March 1, 2004
Faculty collaborate for innovative, multimedia
classical guitar concert
By Scott Rappaport
Ever since he arrived at UCSC in the fall of 1998, Mesut Özgen
has been thinking about how to present a more theatrical version of
the traditional classical guitar concert.

Mesut Ozgen will perform his multimedia project New Dimensions
in Classical Guitar on March 5 and 6 at the Music Center
Recital Hall as part of UCSCs 2003-04 Arts & Lectures
series. Photo: Paul Schraub
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After years of discussion with a wide variety of artists, the UCSC
music lecturer has come up with a multimedia concept--designed to visually
enhance the solo guitar recital, and in the process, create a more audience-friendly
format for the genre.
Ive been to many different concerts and festivals and
in the traditional format, not much is happening onstage, Özgen
explained. Its dry and especially for non-musicians in the
audience, its very easy to lose focus after a while, no matter
how great the playing is.
Were also in a very visual age; were constantly bombarded
with thousands of visual images in movies and television, he added.
So my goal is to reach the widest possible audience for classical
guitar--to make it accessible and more interesting. But I wanted to
make sure it was done in an artful, subtle way--unlike the flashy visual
effects of rock concerts.
The result is New Dimensions in Classical Guitar,
a multimedia concert featuring performances of innovative guitar works
by Özgen--an award-winning guitarist, originally from Turkey--accompanied
by video from assistant film and digital media professor Gustavo Vazquez;
interactive computer images by music lecturer Peter Elsea; and innovative
lighting design by assistant theater arts professor David Cuthbert.
The prototype for a planned international tour, New Dimensions
in Classical Guitar will be unveiled on March 5 and 6 at the UCSC
Music Center Recital Hall as part of the 2003-04 UCSC Arts & Lectures
series.
The concerts will feature world premieres of a number of compositions
written specifically for Özgen by such artists as internationally
acclaimed guitarist Benjamin Verdery, Indian bansuri virtuoso Deepak
Ram, UC Davis composition professor Pablo Ortiz, UCSC alumnus and lecturer
Chris Pratorius, and former UCSC music lecturer Robert Strizich.
Verderys piece will be performed on a guitar built especially
for this composition, employing digital delay electronics and looping.
Ill also be playing it with paper clips and chopsticks,
said Özgen.
The program will additionally feature the U.S. premiere of prominent
British composer Anthony Gilberts composition for recorder and
guitar, which is based on a wood engraving titled Stars, by renowned
artist M. C. Escher. Özgen noted that Elsea was working on computer
animation for that piece from not only the final engraving, but also
from Eschers analytical study sketches.
Vazquez has also attempted to link a video association with the origins
of each piece of music he worked on. This concert has offered
me the opportunity to bring together my interests and training in painting,
photography, and filmmaking, he observed.
Although the different UCSC faculty members bring their own individual
artistic approaches to the music through visuals, Özgen stressed
that the main objective of the project is to enhance and support the
music--not to distract from it.
Some pieces will just have special lighting, some will have a
video emphasis with background lighting, and others will just use computer
images supported by lights, he said. But each composition
will have very different types of video or computer images.
I consider the lighting as connective tissue, Özgen
added. It supports the video and computer visuals--creating the
atmosphere. David Cuthbert is crafting special colors to coincide with
the videos and images to evoke the emotional mood of the pieces.
A champion of new music for guitar, Özgen has performed and taught
master classes throughout the United States, Spain, and Turkey. He was
the first guitarist to be awarded the Deans Prize,
the highest honorary award of the Yale School of Music. Özgen has
also performed as a featured soloist in the International Paco Peña
Guitar Festival in Cordoba, Spain, and was a prizewinner in the International
Portland Guitar Competition.
UCSC Arts & Lectures will present "New Dimensions in Classical
Guitar," on March 5 and 6 at the UCSC Music Center Recital Hall.
For ticket information, contact the UCSC Ticket Office at (831) 459-2159
or go online. A reprise
performance is scheduled at the Mello Center in Watsonville on March
13, as part of the Artist-in-Residence concert series; call (831) 763-4047
for more information.
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