WCGS Member Newsletter – March 2020

Hi everyone,

A lot’s happened in the past week. Sorry for the delay getting this newsletter to you. It’s been a bit crazy trying to keep up with everything, as I’m sure you’ll all agree.

Salon coming up tonight is postponed until next Sunday, the 29th, and moving ONLINE!
In case you missed my note on the WCGS Members Facebook Group, tonight’s salon is cancelled. However, in the interest of keeping a good thing going – especially when good things are in short supply – we are going to try something new: our first online WCGS Member Salon. Join me next Sunday, the 29th, at 6:00 pm on Zoom, for our March 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. I’ve been teaching online for the past week, and things can go fairly smoothly, so long as you prepare. Here are some notes to get you started.

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.

Season 2019-20 Cancellations
As you may have read in the newsletter I sent just a short time ago, or on our Facebook page, I and the board have decided to cancel the remainder of our 2019-20 Season, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the exception that we are looking into presenting a members concert as an online stream, to take the place of our originally-scheduled concert.

I am sure you all understand why we had to do this, and, although we are a small organization, we will not be too severely impacted by the cancellations financially. However, our cancelled artists, Jordan Dodson and Raphaël Feuillâtre, are not as fortunate, as they – as do all performing artists – rely on their performance income to make ends meet. We’re very concerned how their loss of gigs will affect their well-being, and we know many of you are concerned as well and would like to help. To that end, we’ll be starting up a GoFundMe or similar crowdfunding drive to help them recoup some small part of their losses from their inability to work. Please stay tuned for more on that, including links to donate if you have the means to help.

March Salon
As stated above, in the interest of social distancing and keeping all of our members healthy, tonight’s salon is being postponed one week until 3/29, and will be held online in Zoom. All the directions you need are above. If you need additional help, please contact me at president@wilmingtonguitar.org.

**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 April 26th, also online. Mark your calendars!

2019 Salon Schedule
March 29th (rescheduled and online)
April 26th (online)
May 31st
June 28th
July 26th
August 30th
September 27th
October 25th
November 22nd
December 13th

January and February Meeting Recaps
Thanks for everyone who came out to the last couple meetings. February was a small gathering, but still really enjoyable for everyone. I’ve been having a great time listening to both your playing and your comments. It’s so amazing to see everyone performing and improving, and above all, having a great time doing it.

I also missed the opportunity to list our January performers, so here they are, a little late, but still great.

January:
Debbie Mulrooney – Espanoléta by Gaspar Sanz and Menuet by Dionisio Aguado
Ralph Dominica – Etude No.10 in A by Matteo Carcassi and Etude No.6 in D (Segovia) by Fernando Sor
Scott Kuykendall – Snowflight by Andrew York
Derek Mansen – Minuet in G from the notebook for Ana Magdelena Bach attributed to Christian Petzold
Raphael Englander – Study No. 1 by Leo Brouwer, Sarabande by Robert de Visée and Estudio Op.60 No.1 by Fernando Sor
Graham Williamson – Estudio Op.60 No.14 by Matteo Carcassi
Robert Guerrero – Etudes Simples I, V and VI by Leo Brouwer
Simon Varley – Registro (Prelude) from Suite Venezolana by Antonio Lauro
Scott Kuykendall & Joanna Daneman – Duo No.6 by Fernando Carulli

February:
Scott Kuykendall & Joanna Daneman – Duos No.11 and No.8 by Fernando Carulli
Carl Abramson – Sarabande and Double from Violin Partita No.1 by Johann Sebastian Bach
Scott Kuykendall – Snowflight by Andrew York
Simon Varley – Registro (Prelude) from Suite Venezolana by Antonio Lauro

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

For more information on upcoming events, please visit our event calendar at https://wilmingtonguitar.org/calendar.

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

We’re at 2,299 likes on Facebook! Make sure you’re one of them, and help us break the 2,300 mark! https://www.facebook.com/wilmingtonguitar

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