Opening of the 2nd Montreal Guitar Show
Yes, the Holy Grail is now within reach!
Today at 11 a.m.
Montreal, Friday, June 27 2008 - The doors of the Montreal Guitar Show will open today at 11 a.m. to a treasure trove worthy of Ali Baba! Until June 29, the guitar will be centre-stage at the Hyatt Regency Montréal, right in the middle of the biggest guitar show in Canada, presented as part of the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal. This year, the Grand salon of the Hyatt Regency Montréal-a hall even better suited to the event-will be the gathering place for guitar lovers, who will be so bowled over by the wealth of activities, workshops, close-up encounters, lectures and shows planned by the organizers that they simply won’t know where to turn!
Pure paradise for guitarists!
Once again, the Festival is involved in promoting those special artists and craftsmen whom we know as luthiers-this year, over 100 in number, including a delegation of 17 luthiers from France!-the real kingpins for guitarists. You will have a unique chance to admire, try out and buy the finest guitars handcrafted by the world’s top luthiers! We hardly need to mention the presence of the veritable works of art of Mario Beauregard, Bill Comins, Rick Davis, Sergei de Jonge, Oskar Graf, Michael Greenfield, Peter Hopkins, Michael Lewis, Linda Manzer, Tom Ribbecke, Ervin Somogyi and Jeff Traugott, to entice all avowed guitarists to throng to the Show! Several craftsmen in the art of guitar making will be hosting workshops on topics ranging from the history and evolution of the instrument, criteria for choosing a good guitar, tips for improving playing techniques, as well as the steps involved in handcrafting these masterpieces.
Concerts, workshops, rencontres and lectures…
The exciting new Guitarmania series will be held in the Cinquième salle of Place des Arts: 11 concerts, from June 26 to 29, with outstanding guitarists by the names of Antoine Dufour, Érik Mongrain, Gareth Pearson, John Jorgenson, Andy McKee, Jordan Officer, Jake Shimabukuro, Don Ross, Michel Haumont/ Jean‑Félix Lalanne, Martin Taylor and Pierre Bensusan. And as good news never comes alone, one should know that the artists in this series will also be giving, in the intimate setting of the Hyatt’s Salon Jeanne‑Mance, free workshops in which they will be sharing a glimpse of their lives, careers, instruments and techniques, as well as personally welcoming their fans during the close-up encounters at the Hyatt’s Grand Salon!
And topping it all off will be the 50 or so concerts given by greats Peter Janson, Brady Cohan, Kinloch Nelson, Larry Pattis, Christine Tassan, Sylvain Provost, Emmanuel Rossfelder, John Cheech, Jr. and Jacques Desfosses, to name but a few, not to mention the presence of other great guitar specialists from all disciplines, like Tim Brookes, author of the bestseller Guitar: An American Life; Jeff Doctorow, great collector of high-end luthier guitars; and Georges Gruhn, author, collector and the authority on anything to do with vintage guitars. Without a doubt, guitar lovers of all stripes will be running to feed their passion!
From Friday, June 27, to Sunday, June 29, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., the Hyatt Regency Montréal will be The destination for guitar greatness! Admission is $10. To find out all there is to know about the MGS, visit the website at montrealguitarshow.com.
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