by Christine Jay
We all have composers who rivet us by the sounds of their genius. Many swear by the usual playboys of the Western canon –– Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven –– but can hundreds of years of music history be encapsulated by the music of three men? Critically-acclaimed lutenist and scholar Paul O’Dette begs to differ. On January 30 at 7:30 pm, as part of the Cleveland Guitar Society’s International Series at Plymouth Church in Shaker Heights, O’Dette will perform a program exclusively of music by John Dowland, the Renaissance “English Orpheus.”
The Cleveland Classical Guitar Society took a different approach to the term “Classical” on Saturday, November 12 at Plymouth Church in Shaker Heights when they presented their first concert featuring Flamenco music. And as we have come to expect from CCGS, their choice of artist could not have been better. From first note to last, Russian guitarist Grisha Goryachev performed with brilliant technique and musical passion during his program that could have easily been subtitled “Homage to Paco de Lucía.” 
Have you ever heard a guitar tell a story? The thought may sound silly until you have heard the Croatian master Ana Vidović play. She is the rare musician who can make her instrument sound sublime, whether interpreting the Baroque works of Bach or performing arrangements of modern popular classics by Toru Takemitsu. 
The Cleveland Classical Guitar Society will open its International Series with a “Showcase” concert at Plymouth Church in Shaker Heights. On Saturday, September 19 at 7:30 pm, two duos will join Grammy-winner Jason Vieaux in a wide-ranging program of pieces for voice and guitar, two guitars, and solo guitar. The performers include Stephen Aron, guitar, and JoNell Aron, soprano, as well as Duo Amaral (Jorge Amaral and Mia Pomerantz-Amaral, guitars). Where else can you find Shine on, harvest moon and a Bach lute suite on the same program? There’s no admission charge, but donations are welcome.
If you had to listen to your upstairs neighbor practice the guitar for hours every day, someone you wouldn’t mind living above you is Vladimir Gorbach. On Saturday, April 11 in the Herr Chapel at Plymouth Church, Gorbach treated a large audience to technically brilliant and musically dazzling performances of works by Llobet, Scarlatti, Bach, Aguado, Piazzolla and Ginastera. The concert was presented as part of the Cleveland Classical Guitar Society’s International Series. 
On Saturday, April 11 at 7:30 pm at Plymouth Church in Shaker Heights, the Cleveland Classical Guitar Society will present the final concert of this season’s International Series with a performance by Vladimir Gorbach. “I’m really looking forward to the concert and getting to know Cleveland,” the Russian-born guitarist said during a telephone conversation from Los Angeles. “After winning the 2011 Guitar Foundation of America competition, I did perform in Ohio as part of the winner’s tour, but this will be my first time in Cleveland.” Gorbach’s debut performance will feature works by Miguel Llobet, Domenico Scarlatti, J.S. Bach, Dionisio Aguado, Ástor Piazzolla, and Alberto Ginastera. A special pre-concert performance by students from CCGS’s education program will begin at 6:50.
During its more than three decades as an ensemble, the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet has generated a huge and loyal following. LAGQ’s local fans supplied the group with a large, enthusiastic audience on Saturday evening, March 21 at Plymouth Church in Shaker Heights for a two-hour show that touched nearly every possible corner of the repertoire with the group’s forty magic fingers.