Thursday, November 5, 2020, at 7:00 PM
An American Original: The Life and Works of Justin Holland
Justin Holland (1819–1887) was a guitarist, composer, arranger, and activist who lived an extraordinary life and rose to become a household name to amateur guitarists across the U.S. and eventually became the first black professional to settle in Cleveland. We will explore some of Holland’s arrangements, his method book, and his life as a civil rights activist.
The presentation will be followed by our Open Mic. Sign up in advance to play — see the Member Events page for details. NYCCGS Member Events are free and open to all members and first-time guests.
Please join us for our next online Guitar Society meeting. The meeting will feature a presentation by Christopher Mallett, followed by our Open Mic.
To play in the Members’ Open Mic, sign up in advance at https://nyccgs.com/open-mic-performance-signup/. Maximum playing time is 8 minutes per person. Performances at our online meetings can be either live or via prerecorded video.
To join the meeting, click this link. If you don’t already have Zoom software installed, visit the link anytime in advance of the meeting. You will be prompted to download the software that will enable you to join in the meeting by audio and video.
Christopher Mallett is gaining recognition as one of America’s promising up and coming classical guitarists. He has been described by Soundboard Magazine as “Virtuosic,” and by Classical Guitar Magazine as “Superb.”
Mallett began teaching himself to play guitar at the age of 13. In 2003 at the age of 19 he met Fred Benedetti and George Svoboda who introduced him to classical guitar. Since then Mallett has earned a Bachelor’s Degree from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music where he studied with Stephen Aron and a Master’s Degree from the Yale University School of Music where he studied with Benjamin Verdery on a full-tuition scholarship.
Mallett has played in some of America’s finest concert halls including, the 92nd St. Y in New York, Raitt Recital Hall at Pepperdine, Sprague Recital Hall, and Kulas Hall. He has also performed in Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, and China. Mallett has performed as a soloist with the American Wind Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Robert Boudreau, the Grossmont Symphony Orchestra and recently performed with the New Britain Symphony under the baton of Maestro Jesse Levine. Christopher has also performed in masterclasses with many of world’s leading artists including Christopher Parkening, David Russell, Dusan Bogdanovic, The Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, Seymour Bernstein and Ricardo Cobo.
A versatile musician, Mallett has worked with composers such as Ingram Marshall, Jack Vees, and Raymond Lustig to name a few. In 2007 Mallett worked with several composers as a fellow in the New Music Workshop at the Norfolk festival where he premiered numerous compositions. In 2008 Christopher Mallett and Thomas Flippin (Duo Noire) performed the world Premiere of Raymond Lustig’s “Figments” for two guitars at Yale University. All six movements were recorded and released in 2014.
A dedicated teacher, Mallett started a successful classical guitar program in San Diego at the Salvation Army Ray and Joan Kroc Center for the Performing arts. In 2008 Mallett founded the guitar program at John Daniels Middle School in New Haven. In 2009 Mallett was awarded the Alumni Ventures Grants from Yale University, which funded a tour of low-income communities throughout New England and New York with Duo Noire. He now teaches guitar at University of California, Santa Cruz and is the co-owner and co-director of the California Conservatory of Music with locations in Santa Clara, CA and Redwood City, CA. Christopher is also the co-director of the Peninsula Guitar Series in San Bruno, CA.
Mallett has been Awarded Several prizes including the Eliot Fisk Prize for “outstanding guitarist” from Yale University, the Alumni Ventures Grant from Yale University, the Conservatory Dean’s Scholarship from Oberlin, and as part of the Oberlin Guitar Duo received top Prize in the International Guitar Chamber Competition in Brownsville Texas. He has also been featured on the cover of Soundboard magazine as part of Duo Noire and in Classical Guitar Magazine, the American Suzuki Journal and Acoustic Guitar Magazine.
