The final presentation of Denison University's Vail Series for the 06/07 year will bring the superb artistry of the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet (LAGQ) and the Grammy Award-winning vocalizations of Brazilian native Luciana Souza to Swasey Chapel. The concert will feature the melodies and rhythms of Latin America and is set for 8 p.m. on Sunday (April 1) in Swasey Chapel. (General admission tickets at $15 each will be available after the on-campus distribution to students and staff by sending a check and a postage paid return envelope to Vail Series, P.O. Box 701, Granville, Ohio 43023.) Information about ticket availability may be obtained at the Vail Line 740-587-6557.

Recognized as one of America's premier instrumental ensembles, the LAGQ brings a new energy to the concert stage. Their critically acclaimed transcriptions of concert masterworks provide a fresh look at the music of the past, while their interpretations of world-music realms continually break new ground. For this concert, they sought common ground with Souza and have turned to a wide swath of Latin influences.

The program will open with a work by Hermeto Pascoal, "De Sabado Pra Dominguinhos," and Paulo Bellinati's "Carlo's Dance" and "Á Furiosa" with the quartet and Souza performing together. The evening's program has been developed to allow the individual members of the quartet to showcase their solo talents, so the works will feature two individuals performing with Souza before bringing the full quartet back on stage with her for "El Amor Brujo" by Manuel de Falla. Other familiar composers and arrangers on the program are Heitor Villa-Lobos, Sergio Assad and Osvaldo Golijov.

Recent seasons have found the LAGQ touring extensively in Europe and Asia. Their recording, "Guitar Heroes," won the group their first Grammy Award in 2005. A live-in-concert DVD was released in the fall of 2005 and their most recent CDs "LAGQ -- Latin" and "SPIN" are on the market now.

Members of the quartet are John Dearman, William Kanengiser, Scott Tennant and Matt Greif. Dearman performs on a unique seven-string guitar with extended upper and lower registers. Currently the director of guitar studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, his repertoire ranges from samba to bluegrass and from flamenco to classical. Kanengiser is one of the few guitarists to have won the Concert Artists Guild New York Competition. A professor at the USC Thornton School of Music, he has earned critical acclaim for his imaginative arrangements for solo guitar and guitar quartet. He has produced two instructional videos for Hot Licks and appeared in the 1986 film "Crossroads."

Tennant has been concertizing since the age of 12. He undertook a project to record the complete solo guitar works of Joaquin Rodrigo. He is the author of the best-selling book and video "Pumping Nylon," a technical handbook for the classical guitarist. Tennant also is on the faculty at the USC Thornton School of Music. Greif joined the quartet this season, taking the place of the recently retired founding member Andrew York. He is a long-time friend of the LAGQ and an award winning classical guitarist. He has extensive experience as a flamenco and jazz musician, is the son of a renowned bluegrass/classical fiddler, and has worked with the legendary Dave Brubeck and player Chet Atkins. He is a graduate of the University of Southern California.

A native of São Paulo, Brazil, where she grew up in a family of musicians, Souza made her first recording at age 3 in a radio commercial. A first-call studio veteran by age 16, she had recorded more than 200 jingles and soundtracks when she came to the United States to study. She earned a bachelor's degree in jazz composition at the Berklee College of Music and a master's degree in jazz studies at the New England Conservatory. Souza has seven recordings of her own music out -- most recently the 2005 Grammy-nominated "Duos II." In 2005 she was awarded Female Jazz Singer of the Year by the Jazz Journalists Association. Some of her other albums are: "Brazilian Duos" Grammy-nominated (2002); "North and South" Grammy-nominated (2003); and "Neruda" (2004).

Calendar Listing:

CALENDAR LISTING: Denison University, Granville -- The Vail Series presents The Los Angeles Guitar Quartet and Luciana Souza; 8 p.m., Sunday (April 1), Swasey Chapel (200 Chapel Drive). Tickets are $15 each; information available at 740-587-6557. Call 740-587-6266 to confirm information.

About Denison:

Denison University, founded in 1831, is an independent, residential liberal arts institution located in Granville, Ohio. A highly selective college enrolling 2,100 full-time undergraduate students from all 50 states and dozens of foreign countries, Denison is a place where innovative faculty and motivated students collaborate in rigorous scholarship, civic engagement and the cultivation of independent thinking.

For press inquiries:

Name

Barbara Stambaugh

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Director, Media Relations

Primary Email

stambaughb@denison.edu

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(740) 587-8575