue a career as a guitarist.
Alan Liu fondly remembers his first Student Open Stage performances in about 2010. Take a look at the photos of Alan as an 8 or 9 year old. Now a multi-award winning young professional guitarist and a frequent performer on the VCGS stage, Alan is finishing his doctorate at Yale University. Check out this article about Alan in the Richmond News in 2017. Shy teen strums to the top - Richmond News
10 year old Alan Liu in 2011 at a VCGS Open Stage
11 year old Alan in 2012.
Alan and his brother Brayden (centre) performed for VCGS in 2021. They are both superb musicians - Alan on guitar and Brayden on piano.