Union County Review

Kean University will celebrate classical guitar at the third annual Guitarfest on Saturday, June 15, at Enlow Recital Hall in Hillside. The free music festival is open to the public and includes two back-to-back concerts.

Performances will begin at 4 p.m. with regional high school guitar ensembles, the New Jersey Guitar Quartet, and a flute and guitar duo. International recording and performing artist Celil Refik Kaya, DMA, will give a solo recital followed by performances from the New Jersey Music Educators Association (NJMEA) Honors Guitar Ensemble and the New Jersey Guitar Orchestra (NJGO) at 7 p.m.

“Guitarfest celebrates the growing prominence of guitar in the music world,” said Matthew Halper, DMA, professor and chair of Kean’s Department of Music. “The guitar now rivals the piano in terms of ubiquity and impact.”

Halper’s composition for guitar orchestra, Autumnal, commissioned by the NJMEA Honors Guitar Ensemble, will be performed by the all-state high school group alongside NJGO.

Kaya, a Turkish-American classical guitarist known for his “magical touch” and virtuosic performances, has received numerous accolades since his concert debut at age six. He was notably the youngest to win First Prize in the 2012 JoAnn Falletta International Guitar Concerto Competition. Kaya has performed globally in prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall's D’Addario Performance Series, Concertgebouw's Masters of the Guitar Series in Amsterdam, The Frick Collection’s Summer Artists series in New York, and North Carolina's Brevard Music Festival. He is also Kean University's coordinator of guitar studies.

Guitarfest is supported by a grant from the Augustine Foundation. Seating is general admission; tickets are not required for this free event. It will take place on Saturday, June 15 at Enlow Recital Hall located at 215 North Avenue, Hillside, NJ 07205.

For more information visit Kean Stage.