Listen to theSan Francisco Guitar Quartet
Without a doubt the SFGQ's performance was an outstanding highlight of our festival. Your impeccable technique, warm sound, and stage presence spilled over to the audience and set the tone for the rest of the festival."
—Reed Gilchrist, Director, Guitarra California Festival
April 30th, 8:00pm
Occidental Center for the Arts
Since its inception in 1997, the San Francisco Guitar Quartet has become one of the most sought-after classical guitar ensembles performing today. Committed proponents of new music as well as the classics, SFGQ draws from a rich background of musical traditions including classical, world and ethnic traditions, and improvisation. The diverse list of composers represented in concert and on recordings includes Leo Brouwer, JS Bach, Sergio Assad, Luigi Boccherini, Carlo Domeniconi, Phillip Houghton, and Dusan Bogdanovic.
The members of SFGQ, Mark Simons, David Dueñas, Patrick O'Connell, and Jon Mendle have each distinguished themselves as soloists and chamber musicians with first prizes in the American String Teachers Association Competition and the Baltimore Chamber Music Awards Competition, a Fulbright Scholarship, and concert appearances in Carnegie Hall. Group members also hold faculty positions in Bay Area colleges and universities.
The SFGQ tours nationally and internationally; with performances on Guam and Taiwan, as well as appearances across the US, including: New York, New Jersey, Florida, the Northwest Guitar Festival, University of Texas Guitar Festival, Arizona State University, UC Santa Cruz, Cal State Fresno, and Glendale Community College. Other past performances include San Francisco's Omni Series, La Guitarra California Festival, Pasadena's Guitarra del Mar series, on NPR, and the syndicated radio shows, West Coast Live, and Classical Guitar Alive!