Scott Cmiel, in the San Francisco Classical Voice, has posted a review of the Oct. 11, 2008 concert at the San Francisco Conservatory.
Tanenbaum is without peer in this music. He captured every mood to perfection — ebullient opening, mournful solo, building determination, and painful conclusion — with an amazing command of color, time, and empathy.
With the Guitar Foundation of America coming to San Francisco for the first time in less than a month now, I wanted to tell the story of my becoming the co-artistic director. Not long after the San Francisco Conservatory‘s move to the Civic Center became a reality, several GFA leaders approached me about making an application to host the festival at the new facility. I have directed two festivals before – the 2nd American Classical Guitar Congress in Winston Salem, North Carolina and the Lou Harrison 80th birthday Festival at the Conservatory – and I knew that taking the whole thing on with my schedule would be impossible.
Meanwhile, Richard Patterson, an entrepreneur par excellence and the host of the longest running and certainly biggest classical guitar series in the country (omniconcerts.com), had been wanting to take a year off from touring during his son’s last year of high school and do something in town. So he decided to make a proposal as Convention director, and he approached me right away about being co-Artistic Director. (more…)
2008 has been a tough personal year so far for David Tanenbaum. On January 10 he lost his beloved father, Elias Tanenbaum at age 83; on February 3 his good friend Jorge Liderman at age 50; on April 16 the luthier Thomas Humphrey at age 59; and on April 21 his former teacher Aaron Shearer, aged 88. You can read Mr. Tanenbaum’s comments at the following pages:
Join some of the world’s greatest guitarists as the Guitar Foundation of America comes to San Francisco for the first time ever. It will take place at the new Conservatory facility as well as the Veteran’s Building.
The San Francisco Conservatory of Music Guitar Department will grow to around 40 students in the 08-09 academic year, and it will welcome Sergio Assad as a new Professor of Guitar. The Department recently inaugurated the bi-annual Wesley Day Solo Classical Guitar Recording Competition, in which the winner gets a fully funded cd production and a tour of California campuses. The winner of the first competition was Tanenbaum’s Bulgarian student, Antoniy Kakamakov.