London International Guitar Festival

The South Bank Centre is holding the International Guitar Festival from 5-7 May 2007 featuring gigs and workshops from some of the best international guitarists. The Royal Festival Hall, the Queen Elizabeth Hall, the Purcell Room, the Riverside Room, The Hayward and the Saison Poetry Library are all part of the South Bank Centre and the Festival is on at three of these, the full line up is below.

Saturday 5 May
Guitar Orchestra For Everyone Starting at 11am in the Purcell Room musicians of all levels and ages from schools, community groups and the public are invited to come along and join in, admission is free.

Introduction to Rock & Blues Guitar with Jonny Scaramanga A two hour workshop in the Riverside Room for students wanting to cover the basics of blues and rock guitar including chord progressions, power chords, 12-bar, pentatonics, arpeggios, tapping, hammer-ons, pull-offs, and bending. Starts at 11am and costs £12.

Classic Rock Guitar Workshop with Jonny Scaramanga A two-hour workshop for advanced students starting at 2pm in the Riverside Room, admission is £15.

Tom Kerstens with his G+ Ensemble A programme of both solo and ensemble pieces performed by this virtuoso guitarist. Concert starts at 7.45pm in the Purcell Room with tickets £8-£14.

Sunday 6 May
Rock, Jazz & Blues Workshop with John Wheatcroft A two-hour workshop beginning at 11am that explores the styles of Bireli Lagrene, Larry Carlton, Joe Bonamassa, Django Reinhardt, John Scofield, Allan Holdsworth, Steve Vai, Pat Metheny and Yngwie Malmsteen. In the Riverside Room with tickets costing £15.

David Massey The finalist in the BBC Young Musician of the Year competition 2006 gives a performance at 1.15pm in the Purcell Room, admission is £5.

Amadeus Duo Classical Guitar Masterclass Open to soloists, duos, trios and ensembles from 2pm in the Riverside Room, tickets are £20.

Chad Wackerman Masterclass This well known and experienced drummer gives amaster class lasting one and a half hours in the Queen Elizabeth Hall from 3pm with tickets £18.

Allan Holdsworth & Alan Pasqua Masterclass Two jazz greats give a master class and hold a Q&A session from 4.30pm at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, admission £18.

Arturo Tallini One of Italy’s top guitarists performs at the Purcell Room from 5pm, tickets for the show are £7.

Allan Holdsworth & Alan Pasqua featuring Jimmy Haslip & Chad Wackerman A performance ranging from rock to jazz in the Queen Elizabeth Hall starting at 7.30pm, tickets are £16-£23.50.

The Jorgenson Quintet One of the pioneers of American gypsy jazz combines it with world, classical and high-energy acoustic music in concert at the Purcell Room from 7.45pm with tickets £14.

Monday 7 May
Introduction to Flamenco Guitar with David Buckingham A two-hour workshop starting at 12 noon in the Riverside Room providing a compact guide to the different techniques and rhythms that are the essence of flamenco. Tickets £12.

Flamenco Guitar Masterclass with Gerado Nunez A two hour class with a Flamenco virtuoso in the Riverside Room. Tickets are £35 and you need to bring your own instruments for the 2.30pm start.

The Spanish Guitar:Gaelle Chiche Second in the recent Guitar Foundation of America International Guitar Competition, Gaelle Chiche plays the Purcell Room at 5pm, tickets are £7.

Flamenco Galacticos A night of Flamenco music and dance from guitarist Gerardo Nunez and his dancer wife Carmen Cortes at 7.30pm in the Queen Elizabeth Hall. Tickets are priced £16-£28.

Amadeus Guitar Duo Dale Kavanagh and Thomas Kirchhoff’s performance includes music by Rodrigo, Villa-Lobos and Castelnuovo-Tedesco. Begins at 7.45pm in the Purcell Room with tickets £8-£14.