Événement

The Peninsula Guitar Series presents Trio 7

Now in its fifth year, Trio Seven is an all extended 7-string ensemble that covers a range of styles, from baroque to romantic, impressionistic to modern.

To take advantage of the additional bass and upper range, Trio Seven performs their own transcriptions of works like Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition, Debussy's Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, and Ravel's Ma Mère L'Oye. Pieces familiar to guitar enthusiasts and listeners of classical music receive a richer treatment and clarity in this novel sonic environment. Trio Seven has also developed arrangements with improvisational sections and collaborated with North Indian tabla-player Parteek Bansal.

San Francisco eleven-string guitarist Jon Mendle has praised the ensemble, saying, "Trio Seven plays refreshingly innovative arrangements and compositions with great energy and sensitive musicianship. They honor the guitar, yet successfully push it beyond its usual limits."

In summer of 2014 Trio Seven completed their debut album, Invocation to the Extended Seven-String Guitar. It consummates their years of transcribing an extensive piano and orchestral repertoire, featuring the austerity of Rachmaninov, the delicate nuances of Debussy, Spanish rhythms of de Falla's El Amor Brujo, improvisations, and original compositions by Matthew Grasso.

They perform throughout Northern California, at colleges, wineries, charity events, weddings and other venues. In the past, they have collaborated with vocal ensembles, Vox Musica and the Vocal Art Ensemble.

Trio Seven was founded in 2010 when Davis guitarist and composer Matthew Grasso inaugurated a new ensemble aesthetic with his composition 7th Creation. A unique collaboration featuring three extended 7-string guitars, Trio Seven seeks to expand the repertory of the instrument through transcription and original works. Its current members are Matthew Grasso, Matthew Foley, and Harry Stoddard.