Four world-class musicians team up for International Guitar Night.
International Guitar Night – IGN – returns to Montana, with stops in Bozeman Feb. 8, Billings Feb. 10, and Helena Feb. 13. Germany’s Gypsy jazz legend Lulo Reinhardt serves as artistic director and hosts the concerts, joined by Canadian contemporary fingerstyle sensation Calum Graham, Poland’s innovative classical composer/performer Marek Pasieczny, and award-winning American guitarist Michael Chapdelaine.
International Guitar Night Roster
Lulo Reinhardt is Gypsy jazz legend Django Reinhardt’s grand nephew, and began playing guitar at age 5. He has retained the incredible Reinhardt soul, speed and dexterity and updated the repertoire with Latin rhythms. A spontaneous and spirited musician, his curiosity took him to southern Spain in search of flamenco roots, and to South America, exploring various musical styles of Latin jazz.
By 2002, he was ready to take his place as a bandleader, founding the Lulo Reinhardt Project, and in 2008, he founded his current ensemble, the Lulo Reinhardt Latin Swing Project.
At just 24, Calum Graham has enjoyed a career that would be the envy of many artists double his age. The Alberta-based guitarist and singer/songwriter has released five acclaimed albums, won major national music competitions, performed at the Olympic Games in both Vancouver and London, racked up some phenomenal views on YouTube, and was most recently named one of the top 30 guitarists in the world under 30 by Acoustic Guitar Magazine.
Acoustic guitarist Andy McKee calls Calum “the most promising young guitarist I’ve seen.”
Award-winning guitarist and composer Dr. Marek Pasieczny is one of the most respected contemporary composers writing for the guitar worldwide. Pasieczny holds three master’s degrees in music and a doctorate, and has appeared at festivals in Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. His original compositions have premiered at venues around the world, including Royal Albert Hall, Wigmore Hall and Canterbury Cathedral in the UK, and Carnegie Hall in New York City. He’s also been featured on the cover of the prestigious Classical Guitar magazine.
Michael Chapdelaine is the only guitarist ever to win first prize in the world’s top competitions in both the classical and fingerstyle genres: the Guitar Foundation of America International Classical Guitar Competition and the National Fingerstyle Championships at the Walnut Valley Bluegrass Festival in Winfield, Kansas. From New York’s Lincoln Center to the Cactus Cafe in Austin, from Milano to Bangkok, Chapdelaine continues to enchant, dazzle and surprise audiences and critics alike as he redefines the modern acoustic guitar with his amazing technique, “soulful” expressiveness, and versatility as a performer, composer and arranger/producer.
His performances, played on both steel string and classical guitars, include musical styles ranging from blues to Bach, from country to rhythm ’n blues.
Since its beginning in 1995 in a converted laundromat in California’s Bay Area, International Guitar Night has featured the best performing guitar composers from around the world. Audiences and the featured artists relish the friendly, casual ambiance of the collaborative performances.
With its unique brand of “guitar positivity,” IGN has become the most successful guitar showcase of its kind in the world.
International Guitar Night schedule
Bozeman: 7:30 p.m. Feb. 8 at the Ellen Theatre; call 406-585-5885 or order online.
Billings: 7:30 p.m. Feb. 10 at the Alberta Bair Theater. Call 406-256-6052 or order tickets online.
Helena: 7:30 p.m. Feb. 13 at the Myrna Loy Center; order online or call 406-443-0287.