February Coffee House: Simon Powis, A Night of Guitar

Australian classical guitarist Simon Powis will be making his Greenwich debut on Saturday February 19th at Diamond Hill UMC in Cos Cob. A passionate and expressive style coupled with a formidable technique has garnered attention for Simon Powis as a talented soloist, chamber musician and innovator.

After completing his studies at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music Powis traveled extensively throughout Europe to study with some of the world’s most renowned virtuosos. Oscar Ghiglia, David Russell, Pavel Steidl and Aniello Desiderio have had a great impact on the musical style and technical foundation that Powis possesses. In 2006 Powis was invited to undertake a Masters of Music at Yale University on a full scholarship and upon completing this degree he was accepted as the first guitarist in over two decades to undertake doctoral studies at Yale. 

Powis has toured extensively as a soloist with performances in the Kennedy Center (Washington D.C.), Australia House (London), and the Banff Center for the Arts (Canada). A strong passion for chamber music has resulted in international collaborations ranging from traditional groups such as the Modigliani String Quartet and Ian Swenson (violin) to less common performances with double bass, electronics, and even the tuba. Powis’s openness to innovation is exhibited by his devotion to performing new works. In the past years he has collaborated with a variety of composers to premiere over thirty new works on the concert stage.

As a teacher Powis has instructed masterclasses in Lima, Mexico City and New York and at Yale he was employed as both a guitar instructor at the school of music and a teaching fellow in the department of music. With a growing interest in pedagogy he decided to undertake research in sight reading for his doctoral thesis. Insights and encouragement from Jerry Willard, David Leisner, John Williams and Ben Verdery have helped develop sight reading seminars that Powis has given in music schools, guitar societies and guitar festivals around the world.

The concert begins at 7:30pm and will feature works by Scarlatti, Giuliani, Lauro, Piazzolla and others. Admission is free and  refreshments will be served. For more information contact Rev. Vicki Flippin at 203-869-2395.



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