Guest artist Cain Budds came to teach guitar students in a masterclass on Wednesday March 27 and the audience thoroughly enjoyed his use of classical guitar repertoire.
After the recital, Budds commented on the energy of the performance.
“It was good, maybe I didn’t play exactly all the notes, but I think I did most of them,” said Budds. “But I think a lot of times it’s the energy, the whole piece, the whole recital rather than the smaller parts.”
Budds performed a variety of classical guitar pieces, from classical to Spanish to modern styles.
The pieces performed were “Pensamiento Espanol” by Jose Broca; “Sonata #,” which he said was written for him by his former student Joshua Carver; “Sonata Espanol” by Joaquin Rodrigo; “From Kakadu” by Peter Sculthrope; “Grand Solo Op. 14” by Fernando Sor; and “Campanas del Alba” by Eduardo Sainz.
Budds said his inspiration for many of the songs was YouTube.
“The very first piece I played I saw David Russell play on YouTube, I thought ‘that is the coolest piece. Then I heard another piece, and I said ‘that is the coolest piece,’ then I couldn’t decide,” said Budds. “Then I just wanted to play the Rodrigo Sonata. No one ever plays that, ever; you never hear it. I like to play things that people don’t hear. And then that Sculthorpe piece, I’ve always wanted to play it and I bought the score, and no one ever plays that. [Sor’s Grand Solo] is a pretty famous one, but besides that, I like to play things that nobody has played.”
The students seemed to all enjoy his performance. Shelby Heltz, a sophomore athletic training major, commented on his use of the Spanish style.
“I liked the Spanish influence,” said Heltz. “It just was very relaxing. It reminded me of the beach and dancing and just hanging out and listening to music.”
Joanna Wight, a junior classical guitar performance major, and Blake Guidry, a sophomore classical guitar performance major, both commented on his choice of songs.
“It was very modern, there was a lot of history behind each one of the pieces he selected, he had good reasoning for it,” said Wight. “The fact that he did the Sor Grand Solo was very good, because that’s a staple piece that’s really important in a classical guitarist repertoire. Not only did he show us that he has a modern edge but he can also beef things up with old stuff.”
Guidry enjoyed the obscurity of the songs.
“I like the fact that he used not-so-well-known pieces to get other people’s names out there, that was pretty cool,” said Guidry. “He sort of gives the underdogs chances to get their names out there.”
The Guitar Fest continues until April 24. The next performance, on April 10, will feature David Bryan on solo guitar with guest performers Soprano Jessica Davis Bryan and Guitar Instructor Patrick Kerber.
For more information about the Guitar Fest, contact Kerber at (985)549-2886 or by email at [email protected].