This Saturday, May 14th at 8:00pm at Precious Blood Church, the Winnipeg Classical Guitar Society will welcome to the stage the wonderful Canadian Guitarist Emma Rush. Known for her flawless technique, captivating stage presence and creative concert programming, Emma Rush has established herself as one of Canada’s great classical guitarists. Rush always provides audiences with a memorable concert experience.
The program on Saturday is very diverse. One of Rush’s areas of interest is the music of women composers. Her latest CD “Wake the Sigh” features music written by 19th century women composers for the guitar; some of these composers being guitar virtuosos in their own right. “These composers had really, really interesting careers…a few of them were seriously a big deal…they had incredible performing careers at a time when anyone being an instrumental virtuoso was not so common, let alone women… it’s a real thrill for me to help bring these composers music back to life.” states Rush.
Some of the composers on Rush’s latest CD “Wake the Sigh” will be represented on Saturday nights program. Composers such as Susan Domett, Julia Piston, and Catharina Pratten will be performed, as well as music form 20th century women composers such as Hilary Tann, and Annette Kruisbrink.
Annette Kruisbrink has written a piece inspired by the great flamenco guitar virtuoso Paco de Lucia. Her piece “Hommage de Paco de Lucia” incorporates elements of flamenco music into the idiom of classical guitar. Rush describes the piece this way, “Annette Kruisbrink managed to really get the essence of Paco de Lucia and his music and how he played and sort of distill into something that feels very at home on a classical guitar… it really is a lovely tribute to Paco...it’s a really cool piece, it uses a lot of really interesting tremolo techniques. It’s really well written, and it’s one of my favorite pieces on the program.”
One of the other highlights of the program is the premiere of a brand new piece by Winnipeg composer and guitarist Guy Michaud. His piece “Night Wind” features guitar ensemble and soloist, and will feature Rush as soloist. It will also feature the talents of some young up and coming guitarists here in Winnipeg. This was a piece written on a commission from three Winnipeg art organizations, The Winnipeg Classical Guitar Society, Winnipeg’s Groundswell, and the Manitoba Classroom Guitar Association. “It’s a very cool piece. Guy has really explored a lot of the palette of different sounds the guitar has to offer beyond what you would normally expect to hear from a guitar,” says Rush. “There’s some percussion effect, there a lot of cool strumming, and some surprises too.”
For lovers of Van Halen, there is even a piece on the program inspired by Michael Anthony’s funky bass line in Van Halen’s tune “Bottoms Up.” Rush will be playing a piece by Irish composer Darragh O”Neil called “Shadow Box.” Van Halen is Emma Rush’s favorite band, “I really love it! It is really, really funky. It’s got a lot of sort of pop music elements to it. It’s not a stuffy guitar tune that’s for sure.”
There is really something for everyone on this concert. For anyone who loves music and the guitar this is a concert that is not to be missed. Emma Rush is a phenomenal guitarist and the variety of music on the program is sure to entertain. The concert takes place this Saturday, May 14th at 8:00pm at Precious Blood Church. Tickets will be available at the door or by visiting the Winnipeg Classical Guitar Society’s website.