History of the Classical Guitar Society Sydney

The Classical Guitar Society Sydney grew out of the North Shore Guitar Society, which held its first monthly meeting in Willow Park Community Centre in the Shire of Hornsby on Saturday 11 May 1991. Its founding members – Eric Cathan, Mark Mulhearn and Alex Gonzalez – were all active guitar teachers.

An earlier Society of the Classical Guitar had played a leading role in nurturing the guitar in Australia in the period 1947-75. Angelina Ellis has documented its rise and fall in her Masters thesis on the foundations of the classical guitar in Australia.

In the intervening years the guitar’s impact had continued to grow, with more tertiary courses, pioneering local luthiers and the beginnings of an original Australian guitar repertoire.

At the first meeting in 1991 the focus was on sight reading and ensemble playing, which were to become central activities in the Society’s development. In September that year the Society hosted its first concert, featuring the Sydney Guitar Quartet with music by Praetorius, Charlton and Machardo. Its members – Richard Charlton, Rafaelle and Janet Agostino and Chris Keane – all became key members of the Society.

The North Shore label was officially dropped on 6 October 1993 when the Society became incorporated as the Classical Guitar Society, Australia, with 12 members including Georgia Rivers as President and Eric Cathan as Artistic Director. The Society’s charter stated that it
was ‘dedicated to the encouragement, expansion, appreciation and performance of music for the classical guitar”.

The Springtime Concert on 18 September 1993 attracted a review by Fred Blanks in the Northern Herald:

…you would never guess from the walls of the very functional Beatrice Taylor Hall of the Willow Park Community Centre… that this is the nerve centre of the Classical Guitar Society….The only decorative identification consists of the honours board of the Kurin-gai-Hornsby Angling and Casting Club, plus a small bookcase containing trophies and books on fishing. But the society presents itself as a keen, smoothly organised group, and it attracted an audience of about 60…

After Michael’s Music Room at Town Hall generously donated a large collection of CDs, a members’ library was set up by Graham McKinney in 1993 with a focus on the AMEB syllabus. The committee selected a logo designed by Lyndall Gerlach, which appeared on T-shirts, programs and brochures.

In 1994 the member’s meetings moved to the Dougherty Centre, Chatswood and the initial Society newsletter was published, edited by Penny Beck. Chris Keane and Raffaele Agostino became President and Artistic Director respectively and continued as driving forces over the
years.

The Society held its first concert series in 1994 at Old Darington School on the Sydney University campus, with Victor Martinez Parada, Peter Constant and Carolyn Kidd among the artists.

As guitar orchestras grew in popularity in educational and community music settings, the Society formed its own orchestra, later adding a smaller ensemble.

1995 saw the first summer school held at Willow Park Community Centre over a January weekend, with graded ensembles, master classes, a guitar orchestra directed by RichardCharlton, and a closing concert.

Monthly meetings moved in 1996 to the Uniting Church Hall at Shirley Road, which has been the Society’s home ever since. A whiteboard was purchased and a playlist introduced, giving members the opportunity to try out their latest piece or do a dry run for an AMEB exam.

Meanwhile the concert series moved to the Performing Arts Centre in Holtermann St Crows Nest and the summer school moved to Cranbrook.

By that time the Society’s orchestra and ensemble were well established, with an annual ensemble extravaganza concert included in the series. Regular conductors have included Chris Keane, Janet Agostino and Andrew Blanch and as well as guest conductors Richard Charlton, cellist Rachel Scott and mandolinist Adrian Hooper.

The concert series and the summer school began to attract a roll call of leading international players. From the UK and Europe: Carlos Bonell, Eden-Stell Duo, Claudio Maccari & Paolo Pugliese, Pavel Steidl, the German Youth Guitar Orchestra and Denis Azabagic. From the Americas: Benjamin Verdery, William Kanengiser, David Leisner, Maximo Diego Pujol, Omar Cyrulnik, Maria Isabel Siewers. And not forgetting Australasia: Tim Kain, Matthew Marshall, Simon Powis, Peter Constant, the NZ Guitar Quartet and Harold Gretton.

From December 1997 the Society was given a monthly slot on Sydney’s fine music station 2MBS-FM. Jan Brown presented the first broadcast. Subsequent presenters have included Sue McCreadie, Jim Mitchell, Dan Sharkey and Darryl Rule.

By 1998 societies had sprung up in other capital cities and the Society’s name was amended to Classical Guitar Society Sydney. The summer school was held at Cranbrook that year and moved to Ascham in 2001. In the year of its tenth anniversary – marked by the production of a badge and T-shirt – the Society began holding an annual concert at Hopetoun Retirement Village in Castle Hill, featuring the orchestra, ensemble and solo performers. Income from ticket sales is donated back to the Village.

In its second decade the Society branched out into recording with the FrEterntiy CD launched in 2004 in the church at Shirley Road. Led by Raffaele Agostino, the ensemble featured some of Sydney’s finest guitarists playing works by Richard Charlton, Philip Houghton, Paul Peipman, Chris Keane, Ann Carr-Boyd, Rory O’Donoghue and Peter de Monchaux.

While CDs were also produced of concerts in 2000 and 2001, the first foray into video recording occurred in 2005 with an Orchestra and Friends concert. Net proceeds were donated to a relief fund in aid of the victims of the 2005 Asian Tsunami.

From 2005 the Society began supporting the Guitar Event at the Sydney Eisteddfod, initially the Open category and later the 18 & Under category. In that year it was won by Harold Gretton who went on to win numerous international competitions. Later winners included Simon Powis, Matt Withers and Stephanie Jones.

The Society was admitted to the Register of Cultural Organisations (ROCO) in 2009 which allowed it to seek tax deductable donations. This ceased in 2023 due to changes to legal requirements for remaining on the register.

Finding a suitable venue for the concert series was a constant challenge. From 2010 the series moved to the Independent Theatre in North Sydney. With its proscenium arched stage and excellent chamber music acoustic, it was a welcoming home, however its eventual sale to Wenona School made it unviable for the series and the search was on once again. Subsequent venues included St Anne’s at Ryde, the Packer Theatre, Glebe Town Hall and Mosman Art Gallery.

The Society’s 20 th anniversary in 2011 was marked by a new work by Richard Charlton – Journeys and Voyages – specially commissioned for the landmark celebrations. Concerts were held in St Stephen’s Church in Newtown, Goulburn and Camden.

A Penrith sub-group was formed in 2014 by Jacob Wielgosz under the Society’s auspices. Several ensembles were also formed by members, including the Kirribilli 6 (later Kirribilli 4), the Hills Ensemble and Sabado.

As each year passes the orchestra and ensemble have been steadily raising the standard for sight reading, ensemble playing and nuanced interpretation. Orchestra numbers continued to grow as well, though nothing could match the 80 plus players at the 2016 summer school. The 25 th anniversary celebrations in 2016 included an Orchestra and Friends concert at St Anne’s Church, Ryde, which was recorded on DVD.

Several works have been written for the Society and its ensembles, most recently Delta Sydney by Venezuelan composer Elvis Suariz, which received its world premiere in June 2019 at the Packer Theatre.

In 2020 the arrival of Covid-19 led to cancellations of meetings, concerts and both summer and winter schools, ushering in a new era of virtual playlists and members’ meetings held on Zoom. Chris Keane stepped down as President in 2021 and Andrew Blanch took over the reins. To be continued….