About
Origins
The early history of the Boulder Guitar Society is lost in the mist of time. In the 1980s monthly meetings were held at the Boulder Public Library and H. B. Woodsongs, as well as at members’ homes. The concert series was sponsored by H. B. Woodsongs, the historic Boulder music store owned by Jon Eaton. An early organizer was a local player and teacher named (appropriately) Mary Melodie, along with the first CU student to graduate with a degree in Guitar Performance (Dennis Burns, 1983). The focus of the society then, as today, was on both classical and finger-style guitar music. Meetings consisted of concerts and presentations by area artists as well as performances by society members, as can be seen in the earliest newsletters on our Memories page.
History
After a hiatus in the early 1990s, Felicity Muench and David Lunsford revived the tradition in 1995 with the Boulder County Guitar Society, which has met regularly since that time. The mission of the society was ‘to promote the performance of classic and other acoustic styles of guitar, and to facilitate the exchange of information and materials pertinent to classic guitar.’
Under Felicity’s direction, society meetings, held at the Meadows Branch of Boulder Public Library, featured a variety of performances, presentations and master classes. Performances included both full recitals by visiting artists, ‘performance labs’ by society members—essentially mini-recitals by society members—as well as open forums where everyone was welcome to perform. Visiting artists have included Lilly Afshar, Mark Malone, James Cline, Jim Bosse, Steve Waechter, Dan Gorklo, Joseph Brennan, Steve Mullins, Keith Nelson, and Dave Norton. At the core of the presentations were the hundreds prepared by BGS president Felicity Muench on subjects ranging from perfecting tremolo to managing performance anxiety. Other presenters have included Jim Bosse, Steve Mullins, and Kevin Garry. Several luthiers have spoken to BGS meetings as well, including Larry Breslin, Edward Dick, Dan Harris, Martin Ters,Tom Prisloe and Chris Conery. BGS master classes have been led by Felicity Muench, Lilly Afshar, Kevin Garry.
In later years Steve Blunk and Carey Harwood directed the society. Dan Harris joined Carey, and the society began involving a wider spectrum of acoustic players. Under the leadership of Mark Charles Smith the society added the popular Guitar Orchestra. With the addition of Matt Dorris to the helm the society heard more music on period instruments.
Present
The current board consists of Toby Gallegos (President and Treasurer), Marcio DeSousa and Dan Fairchild. Mark Limber does the newsletter and Jeff Olson has been updating the web site. The society has incorporated as a 501(c)(3) non-profit, is seeking local sponsorships, and is inviting a wider array of Boulder area guitarists to be active in the society.
