Solace and Soul; Francesco Emmanuel hosts ‘A Night of Guitar 2’

A Night of Guitar 2 promises a night of varied guitar music on November 12 at Queen’s Hall. The concert, organized by classical/rock guitarist Francesco Emmanuel, features seven guitarists specializing in classical, rock, flamenco and contemporary jazz guitar, as well as tenor Kyle Richardson who was last seen in the title role in Jesus Christ Superstar at Queen’s Hall in September.

Kyle Richardson takes the lead as Jesus of Nazareth

The concert will feature Emmanuel, Stefan Roach on flamenco guitar, David Cockburn on classical guitar and John Hussain playing contemporary avant-garde electric acoustic pieces, while Dean Williams and Terry Shore are contemporary jazz world musicians. Graham Newling, who has taught most of the other guitarists, will be playing a mix of flamenco and classical guitar. Newling is an Associate of the Royal College of Music, London and an Honorary Member of the Classical Guitar Society of T&T.

Emmanuel said the purpose of the show is to showcase the guitar and educate people about the talent in T&T.

“Every guitarist is getting a little spotlight and then we’re doing a number of group pieces that we think people will really like. We’re doing a local segment, something for the Christmas season and some other pieces that people will know and enjoy, we hope. Focusing on our mutual love for music is helping me to push past the annoyances of arranging the concert. Each of us are different in our own way, not only in our ages and backgrounds to our style of playing and our approach to music, but we all love music and if I just focus on that, it dulls the little annoying things that I have to do.”

He said part proceeds from the show will go to Vitas House Hospice and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. “Being a cancer survivor, and having a number of friends who have died, I will be supporting these charities whenever I do the show. It’s good to give something back and no matter how small it is, it could always count for something.”

This is the second concert in the series, which premiered last year as a tribute to Emmanuel’s father, Paul, who passed away in October 2014. This year, Emmanuel said the concert is also dedicated to the memory of Hussain’s father, John Hussain Senior, as well as Emmanuel’s long-time friend, Andrew Moffat, who passed away last month.

“I’ve been having a really hard time. I’ve known Moffat for 28 years and I’m not dealing with it well. It’s the two year anniversary of Dad’s death on the 28th of October and it’s been a rough month, made worse now with my oldest friend passing away, so it’s not an easy thing. The one thing that keeps me going is that my dad and my friend would have wanted me to continue, because soon after my dad passed I took a week not touching the guitar and then I just started again, and it was such solace and I think, that’s the thing with music, it could be such a soothing thing. So that’s what keeps me going, knowing that my dad and my best friend would have wanted me to continue.”

Tickets for the concert on November 12 at 8 pm, cost $150 and can be purchased at Queen’s Hall Box Office or at 315 8260. For more information, call 315-8260 or find A Night of Guitar 2 on Facebook.

This article was originally published in the T&T Guardian (06/11/2016)