WCGS Member Newsletter – June 2020

Time has no meaning anymore…

WCGS GoFundMe Campaign
Thanks to everyone who contributed to our GoFundMe campaign to help our cancelled concert artists. Thanks to your donations and our amazing anonymous matching benefactor, we have met and exceeded our goal, which means we’ve been able to pay Jordan Dodson, Raphaël Feuillâtre, and Teresa Hayward (the GFA tour manager) the monies they would have otherwise missed out on due to our cancelled concerts. In addition, money in excess of those funds is going to help WCGS reimagine what we can do as a guitar society during circumstances where gathering in large groups is problematic. I don’t have the words to thank you enough for your show of goodwill towards our artists, and your show of faith in our organization. I would have never imagined this was possible had I not seen it for myself.

If you haven’t yet donated to our GoFundMe and would still like to, it’s never too late. Donations (including offline donations) can be made directly through our website at https://wilmingtonguitar.org/donate, or to our GoFundMe Campaign page. Donations made directly to our website will also be shown on our GoFundMe Campaign page.

We have a special surprise for our members and everyone who donated to our campaign coming down the pike. Stay tuned.

Members Concert Recap
I wrote up a recap of our first online Members Concert last month, but I just wanted to say I have been the recipient of SOOO many people congratulating us for the concert, both in its presentation and in the performances. A ton of people really enjoyed it. Kudos to all of our performers for putting on a helluva show! I’m so proud of all of you.

The video is still available on Facebook, so if you haven’t seen it yet, or would just like another opportunity to watch, please check it out and share it with your friends! We’re really proud of how our community rallied to put this concert together.

Upcoming Salon: This Sunday June 28
Join me this Sunday the 28th, at 6:00 pm on Zoom, for our June Members Salon. We’ll be conducting things as usual, with the caveat that we’ll all be playing and critiquing from the comfort of our own homes. We’ve been having great turnouts for our online Zoom salons and I’m looking forward to seeing you all again Sunday!

In addition to our usual antics, I’ve posted our third recent challenge piece in our Facebook group. Hop on there and download it, and give it a try this Sunday! We’ll compare/contrast different performances, and see what works.

The following Zoom meeting link should remain the same every month, so feel free to add it to your calendar.

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/149817292?pwd=Mmk3R0VKRWliNXp3ZFJJeXJtb255UT09

Meeting ID: 149 817 292
Password: 625369

Our Zoom meetings have been going great thanks to some preparation we all take part in to help things run smoothly. Please follow the instructions below to ensure we all have the best experience possible.

1) Set up your laptop (preferably) or other webcam-enabled device (tablet or phone) in a quiet space in your home.
2) Plug in headphones or earbuds to ensure the sound quality is optimal (conferencing software will otherwise garble your audio as it’s trying to filter voice from background noise).
3) Download the Zoom videoconferencing app and install on your computer or device.
4) Once installed, create an account, and then test your mic and speaker connections in the Zoom app. On the computer app, click on the gear icon (Settings) in the upper right corner under your initials to access the Settings. In settings, click on Video in the menu on the left to preview your video feed. Make sure you have sufficient light on your front for the camera. Click on Audio to test and preview your mic and speakes/headphones.
5) If you plan to perform, while in the Audio settings, click on the advanced box in the bottom right. In the Advanced section, select DISABLE in the “Suppress Persistant Background Noise” and “Suppress Intermittent Background Noise” options. Echo cancellation should be left to “Auto.”Check the box at the top to “Show in meeting option to enable Original Sound from microphone.” Note: not all of these settings are available on other devices. Change what you can.
6) An email will be sent to you just prior to the meeting. Click the link to join.
7) Once joined, click the “Turn on Original Sound” button in the top left of the screen. This will use the unfiltered feed from your microphone, allowing for your most musical performance. If you’re not performing, this isn’t necessary.
8) Have fun! Any further instructions will be given in the meeting.

Note you can always create your own meeting to try out the system and familiarize yourself with what it can do. If you have any questions, please let me know and I’ll try to answer them for you.

Oh, and I wouldn’t plan on playing any duos, unless you really want to give it a chance. The latency issues will yield very mixed results.

We will continue to hold our monthly meetings on Zoom until it is deemed safe to meet again in person. Hopefully, that won’t be too long from now, but I still anticipate it will be several months.

**If you are coming to the salon, please arrive between 5:45 and 6:00. Join up and get your settings straight, and have fun chatting with everyone else.

*NOTE: The following salon will take place on July 26th, location TBD. Mark your calendars!

2020 Salon Schedule
June 28th (online)
July 26th
August 30th
September 27th
October 25th
November 22nd
December 13th

May Meeting Recap
We had another great turnout at last month’s online meeting, and 7 outstanding performances! Thanks everyone for showing up and participating. Hope to see you all again this Sunday.

Performers from April in performance order:
Robert Guerrero – Souvenir d’automne by Simone Iannarelli and Equlibrato by Carlo Domeniconi
Carl Abramson – Souvenir d’automne by Simone Iannarelli and Double (Bouree) from Partita No.1 in Bm (A section) by Johann Sebastian Bach
Ralph Dominica – Souvenir d’automne by Simone Iannarelli and Allegretto by Ferdinando Carulli
Matthew Lavanish – Souvenir d’automne by Simone Iannarelli
Simon Varley – Prelude BWV 998 by Johann Sebastian Bach
Jo Daneman – Souvenir d’automne by Simone Iannarelli and Leccion Bk.1 No.85 by Julio Sagreras
Scott Kuykendall – the Skye Boat Song (traditional Scottish Folk Song) and Walking (from 8 Discernments) by Andrew York

Other Events
All live events are cancelled or have moved online. Stay home and stay healthy.

Check out our Facebook group for some great insight into what’s happening online with classical guitar.

To submit an event, please Email our event calendar coordinator at events@wilmingtonguitar.org.

We’re at 2,313 likes on Facebook! Make sure you’re one of them, and help us break the 2,500 mark! https://www.facebook.com/wilmingtonguitar

Best,
Matthew Lavanish
President & Artistic Director – The Wilmington Classical Guitar Society