Kitimat Concert Association is pleased to present not one, but two guitar trios – the California Guitar Trio (CGT) and the Montreal Guitar Trio (MG3) in the same concert!
We have had the MG3 before and the response back from the audience was amazing – imagine what this concert will be like – you don’t want to miss it.
MG3
Described by the CBC as the “hottest guitar ensemble in Canada”, MG3 has quickly established itself as a force to be reckoned with, as well as an interactive force in various musical forms. For over 20 years, the trio’s virtuosity, rigour, creativity and impressive stage presence – where humour and interacting with the public go hand in hand – have been winning over audiences around the world.
The trio, composed of guitarists Sébastien Dufour, Glenn Lévesque and Marc Morin, has given hundreds of concerts in some of the most prestigious venues across North America, Europe, New Zealand and Australia, including the BB King Blues Club in New York City.
Throughout the years, the trio has collaborated and shared the stage with world-renowned ensembles and artists. Their most memorable collaboration to date was, without a doubt, with the California Guitar Trio (CGT), when both ensembles joined forces to give an unforgettable concert, brilliantly performing some of the greatest rock classics from The Beatles, Radiohead, David Bowie, a few “spaghetti western” themes by Ennio Morricone, as well as some of their original compositions.
Starting in the fall of 2010, the sextet toured across Canada and the U.S., performing in over 100 cities.
The California Guitar Trio
The universe of guitar knows no boundaries for The California Guitar Trio. Since 1991, the group has enthralled listeners with a singular sound that fearlessly crisscrosses genres. The trio’s questing spirit drives it to explore the intersections between rock, jazz, classical, and world music. It even throws in the occasional surf or spaghetti Western tune for good measure.
Comprised of Bert Lams, Hideyo Moriya and Paul Richards, the group has established a unique, personal connection with audiences. In addition to dazzling musicianship and interplay, The California Guitar Trio’s (CGT) shows are full of captivating stories and humour that enable concertgoers to feel like they’re part of the music, not just spectators.
In fact, the group’s goal is to transcend their instruments, so people focus on the music first, and its considerable technical prowess a distant second.
The trio’s output has made a major global impact, having served as the soundtrack for Olympics coverage, and programs on CNN, CBS, NBC, and ESPN. They have fans in high places too: NASA used their music to wake the crew aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour.
CGT’s lineup is truly the sum of its distinct parts:
* A Utah native now residing in Los Angeles, Paul Richards immersed himself in rock, blues, jazz, and folk during his early days and while attending The University of Utah’s jazz guitar program.
* Bert Lams, originally from Belgium, graduated from the prestigious Royal Conservatory of Music in Brussels, specializing in classical guitar.
* Tokyo-born Hideyo Moriya began his guitar journey with surf music and British rock, before relocating to Boston to study at Berklee.
All three felt the call to push themselves to the limit by enrolling in Robert Fripp’s challenging Guitar Craft courses, where they first met in 1987. They went on to tour together as part of Fripp’s League of Crafty Guitarists, before forming the California Guitar Trio in Los Angeles four years later.
Recently, the trio expanded its collaborative possibilities by working within a six-guitar format with the Montreal Guitar Trio. During these groundbreaking, highly-entertaining shows, the acts perform inventive arrangements of each other’s repertoire, and new music for guitar sextet.
The show starts at 8 p.m. on Friday, January 25, at the Mount Elizabeth Theatre . Tickets at Bradley’s Bait & Tackle or at the door, purchase early as this show should be a sell out as they are only performing in Kitimat and Prince Rupert.
