Hello, this is Peter Abken, taking over for Randy — but just for this issue. Rest assured, I am NOT a usurper! Now, on to the business of the realm:

Our 2026 concert season got off to a slow, or perhaps more accurately, slippery start with the weather-related cancellation of the much-anticipated Rupert Boyd concert on Jan. 31. Fortunately, we got this great event rescheduled for June 13.

January still offered the fantastic guitar-adjacent Pluck Lot 2026, which I attended along with several other TGS members. Guitar playing of early music was part of the festivities. My account of the fun appears in this issue (see “Pluck Lot Fest Resounds Through the Centuries,” on page 7).

Then, on Feb. 28, we enjoyed a delightful concert by Marco Sartor, the multi-award-winning guitar virtuoso at nearby Wake Forest University. He offered a diverse, colorful program, including pieces from his native Uruguay and other Latin American delights — by Abel Carlevaro, Agustín Barrios, Astor Piazzolla, and more.

My review gives what I hope is interesting and entertaining background on these pieces as well as my account of Marco’s splendid performance (see “Sartor Delights With Consummate Skill” on page 1).

In addition, Marco generously shared his wonderful study Homage to Sor that he wrote as a graduate student and played for us as his first encore. Randy has included the piece in this issue (Music Page 1). Try it out!

Following Marco’s concert we all had a great “Meet the Artist” reception at Jake and Sharon’s. Thanks again to our hosts. These post-concert get-togethers are a distinctive feature of TGS events — well worth extending one’s concert evening by a little to mingle with TGSers and the artist!

To further enhance this social event, TGS has added its newest board member, Karen Robertson, whose son, David, is also a member of the TGS board. She will be coordinating the food for our receptions and pot lucks going forward. With Karen, we’ve also added another doctor to our eclectic board of guitar players and aficionados.

The 2024 Guitar Foundation of America winner Leonela Alejandro will be our next artist on May 2. This is another concert absolutely not to be missed. Our website has been updated with a TGS poster for her and other information, including a sample of her videos.

TGS continues to grapple with ongoing challenges. We need to find a new venue for our Open Mics that is more conducive to guitar playing and our social gathering. An article on the Open Mic on Feb. 21 is found on page 1 (“Talent Abounds in Open Mic”). We also need to attract more concertgoers, which has been a perennial concern. We’ve tried some new advertising channels, but so far, these have not been very productive. Our core membership is what keeps us going. We’re not alone in this challenge.

I happened to listen to an illuminating interview with Rupert Boyd that delved into funding and other aspects of running concerts. He spoke on oboist Jennet Ingle’s podcast Crushing Classical: Rupert Boyd, GatherNYC. (A great interview, which I start in the hyperlink right where they discuss funding.) GatherNYC is a weekly concert series presented by Rupert and his cellist wife, Laura Metcalf, running from October through May. It features a variety of musicians and ensembles, including performances by Rupert’s duo with his wife, Boyd Meets Girl.

Rupert admits that as a performer, he had never really appreciated all that goes into running a concert event. (Hear! Hear!) And he goes on to explain how, to be financially viable, GatherNYC must be supported by grants and private donations (by making “asks”) besides ticket sales. He’s come to the realization that grant writing, gala throwing (!), and general organizing of these events “almost could be a full time job.” I’m looking forward to discussing this topic further with him when he visits TGS in June.

—Peter Abken

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and “Also of Note” below

Prez Sez

All page numbers below refer to the TGS News from March/April 2026 found in the TGS News Tab