International Guitar Night is back by popular demand at the Tower Theatre and is sure to be a feast for both guitar fanatics and lovers of world music. The performance, set for Tuesday, Feb. 13, features renowned guitarists from around the globe in a continent-converging night of songs. Tapped to host the event is Italian guitar maestro, Luca Stricagnoli, whose career began early; at the age of 10 he studied classical guitar before attending prestigious music schools and conservatory in his home country of Italy.
Since pursuing music as both passion and profession, Stricagnoli has released four incredibly successful albums utilizing triple neck guitars, violin bows and influential fingerstyle pickings, and has gained notoriety with his viral arrangements of "Thunderstruck" by AC/DC and "Can't Stop" from the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
With his re-imagining popular songs, Stricagnoli admits that his approach is inspired by the unexpected innovators from world history.
"In track and field, I can't remember his name, but there's this athlete who jumped over the bar differently than everyone else," Stricagnoli explained. The athlete he is referring to is American Olympian Dick Fosbury. Fosbury re-invented the approach to high jump by going over the bar backward, effectively shifting his center of gravity away from the clearance bar. This technique has been adopted as the universally preferred method for high jump ever since Fosbury's gold medal win in 1968. "When faced with a problem, I want to think like that and I lean on that tendency to look for creative solutions."
Also featured is the incredibly talented Thu Le performing classic and contemporary arrangements on the nylon string guitar. Brazilian composer Marco Pereira delivers his farewell performances before retiring from the International Guitar Night lineup and Australian slide guitar troubadour, Minnie Marks, makes her North American debut while on this tour.
Overflowing with technical prowess and unafraid to celebrate the beauty of cultural diversity, these guitarists serve not only as entertainment, but also as musical ambassadors, bridging gaps through the language of music. "For me, there's so many players from all around the world and we all really love to highlight our individuality," Stricagnoli gushed. "We have a tremendous lineup and the turnout has been really great so far."
