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FRIDAY January 30, 2004 - Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels December 13, 2003 Picky about guitar By Susan DeRosia Ashland Daily Tidings Recently, after a classical guitar performance by Joseph Thompson, Grant Ruiz and Steve Berman at the Key of C Coffeehouse, Thompson's wife, Marcy Greene, said to him, "I wish you guys could have heard yourselves." For Thompson, a classical guitarist since 1967, it was an interesting remark, because for him, the idea of being outside of himself hearing the group playing together, was something that couldn't possibly be as good as the position he was already in. Classical guitarists and Dark Rose Trio members Grant Ruiz (left), Steve Berman and Joe Thompson rehearse for Sunday's concert at the First Congregational Church. Denise Baratta/Ashland Daily Tidings "There's many different ways of hearing, but I was thinking about how closely you have to listen when you're performing. There's a kind of trajectory you're aiming for in the piece and that's never going to be the same for the performers. You're thinking about tone, rhythm, notes - and responding to the ensemble. It's different when you're not having to deal with all the tasks involved in performing and you can just sit back and attend to the music. For the listener, they're along for the ride," Thompson said. Thompson performs with fellow guitarists Grant Ruiz and Steve Berman as the Dark Rose Classical Guitar Trio, a group which grew out of the Jefferson Classical Guitar Society. All three were founding members of the guitar society, which meets monthly at the Paschal Winery. The society started in Sept. 2001 as a way to bring people with a passion for classical guitar together. Early meetings were held in the basement of the First Congregational Church, where founding member David Rogers was the music director. Soon they started forming ensembles, with Thompson and Ruiz as the first. As the group grew, they moved into Ruiz' living room. But when he started sending out e-mails and inviting guests, the group grew too large for his living room and they began look for bigger quarters, leading them to form a relationship with Paschal Winery. The society has sponsored master classes and concerts with world-class guitarists James Kline and Dusan Bogdanovic of the Falla Guitar Trio. Borrowing the wine-tasting idea, the society held a "guitar-tasting" event at Paschal Winery, where four guitarists played and Thompson sampled and explained the properties of four guitars made by Pistol River, Oregon-based guitar-maker Les Stansell. Ruiz described the guitar tasting as casual and very informative, "We had about 55 people in a cabaret-style setting. Joe did a wonderful job talking about the different guitars, their qualities and their sounds. There were a lot of light bulbs going on. People really seemed to get it," said Ruiz. Thompson added that of all the senses, sound is the only one that doesn't have much of it's own vocabulary. "What words do you have at your disposal? We borrow words from other senses: bright, sweet, warm, rounded. I don't think it's been a high precedent in the history of music to describe the qualities of sound." The two suggested that over the years, as composers published to a wider audience and lost the contact with musicians, they become increasingly specific about adding markings to describe their wishes about how a section of piece should be played. Often the markings are in Italian, French, or German. "There's always an opportunity to test our understanding, or intuition when we discuss these pieces: O.K. what do we think this means?" said Ruiz. "For example there's a Granados piece that we play together. The second section goes back and forth between a fantasia - a stretching, improvising feeling - and a tempo. 'Con fantasia,' that's really open to interpretation as to what that means," Ruiz added. "When Beethoven wrote that for the 'Moonlight Sonata' he meant that this is to be played as if it is being improvised at the moment. And so it's kind of up to everybody's interpretation," Ruiz said. Thompson added that it's especially true for the guitar. "There's a whole world of color that you can go for - from sweet, dolce tones to brassy, metallic sounds. There's a whole universe. It's like a small orchestra in a box so when you're deciding where to use these tone qualities, there often isn't a lot of assist from the composer," he said. The Jefferson Classical Society has allowed Thompson and Ruiz, as well as the partner in their trio, Steve Berman, to explore their ideas with each other and the many members of the society, who range from 7 to 70 years old. One aspect of the group that keeps the guitarists coming back to the monthly meetings is the nurturing they receive from their peers. Everyone has the opportunity to perform, at whatever their level. Admittance is open to all. For more information about the meetings and activities and for stories about part meetings, visit their Web site, at http://jeffersonguitar.org. Meetings begin at 6 p.m. with time to socialize, then at 6:30 the agenda is discussed and members of the group talk about upcoming guitar events and give occasional mini-reviews of concerts they've attended. The music begins at 7. 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