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Gavilan College Home Bach to Blues Home Bach to Blues Tickets Gavilan College Music Dept |
Bach to
Blues 2013
Saturday, March 16, 2013 |
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Bach to Blues Performers Maria Amirkhanian |
John Garcia
Maria AmirkhanianA native of Yerevan, Armenia, Maria Amirkhanian began piano lessons at the age of five. After graduating from Tchaikovsky School of Music, Maria was accepted to Komitas State Conservatory, where she obtained her B.M. in piano performance under guidance of Armine Mokatsian. In 1993, Maria was accepted, with a full scholarship, to CSU Freasno where she became a student of Andreas Werz. In addition to performing throughout California and internationally, Maria has participated in master classes with Peter Frankl, Barbara Nissman, Tomas Ungar, Ruth Loredo and Oxana Yablonskaya. In 1994, Maria was awarded second place at the Franz Liszt International Piano Competition in Pasadena. John GarciaAs a professional singer and guitarist for the last 30 years, John Garcia has performed with John Lee Hooker, Albert King, Johny Winters, Paul Simon and Huey Lewis. Bo Diddley once described John as "one hell of an entertainer." As a blues guitarist, there are few his equal. Instrumental virtuosity coupled with a unique vocal style are his trademarks. John has
been teaching in the San Francisco Bay Area for 25 years now. His credentials include both private instruction
and group instruction for places such as Gavilan College, South Valley Music Conservatory, Morgan Hill Adult
Community School, and breakout sessions at Harmonica Masterclass Workshops all around the world. John is also a
published author with Mel Bay Publications.
Albert Marqués, known as El Ajito in the flamenco world,
was born into a family where flamenco was a part of life. Albert’s first teacher was his father. Later he went
on to study with world renowned guitarist, Mariano Cordoba. Wanting to pursue his dreams, Marqués moved to
Spain in 1989 and studied with one of the top guitarist in Spain, Chicuelo. Upon returning to the U.S. in
1992, Marqués went to CSU, Fresno to study with yet another world renowned guitarist, Juan Serrano.
In 1994, Albert entered the prestigious Fresno Guitar Society Competition for the first time and won first place. Albert has done television and radio performances as well as extensive touring throughout California, Spain, and South America. Some of Albert’s most recent projects include the song, “Piel de Seda” for the movie soundtrack, It’ll Happen. In January of this year, Alberto was a featured guitarist for the concert series, Dynamic Guitars, held at the Historic Hoover Center in San Jose. Albert Marqués is married to concert pianist Maria Amirkhanian. They have twin daughters, Jade and Dominique, who love playing Mom’s piano and Dad’s guitars. Nate PruittWeb: www.primarycolorsmusic.com/Acclaimed as "the finest jazz scatting vocalist on the West Coast," (Good Times, Santa Cruz, CA), Nate Pruitt has developed his unique style over a long and multifaceted musical education. He is a Gavilan College music instructor. Nate Pruitt and Guitarist Rick Vandivier are Primary Colors, a jazz and
blues duo often featuring other great musicians in the California Bay Area of San Francisco and San Jose. Their
music is more than jazz and blues. It also includes elements of swing, soul, pop, spiritual, and Latin rhythms
... and even a trademark deep Southern yodel. The Performance Ensemble is
composed of Gavilan music students in the Music 12 and Music 14 classes.
They study, rehearse, and perform a broad spectrum of musical genre and
styles, with extensive consideration of contemporary commercial
repertoire and performance modes. |