Silhouette: San Francisco Guitar Quartet

The San Francisco Guitar Quartet is becoming one of the most sought-after classical guitar ensembles performing today. Known for their dedication to works written specifically for four guitars, the SFGQ's 2006 performance schedule includes a Spring tour of California and a Summer tour of Taiwan. Silhouette is SFGQ's just released, much anticipated third release. From the liner notes they say, It is the product of our continuing search for repertoire that demonstrates the variety possible of a guitar quartet. We want the works we choose to show the breadth of colors and textures that four identical instruments can achieve, as well as the variety of musical styles that find a home on four guitars. In the past, we have achieved that partly by drawing from different periods of music history. Here however, we found a great variety in music composed only in the last 21 years. From the intimate melody of Oyun's Lento to the fiery passion of the Piazzolla-inspired Concerto, from the Pacific Northwest to the campo of Cuba, you will hear music that draws largely from ethnic or folk traditions, and that we hope is at once stimulating, intriguing, and satisfying. SFGQ's first two recordings have garnered much praise. Compadres was lauded by Acoustic Guitar Magazine as one of the Top CDs of 2003. London's Classical Guitar Magazine had this to say: 'Here is a nice release from a very capable, technically and musically, group of players who give strong performances throughout in this particularly interesting programme.' Composer Phillip Houghton remarked on the performance of his work, Opals, on the Quartet's debut recording Black Opal: 'Congratulations on such a superb CD! Opals is wonderfully played! It is beautiful!' The members of SFGQ are Patrick Francis, David Duenas, Mark Simons, and Christopher Hanford. Here's a little information on each. After Patrick Francis received his DMA in guitar from Arizona State University, he added composing and writing credits to his name. He scored the feature film 'Black Eyed Dog,' and scores for his clarinet/guitar duo Azulao have been heard on NPR's 'All Songs Considered.' Pat is also contributing writer for Acoustic Guitar Magazine. David Dueas, a native of Guam, received his Masters in Music from the San Francisco Conservatory. He has performed with the Orchestra de Lyon, France, San Jose Jazz Festival, and Centro Universitario Marianum in Rome. In addition to performing with the quartet, David plays with the California-based Coro Hispano and the Andean group Sikus, and is on the music faculty of the University of Santa Clara. Fulbright scholarship winner Mark Simons's playing has been heard several times on NPR and he holds degrees from the New England Conservatory, the University of Southern California and the Peabody Institute. His duo won the 1996 Baltimore Chamber Music Awards Competition and he was the sole American invited to perform in the 1990 Tokyo International Guitar Competition. He currently teaches at the City College of San Francisco. Christopher Hanford received his Master's Degree from the San Francisco Conservatory. He won both the 1988 ASTA California guitar competition and a conservatory-wide competition to perform for Julian Bream in his 1991 Northridge masterclass. Chris has been an active chamber musician performing for Composer's Inc., the Berkeley New Music Project, and with New Albion recording group Yatan Atan. With the Berkeley Symphony, he gave the American premiere of Convergence, the Belinda Reynolds guitar concerto.