KMFA 89.5

Preview of A Conspirare Christmas + an Interview with Reena Esmail + Joe Williams!
 November 26, 2023 

 

Preview of A Conspirare Christmas + An Interview with Reena Esmail +Joe Williams-Craid Hella Johnson gives us a sneak look/listen to Conspirare’s A Conspirare Christmas. Dianne chats with Austin Classical Guitar’s, Artist in Residence, composer, Reena Esmail and ACG’s Artistic Director, Joe Willams.


Austin American-Statesman

Robert Rodriguez donates ‘Spy Kids’ film score to Austin Classical Guitar teachers
 October 19, 2023 

 

Austin film director Robert Rodriguez has donated the rights to a medley of the music that he composed for his “Spy Kids” movies to Austin Classical Guitar for use on the trailblazing group’s digital teaching platform, which is employed by students and teachers around the country.


BOLD Journey

Meet Travis Marcum
 September 29, 2023 

 

For me, finding purpose is the two-fold process of connecting with community, asking if there are ways that I can contribute as well as looking inward to decide if and how I can bring my whole-hearted self to this journey.


KMFA 89.5

The Fall Season: Austin Classical Guitar
 September 15, 2023 

 

It seems many performing arts groups in central Texas chose the weekend of September 22nd  and 23rd to open their seasons. Austin Classical Guitar is one of them.  To celebrate their 33rd anniversary, they are opening their season with a Father and Daughter act.  Clarice Assad and her father Sergio. 


Pecan Press

Greetings from the Rosette
 August 14, 2023 

 

We’re about to begin our second full season at The Rosette, Austin Classical Guitar’s concert and creative learning center in the Baker School at Avenue B and 40th Street.


BOLD Journey

Meet Matthew Hinsley
 August 11, 2023 

 

My relationship with the work became a personally fulfilling commitment built on an understanding that a life well-lived involves growth, discovery, and refinement. Music became my companion.


KMFA 89.5

Music Classes for Generation Baby
 July 28, 2023 

 

If your child is too young to go to school, there’s a music class coming up that both of you might enjoy.

The Armstrong Community Music School and Austin Classical Guitar is offering music classes for the super young set: Babies to 5 years old and their caregivers.


Braille ScoreCTEBVI Journal

New Classical Guitar Method
 March 2023 

 

 

At Austin Classical Guitar we’ve had the wonderful joy of building music education programs in hundreds of schools across the U.S. In 2010 we began a partnership with Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired to add a classical guitar program.


KMFA 89.5

Austin Classical Guitar’s Artist in Residence + A Conspirare Christmas
September 5, 2022 

 

Meet ACG’s Artist-in-Residence, composer and guitarist, Marek Pasieczny! He’ll perform for us in the Draylen Mason Music Studio of KMFA. He and ACG’s Artistic Director, Joe Williams will let us know about the upcoming concerts featuring Mr. Pasieczny’s music.


Shepherd

The best books for enlightened nonprofit arts management
September 5, 2022 

 

I’ve been a community leader in the arts for more than twenty-five years. In raising millions of dollars, advocating for arts in our schools and communities, and teaching arts administration at the university level, I’ve had countless opportunities to witness the energy in people’s hearts that turns into action, growth, and success. What I’ve learned is that success in this arena involves things you can’t see or measure, like kindness, gratitude, and wonder. When we harness those elements of Essence, however, we can change the world.


CanvasRebel

Meet Matthew Hinsley
August 31, 2022 

 

I think one of my most meaningful projects has been building for-credit daily music education programs for youth incarcerated in the juvenile justice system. We began building guitar education programs in public schools in 2001 and by 2009 they’d expanded across the city of Austin.


KMFA 89.5 Staccato

The Season Ahead – Austin Classical Guitar
August 25, 2022 

In just a few weeks, performing arts groups in Central Texas will open their doors for new and fresh and live performances. Joe Williams, Artistic Director of Austin Classical Guitar is like many, excited to offer a full season of music without the heavy burden of health related matters.

 


Tribeza

Austin Classical Guitar’s Do What’s in Your Heart Premieres with Tribeza
August 18, 2022 

Grammy nominee Clarice Assad collaborated with students as the organization’s Artist-in-Residence, chronicled in the short film

 


CultureMap

How Austin Classical Guitar is changing the way the country learns to play
August 2, 2022 

On July 21, guitar teachers from all over the country met for the first day of an annual teacher summit at The Rosette, the official concert and learning center for Austin Classical Guitar (ACG), which builds classroom-based guitar programs and instructs teachers on how to best utilize the curriculum for a well-rounded guitar education.

 


KUT 90.5

I fell in love with it’: Composer Joe Williams on his original score for Hitchcock’s ‘The Lodger’
July 15, 2022 

“It’s such an unlikely thing, and kind of magical in this way,” says Joe Williams, the artistic director of Austin Classical Guitar, about getting the opportunity to write an original score for Alfred Hitchcock’s The Lodger 88 years after the film’s release.

 


Wilco Sun

Juvenile Justice students compete in guitar concert
May 1, 2022 

The Williamson County branch of Austin Classical Guitar’s Central Texas juvenile justice program competed for the first time in a regional music contest April 19.

 


Austin American Statesman

A jewel box called The Rosette opens as a new performing arts venue.
Mar 9, 2022 

Austin keeps adding arts venues.

The latest is called the Rosette. Carved out of a former gym at the old Baker School in Hyde Park, it is home to Austin Classical Guitar.


KUT 90.5

Classical guitar students get a master class from a Grammy-nominated composer
Dec 23, 2021 

Around 50 teenagers sat in folding chairs, their feet propped up to raise their guitars. Many were plucking lightly at the strings as they waited for rehearsal to start.

Typically, Austin Classical Guitar instructors go to Austin ISD schools to work with students during the school day. But this semester, the nonprofit created a new opportunity for these musicians.


ATRIVATE

Effectual Entrepreneurship in the Arts: The Story of Austin Classical Guitar
Nov 13, 2021 

 Individuals and organizations can utilize the concepts, principles, and method illustrated in the organizational history of Austin Classical Guitar to launch and sustain successful arts ventures.


The Shield

Juan Itzep wins Javier Niño Scholarship
Nov 24, 2021 

Classical guitar major praised for hard work, strong character, qualities he shares with scholarship’s namesake. Senior Juan Itzep began playing classical guitar as a “random” elective in sixth grade. Seven years later, Itzep played a piece to open a concert for Ana Vidović, one of the world’s greatest living classical guitarists.


Tribeza

Austin Classical Guitar Inspires Hope and Artistic Vision
Nov 11, 2021 

AUSTIN IS A CITY bursting at the seams with musical talent, and some of its youngest residents tap into their abilities in grade school thanks to the work of Austin Classical Guitar.


Arts Education Partnership

For-Credit Arts Programs in Juvenile Justice
Nov 16, 2021 

In 2010, Austin Classical Guitar (ACG) expanded our 20-year school-based guitar education program to the Gardner Betts Juvenile Justice Center, a residential facility that houses a school within the Austin Independent School District (ISD)for middle and high school students.


Tangible Hope Project

Episode 6: Austin, TX
Oct 5, 2021 

Austin’s city motto is “Keep Austin Weird.” Ever wonder what makes Austin weird? We did. So we went looking for answers at a beloved graffiti park, a local business breaking down cultural barriers, a stereotype-busting music non-profit, and a unique mutual aid society focused on incarcerated individuals in the state of Texas.


KMFA 89.5

The First Home For Austin Classical Guitar
Sept 24, 2021

Austin Classical Guitar, with help from Karrie and Tim League, owners of Alamo Drafthouse, is building their first home in the Baker Center. It is an achievement that’s been a long time coming but it hasn’t stopped ACG from expanding its educational and community programs worldwide. Before the space opens in December, they’ll be presenting concerts at the Draylen Mason Studio at KMFA.


Voyage Austin

Life and Work with Matt Hinsley
July 7, 2021

Hi Matt, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Mine is a journey from artist to community servant. At some point, it came to me that I could do the most good as a platform for others. I try to act as a prism to focus others’ energy, resources, and talents to help make magic happen in people’s hearts with music.


GAACC Austin

City of Austin Small Business Week: Art Collaboration, and Community
May 11, 2021

The Greater Austin Asian Chamber of Commerce and Austin Classical Guitar invite you to join an informative and artistic presentation followed by Q&A with Joe Williams (ACG Artistic Director) and Kevin Chin (Northshore Media Owner, Founder of Asian Creatives of Greater Austin) about our collaboration, art-making, monetizing during the pandemic, and community engagement as an artistic process.


Georgetown Healing Arts Veterans

 Watch here.
April 30, 2021

The first arts component of the Healing Arts for Veterans Program, “Storytelling Through Music”, is a program that was originally created by Austin Classical Guitar as part of the ACG Veterans Songwriting Program


Austin American Statesman

School districts organize vaccine clinics, find appointments for now-eligible staff, Sarah Asch
March 11, 2021

When state officials announced March 3 that school employees are now eligible to be vaccinated against the coronavirus, school administrators immediately started working on finding vaccination appointments and setting up clinics for staff.


Austin American Statesman

Austin musicians bolster ‘The Power of Friendship’ to benefit storm victims, Michael Barnes
March 2, 2021

Consider just a few of the top-flight talents who quickly banded together to create the digital fundraiser, “The Power of Friendship: Winter Storm Benefit Concert.” The distinguished list includes Oliver Rajamani, Daniel Fears, Devin Gutiérrez, Thomas Burritt, Craig Hella Johnson and Conspirare, Matthew Hensley and Austin Classical Guitar, Michelle Schumann and Austin Chamber Music Center, as well as the Miró Quartet from the University of Texas.


GFAtv: Global Vision

Episode 3: Navigating Virtual Guitar Concerts, Ryan Ayers
Nov 6, 2020

This month’s GLOBAL VISION episode features an insightful discussion on “Navigating Virtual Guitar Concerts.” GFAtv Executive Producer Ryan Ayers discusses the challenges of rethinking the concert stage in these virtual times in a conversation with Joe Williams and Eric Pearson of Austin Classical Guitar and guitarist Gaëlle Solal.


La Revista Mujer

Andrea Gonzales Caballero, the Feminine Voice of the Spanish Classical Guitar , Lilia Davis
November 2020

Andrea González Caballero, is one of the rising young stars of Spanish Classical Guitar. She was selected by the International Guitar Foundation in London to perform as a soloist at international music festivals including the “London Guitar Festival”, and made her debut in the United Kingdom in concerts at venues such as King’s Cross in London and Sage Gateshead in Newcastle.


Texas Standard

Artists’ Musical Ofrendas Provide Comfort to Mourning Relatives to Performers, Joy Diaz and Shelly Brisbin
Oct 30, 2020

“This is a tradition where we honor and love those who we remember best, and sometimes the way that you remember your loved ones can be emotional. … But other times, it comes out as joyful.”


Georgetown Arts and Culture

Healing Arts for Veterans Program, Georgetown Arts and Culture
October, 2020

The Georgetown Arts and Culture Program has teamed up with Resilient Me Community Based Resiliency Programs, Austin Classical Guitar, county music artist Wynn Williams, Wag Heaven, and artists Jay Rivera and J. Muzacz to provide arts components to the Rotary Club of Georgetown’s 2020 Field of Honor® that include healing and outreach to veterans, military service-members, and first responders through music, visual art, and community engagement in a public art project. 


Austin American Statesman

4 Austin arts workers on how they push through a pandemic, Michael Barnes
Sept 9, 2020

In the Austin arts scene, the coronavirus pandemic darkened stages and closed many creative spaces over the past six months, at least temporarily. How, we asked, did the crisis change the lives of people who work in the local arts scene?


KMFA 89.5

At Home With Austin Classical Guitar’s Dr. Matthew HinsleyDianne Donovan
August 2, 2020

We’ll enjoy an artist profile of Matt Hinsley, then he’ll let us know what he and ACG are doing to stay in touch with their fans and friends and to keep their mission of community service and Togetherness.


Now you can meditate (virtually) at the James Turrell Skyspace, “The Color Inside”

Sight Lines: Arts, Culture, News, and Ideas
May 16, 2020

“Experiencing the slowly shifting colors seemed to me like a great analog for slowly changing harmonic progressions.”


Austin PBS

Arts in Context: Flamenco India
November 27, 2019

Discover the influence of Indian music on Spain’s flamenco tradition. Oliver Rajamani performs his project Flamenco India with guest guitarist Jerónimo Maya at legendary Austin PBS Studio 6A.


Austin American Statesman

Austin classical guitarists are out to change the world as social servantsMichael Barnes
September 19, 2019

A few years ago, a young man who faced serious criminal charges entered the Gardner Betts Juvenile Justice Center off South Congress Avenue. “He was angry, as many were, and detached. Yet the staff at the center felt he would do well in a guitar class.”


The Utopian

Healing through lullabies, Montinique Monroe

September 16, 2019

“Lauren Bruno always wanted to be a mother. Her entry into motherhood, however, was not what she thought it would be. As a soon-to-be mother with no income making extensive hospital visits, Bruno felt overwhelmed. 


Paper Trail

Young GuitarCharlotte Barnes

June 20, 2019

“I didn’t consider myself to be an artistic or musical person, but since I started improving with guitar, I’ve been able to see that different side of myself and it has allowed me to see the world a little differently.”


Texas Standard

A Mother With A Broken Heart Reflects On The Joy Her Late Son Brought HerJoy Diaz
May 9, 2019

Her son was attending St. Edward’s University, and was also a talented classical guitar player. This is the first year Esparza is celebrating Mother’s Day without him. A family began this scholarship in his honor.


UT Austin Dell Medical School Blog

Holding on to a Small Flame of Confidence, Christina Bain
March 29, 2019

“I know I want to keep using my voice to tell people about my life and my experience. It makes me feel strong, and I hope it can help someone else”

 


CBS This Morning

Cleveland Community Finds Purpose and Refuge in the Arts
March 15, 2019

CCGS, one of our partner programs, is bringing quality music education to a city with one of the highest child poverty rates in the US.


CBS Austin

Making a Difference: The Lullaby Project, Allison Miller
January 11, 2019

Austin musicians and new moms in challenging circumstances come together to create a lasting piece of love for their brand new babies.


KMFA

Top Ten Classical Highlights of 2018, Ann Wilson
December 20, 2018

This summer’s Dream incorporated the words, hopes, and visions of young children with evocative music to moving effect.


Travis County Sheriff’s Office “Partner Connect” Newsletter

Lullaby Project
December, 2018

The collaboration seeks to make the upcoming birth a celebratory time and assists incarcerated females in the bonding process with their babies.


Classical Guitar Magazine

Service and Savvy, Blair Jackson
November, 2018

“How far can we go with bringing our gift, our passion, to the people that need it? And the people that need it is everybody.”


La Revista Mujer

“Music is my life” Vicente Amigo, Elsa Tovar
October 18th, 2018

It’s amazing how a single instrument can create a total musical experience in the hands of a musician such as the guitarist born in Guadalcanal, Sevilla, Spain.

 


Austin360

Bernstein ‘Mass’ profits go to key Austin arts groups, Michael Barnes
October 11th, 2018

The producing group, Merick Strategies, wanted to thank the key groups that helped out with the Bernstein100 celebration. So they are distributing the “profits” of $116,000 among them.

 


Noteworthy: A LASA High School Student Publication

Music’s Ability to Express a Story, Andrew Windsor
Fall 2018

Quotes from ACG’s Dr. Matthew Hinsley, Dr. Joseph V. Williams II, and Dr. Travis Marcum.


Scholastic News Kids Press Corps

Making Music for Everyone, Truman J. Hamade
September 25th, 2018

“Learning music and guitar should be available and accessible to everyone.”

 


Austin Monitor

Bloomberg awards let arts groups focus on growth, and affordability, Chad Swiatecki
September 4th, 2018

“26 local groups were named in the latest round of grants that so far have targeted five major cities with $43 million in total awards.”


austin360

Bloomberg Philanthropies rewards 26 Austin cultural groups with grants, Michael Barnes
August 30th, 2018

“This program is aimed at helping some of the country’s most exciting cultural organizations reach new audiences and expand their impact.” -Mike Bloomberg

 


Austin Chronicle

Austin Classical Guitar’s dreamRobert Faires
August 10th, 2018

“This program was powerful for how it reconnected audience members who had been young to that time in life, to the weight of it, with the vast landscape of adulthood before you and the many profound decisions to be made.”

 


KMFA 89.5

A Look at Austin Classical Guitar’s “Dream”Dianne Donovan
July 29th, 2018

dream is an opportunity for us to listen to perspectives of young people in our community … We have been so impressed by the honesty and by the raw, unvarnished, truthful nature of these young voices.”

 

 


St. Louis Post Dispatch

Wanted: Kids who want to learn to play guitarSarah Bryan Miller
July 17th, 2018

10 students who are entering 4th through 6th grades have a chance to learn to play guitar in a group setting, and then perform together on Saturday. Not only is it free, but they’ll get to keep their guitars.


KVUE

Music and the Mind Part 1: Blind students take guitar lessons, Jay Wallis
July 16th, 2018

“Music has always been a part of my life,” Gutierrez said. “Music is something that is so integral to who I am. I don’t know where I would be without it.”


Texas Monthly

Austin Classical Guitar Aims To Transform Instruction for the BlindRenuka Rayasam
July 9th, 2018

“The applause was like a wall,” he says. “When we finished that last song, and the applause just goes on—it fills me with a sense of accomplishment.”

 

 


Texas Standard

New Web App Teaches Classical Guitar Using BrailleJoy Diaz
June 18th, 2018

“We have kids who are learning a beautiful skill and are becoming passionate about guitar and the world doesn’t have resources to continue that study the way any other child would be able to,” Matt Hinsley says.
But now, the world does have such a resource.


austin360

Winners rejoice for 2018 Austin Critics Table Awards,
Michael Barnes
June 5th, 2018

Original Composition/Score:
“I/We,” Joseph V. Williams II

 


National Endowment for the Arts

NEA Grant Spotlight on St. Louis Classical Guitar Society’s Guitar HorizonsPaulette Beete
May 17th, 2018

Guitar Horizons, which recently received an FY18 NEA grant, has grown to include multiple sites, professional development for music teachers, and public performance opportunities for students.


Austin Chronicle

Robert Faires’ Top 10 Dance and Classical Treasures of 2017Robert Faires
December 29th, 2017

10) I/WE (Austin Classical Guitar) The moving words of refugees in Central Texas were transformed by Joseph V. Williams II into music that burrowed into your soul and made their journey your own.

 


Teen Vogue

Music Played an Important Role for These Incarcerated Youth,  PBS NewsHour Student Reporting Labs
October 26th, 2017

“If it hadn’t have been for exposure to the arts, and someone taking a chance on them, who knows where their lives would be headed.” – Kennedy Huff, Student Reporting Labs


Austin Chronicle

Austin Arts Give Harvey ReliefRobert Faires
September 14th, 2017

The free event raised $31,500 for Houston’s Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund and collected several carloads of relief supplies.

 


Austin Chronicle

Austin Classical Guitar’s i/weMolly Kendrick
July 28th, 2017

“The [refugee’s] words are a door that open up into a space, and that space is created by the music. Everybody is part of that space.” –Joseph V. Williams II


Austin American-Statesman

Austin Classical Guitar Honors the Plight of RefugeesMichael Barnes
July 26th, 2017

“It seems to me that if ever humanity might benefit from seeing ourselves in the faces of others, it is with regard to refugees.”


Culture Map Austin

Top 10 things to do in Austin right now that aren’t SXSW, Deborah Hamilton-Lynne
March 15th, 2017

Expand your musical horizons with local institutions Austin Classical Guitar Society and Cactus Cafe.

 

 


Community Impact Newspaper

$11,500 grant awarded to nonprofit Austin Classical Guitar to teach court-involved youth in Travis County
January 5th, 2017

Area nonprofit Austin Classical Guitar received a $11,500 grant from the Texas Bar Foundation to help provide guitar classes for court-involved youth in Travis County.


KLRU

Sing Me a Lullaby, Arts in Context
November 24th, 2016

“What’s going to come of this is that you and your child will have a song together that will last forever.”


PBS News Hour

Learning classical guitar helps kids in trouble change their tuneKLRU
September 8th, 2015

“They played beautifully … They were in their court clothes and looked super professional, and they sounded professional, and they were just completely elated with themselves.”


Austin Family

Striking a Chord: Guitar Program Reaches Students in Austin and BeyondSherida Mock
July, 2015

“We can meet people where they are and resonate in their individual lives. We can say, “This is your music.””

KMFA89.5

The Fall Season: Austin Classical Guitar
 September 15, 2023 

 

It seems many performing arts groups in central Texas chose the weekend of September 22nd  and 23rd to open their seasons. Austin Classical Guitar is one of them.  To celebrate their 33rd anniversary, they are opening their season with a Father and Daughter act.  Clarice Assad and her father Sergio. 


Pecan Press

Greetings from the Rosette
 August 14, 2023 

 

We’re about to begin our second full season at The Rosette, Austin Classical Guitar’s concert and creative learning center in the Baker School at Avenue B and 40th Street.


BOLD Journey

Meet Matthew Hinsley
 August 11, 2023 

 

My relationship with the work became a personally fulfilling commitment built on an understanding that a life well-lived involves growth, discovery, and refinement. Music became my companion.


KMFA 89.5

Music Classes for Generation Baby
 July 28, 2023 

 

If your child is too young to go to school, there’s a music class coming up that both of you might enjoy.

The Armstrong Community Music School and Austin Classical Guitar is offering music classes for the super young set: Babies to 5 years old and their caregivers.


Braille ScoreCTEBVI Journal

New Classical Guitar Method
 March 2023 

 

 

At Austin Classical Guitar we’ve had the wonderful joy of building music education programs in hundreds of schools across the U.S. In 2010 we began a partnership with Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired to add a classical guitar program.


KMFA 89.5

Austin Classical Guitar’s Artist in Residence + A Conspirare Christmas
September 5, 2022 

 

Meet ACG’s Artist-in-Residence, composer and guitarist, Marek Pasieczny! He’ll perform for us in the Draylen Mason Music Studio of KMFA. He and ACG’s Artistic Director, Joe Williams will let us know about the upcoming concerts featuring Mr. Pasieczny’s music.


Shepherd

The best books for enlightened nonprofit arts management
September 5, 2022 

 

I’ve been a community leader in the arts for more than twenty-five years. In raising millions of dollars, advocating for arts in our schools and communities, and teaching arts administration at the university level, I’ve had countless opportunities to witness the energy in people’s hearts that turns into action, growth, and success. What I’ve learned is that success in this arena involves things you can’t see or measure, like kindness, gratitude, and wonder. When we harness those elements of Essence, however, we can change the world.


CanvasRebel

Meet Matthew Hinsley
August 31, 2022 

 

I think one of my most meaningful projects has been building for-credit daily music education programs for youth incarcerated in the juvenile justice system. We began building guitar education programs in public schools in 2001 and by 2009 they’d expanded across the city of Austin.


KMFA 89.5 Staccato

The Season Ahead – Austin Classical Guitar
August 25, 2022 

In just a few weeks, performing arts groups in Central Texas will open their doors for new and fresh and live performances. Joe Williams, Artistic Director of Austin Classical Guitar is like many, excited to offer a full season of music without the heavy burden of health related matters.

 


Tribeza

Austin Classical Guitar’s Do What’s in Your Heart Premieres with Tribeza
August 18, 2022 

Grammy nominee Clarice Assad collaborated with students as the organization’s Artist-in-Residence, chronicled in the short film

 


CultureMap

How Austin Classical Guitar is changing the way the country learns to play
August 2, 2022 

On July 21, guitar teachers from all over the country met for the first day of an annual teacher summit at The Rosette, the official concert and learning center for Austin Classical Guitar (ACG), which builds classroom-based guitar programs and instructs teachers on how to best utilize the curriculum for a well-rounded guitar education.

 


KUT 90.5

I fell in love with it’: Composer Joe Williams on his original score for Hitchcock’s ‘The Lodger’
July 15, 2022 

“It’s such an unlikely thing, and kind of magical in this way,” says Joe Williams, the artistic director of Austin Classical Guitar, about getting the opportunity to write an original score for Alfred Hitchcock’s The Lodger 88 years after the film’s release.

 


Wilco Sun

Juvenile Justice students compete in guitar concert
May 1, 2022 

The Williamson County branch of Austin Classical Guitar’s Central Texas juvenile justice program competed for the first time in a regional music contest April 19.

 


Austin American Statesman

A jewel box called The Rosette opens as a new performing arts venue.
Mar 9, 2022 

Austin keeps adding arts venues.

The latest is called the Rosette. Carved out of a former gym at the old Baker School in Hyde Park, it is home to Austin Classical Guitar.


KUT 90.5

Classical guitar students get a master class from a Grammy-nominated composer
Dec 23, 2021 

Around 50 teenagers sat in folding chairs, their feet propped up to raise their guitars. Many were plucking lightly at the strings as they waited for rehearsal to start.

Typically, Austin Classical Guitar instructors go to Austin ISD schools to work with students during the school day. But this semester, the nonprofit created a new opportunity for these musicians.


ATRIVATE

Effectual Entrepreneurship in the Arts: The Story of Austin Classical Guitar
Nov 13, 2021 

 Individuals and organizations can utilize the concepts, principles, and method illustrated in the organizational history of Austin Classical Guitar to launch and sustain successful arts ventures.


The Shield

Juan Itzep wins Javier Niño Scholarship
Nov 24, 2021 

Classical guitar major praised for hard work, strong character, qualities he shares with scholarship’s namesake. Senior Juan Itzep began playing classical guitar as a “random” elective in sixth grade. Seven years later, Itzep played a piece to open a concert for Ana Vidović, one of the world’s greatest living classical guitarists.


Tribeza

Austin Classical Guitar Inspires Hope and Artistic Vision
Nov 11, 2021 

AUSTIN IS A CITY bursting at the seams with musical talent, and some of its youngest residents tap into their abilities in grade school thanks to the work of Austin Classical Guitar.


Arts Education Partnership

For-Credit Arts Programs in Juvenile Justice
Nov 16, 2021 

In 2010, Austin Classical Guitar (ACG) expanded our 20-year school-based guitar education program to the Gardner Betts Juvenile Justice Center, a residential facility that houses a school within the Austin Independent School District (ISD)for middle and high school students.


Tangible Hope Project

Episode 6: Austin, TX
Oct 5, 2021 

Austin’s city motto is “Keep Austin Weird.” Ever wonder what makes Austin weird? We did. So we went looking for answers at a beloved graffiti park, a local business breaking down cultural barriers, a stereotype-busting music non-profit, and a unique mutual aid society focused on incarcerated individuals in the state of Texas.


KMFA 89.5

The First Home For Austin Classical Guitar
Sept 24, 2021

Austin Classical Guitar, with help from Karrie and Tim League, owners of Alamo Drafthouse, is building their first home in the Baker Center. It is an achievement that’s been a long time coming but it hasn’t stopped ACG from expanding its educational and community programs worldwide. Before the space opens in December, they’ll be presenting concerts at the Draylen Mason Studio at KMFA.


Voyage Austin

Life and Work with Matt Hinsley
July 7, 2021

Hi Matt, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Mine is a journey from artist to community servant. At some point, it came to me that I could do the most good as a platform for others. I try to act as a prism to focus others’ energy, resources, and talents to help make magic happen in people’s hearts with music.


GAACC Austin

City of Austin Small Business Week: Art Collaboration, and Community
May 11, 2021

The Greater Austin Asian Chamber of Commerce and Austin Classical Guitar invite you to join an informative and artistic presentation followed by Q&A with Joe Williams (ACG Artistic Director) and Kevin Chin (Northshore Media Owner, Founder of Asian Creatives of Greater Austin) about our collaboration, art-making, monetizing during the pandemic, and community engagement as an artistic process.


Georgetown Healing Arts Veterans

 Watch here.
April 30, 2021

The first arts component of the Healing Arts for Veterans Program, “Storytelling Through Music”, is a program that was originally created by Austin Classical Guitar as part of the ACG Veterans Songwriting Program


Austin American Statesman

School districts organize vaccine clinics, find appointments for now-eligible staff, Sarah Asch
March 11, 2021

When state officials announced March 3 that school employees are now eligible to be vaccinated against the coronavirus, school administrators immediately started working on finding vaccination appointments and setting up clinics for staff.


Austin American Statesman

Austin musicians bolster ‘The Power of Friendship’ to benefit storm victims, Michael Barnes
March 2, 2021

Consider just a few of the top-flight talents who quickly banded together to create the digital fundraiser, “The Power of Friendship: Winter Storm Benefit Concert.” The distinguished list includes Oliver Rajamani, Daniel Fears, Devin Gutiérrez, Thomas Burritt, Craig Hella Johnson and Conspirare, Matthew Hensley and Austin Classical Guitar, Michelle Schumann and Austin Chamber Music Center, as well as the Miró Quartet from the University of Texas.


GFAtv: Global Vision

Episode 3: Navigating Virtual Guitar Concerts, Ryan Ayers
Nov 6, 2020

This month’s GLOBAL VISION episode features an insightful discussion on “Navigating Virtual Guitar Concerts.” GFAtv Executive Producer Ryan Ayers discusses the challenges of rethinking the concert stage in these virtual times in a conversation with Joe Williams and Eric Pearson of Austin Classical Guitar and guitarist Gaëlle Solal.


La Revista Mujer

Andrea Gonzales Caballero, the Feminine Voice of the Spanish Classical Guitar , Lilia Davis
November 2020

Andrea González Caballero, is one of the rising young stars of Spanish Classical Guitar. She was selected by the International Guitar Foundation in London to perform as a soloist at international music festivals including the “London Guitar Festival”, and made her debut in the United Kingdom in concerts at venues such as King’s Cross in London and Sage Gateshead in Newcastle.


Texas Standard

Artists’ Musical Ofrendas Provide Comfort to Mourning Relatives to Performers, Joy Diaz and Shelly Brisbin
Oct 30, 2020

“This is a tradition where we honor and love those who we remember best, and sometimes the way that you remember your loved ones can be emotional. … But other times, it comes out as joyful.”


Georgetown Arts and Culture

Healing Arts for Veterans Program, Georgetown Arts and Culture
October, 2020

The Georgetown Arts and Culture Program has teamed up with Resilient Me Community Based Resiliency Programs, Austin Classical Guitar, county music artist Wynn Williams, Wag Heaven, and artists Jay Rivera and J. Muzacz to provide arts components to the Rotary Club of Georgetown’s 2020 Field of Honor® that include healing and outreach to veterans, military service-members, and first responders through music, visual art, and community engagement in a public art project. 


Austin American Statesman

4 Austin arts workers on how they push through a pandemic, Michael Barnes
Sept 9, 2020

In the Austin arts scene, the coronavirus pandemic darkened stages and closed many creative spaces over the past six months, at least temporarily. How, we asked, did the crisis change the lives of people who work in the local arts scene?


KMFA 89.5

At Home With Austin Classical Guitar’s Dr. Matthew HinsleyDianne Donovan
August 2, 2020

We’ll enjoy an artist profile of Matt Hinsley, then he’ll let us know what he and ACG are doing to stay in touch with their fans and friends and to keep their mission of community service and Togetherness.


Now you can meditate (virtually) at the James Turrell Skyspace, “The Color Inside”

Sight Lines: Arts, Culture, News, and Ideas
May 16, 2020

“Experiencing the slowly shifting colors seemed to me like a great analog for slowly changing harmonic progressions.”


Austin PBS

Arts in Context: Flamenco India
November 27, 2019

Discover the influence of Indian music on Spain’s flamenco tradition. Oliver Rajamani performs his project Flamenco India with guest guitarist Jerónimo Maya at legendary Austin PBS Studio 6A.


Austin American Statesman

Austin classical guitarists are out to change the world as social servantsMichael Barnes
September 19, 2019

A few years ago, a young man who faced serious criminal charges entered the Gardner Betts Juvenile Justice Center off South Congress Avenue. “He was angry, as many were, and detached. Yet the staff at the center felt he would do well in a guitar class.”


The Utopian

Healing through lullabies, Montinique Monroe

September 16, 2019

“Lauren Bruno always wanted to be a mother. Her entry into motherhood, however, was not what she thought it would be. As a soon-to-be mother with no income making extensive hospital visits, Bruno felt overwhelmed. 


Paper Trail

Young GuitarCharlotte Barnes

June 20, 2019

“I didn’t consider myself to be an artistic or musical person, but since I started improving with guitar, I’ve been able to see that different side of myself and it has allowed me to see the world a little differently.”


Texas Standard

A Mother With A Broken Heart Reflects On The Joy Her Late Son Brought HerJoy Diaz
May 9, 2019

Her son was attending St. Edward’s University, and was also a talented classical guitar player. This is the first year Esparza is celebrating Mother’s Day without him. A family began this scholarship in his honor.


UT Austin Dell Medical School Blog

Holding on to a Small Flame of Confidence, Christina Bain
March 29, 2019

“I know I want to keep using my voice to tell people about my life and my experience. It makes me feel strong, and I hope it can help someone else”

 


CBS This Morning

Cleveland Community Finds Purpose and Refuge in the Arts
March 15, 2019

CCGS, one of our partner programs, is bringing quality music education to a city with one of the highest child poverty rates in the US.


CBS Austin

Making a Difference: The Lullaby Project, Allison Miller
January 11, 2019

Austin musicians and new moms in challenging circumstances come together to create a lasting piece of love for their brand new babies.


KMFA

Top Ten Classical Highlights of 2018, Ann Wilson
December 20, 2018

This summer’s Dream incorporated the words, hopes, and visions of young children with evocative music to moving effect.


Travis County Sheriff’s Office “Partner Connect” Newsletter

Lullaby Project
December, 2018

The collaboration seeks to make the upcoming birth a celebratory time and assists incarcerated females in the bonding process with their babies.


Classical Guitar Magazine

Service and Savvy, Blair Jackson
November, 2018

“How far can we go with bringing our gift, our passion, to the people that need it? And the people that need it is everybody.”


La Revista Mujer

“Music is my life” Vicente Amigo, Elsa Tovar
October 18th, 2018

It’s amazing how a single instrument can create a total musical experience in the hands of a musician such as the guitarist born in Guadalcanal, Sevilla, Spain.

 


Austin360

Bernstein ‘Mass’ profits go to key Austin arts groups, Michael Barnes
October 11th, 2018

The producing group, Merick Strategies, wanted to thank the key groups that helped out with the Bernstein100 celebration. So they are distributing the “profits” of $116,000 among them.

 


Noteworthy: A LASA High School Student Publication

Music’s Ability to Express a Story, Andrew Windsor
Fall 2018

Quotes from ACG’s Dr. Matthew Hinsley, Dr. Joseph V. Williams II, and Dr. Travis Marcum.


Scholastic News Kids Press Corps

Making Music for Everyone, Truman J. Hamade
September 25th, 2018

“Learning music and guitar should be available and accessible to everyone.”

 


Austin Monitor

Bloomberg awards let arts groups focus on growth, and affordability, Chad Swiatecki
September 4th, 2018

“26 local groups were named in the latest round of grants that so far have targeted five major cities with $43 million in total awards.”


austin360

Bloomberg Philanthropies rewards 26 Austin cultural groups with grants, Michael Barnes
August 30th, 2018

“This program is aimed at helping some of the country’s most exciting cultural organizations reach new audiences and expand their impact.” -Mike Bloomberg

 


Austin Chronicle

Austin Classical Guitar’s dreamRobert Faires
August 10th, 2018

“This program was powerful for how it reconnected audience members who had been young to that time in life, to the weight of it, with the vast landscape of adulthood before you and the many profound decisions to be made.”

 


KMFA 89.5

A Look at Austin Classical Guitar’s “Dream”Dianne Donovan
July 29th, 2018

dream is an opportunity for us to listen to perspectives of young people in our community … We have been so impressed by the honesty and by the raw, unvarnished, truthful nature of these young voices.”

 

 


St. Louis Post Dispatch

Wanted: Kids who want to learn to play guitarSarah Bryan Miller
July 17th, 2018

10 students who are entering 4th through 6th grades have a chance to learn to play guitar in a group setting, and then perform together on Saturday. Not only is it free, but they’ll get to keep their guitars.


KVUE

Music and the Mind Part 1: Blind students take guitar lessons, Jay Wallis
July 16th, 2018

“Music has always been a part of my life,” Gutierrez said. “Music is something that is so integral to who I am. I don’t know where I would be without it.”


Texas Monthly

Austin Classical Guitar Aims To Transform Instruction for the BlindRenuka Rayasam
July 9th, 2018

“The applause was like a wall,” he says. “When we finished that last song, and the applause just goes on—it fills me with a sense of accomplishment.”

 

 


Texas Standard

New Web App Teaches Classical Guitar Using BrailleJoy Diaz
June 18th, 2018

“We have kids who are learning a beautiful skill and are becoming passionate about guitar and the world doesn’t have resources to continue that study the way any other child would be able to,” Matt Hinsley says.
But now, the world does have such a resource.


austin360

Winners rejoice for 2018 Austin Critics Table Awards,
Michael Barnes
June 5th, 2018

Original Composition/Score:
“I/We,” Joseph V. Williams II

 


National Endowment for the Arts

NEA Grant Spotlight on St. Louis Classical Guitar Society’s Guitar HorizonsPaulette Beete
May 17th, 2018

Guitar Horizons, which recently received an FY18 NEA grant, has grown to include multiple sites, professional development for music teachers, and public performance opportunities for students.


Austin Chronicle

Robert Faires’ Top 10 Dance and Classical Treasures of 2017Robert Faires
December 29th, 2017

10) I/WE (Austin Classical Guitar) The moving words of refugees in Central Texas were transformed by Joseph V. Williams II into music that burrowed into your soul and made their journey your own.

 


Teen Vogue

Music Played an Important Role for These Incarcerated Youth,  PBS NewsHour Student Reporting Labs
October 26th, 2017

“If it hadn’t have been for exposure to the arts, and someone taking a chance on them, who knows where their lives would be headed.” – Kennedy Huff, Student Reporting Labs


Austin Chronicle

Austin Arts Give Harvey ReliefRobert Faires
September 14th, 2017

The free event raised $31,500 for Houston’s Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund and collected several carloads of relief supplies.

 


Austin Chronicle

Austin Classical Guitar’s i/weMolly Kendrick
July 28th, 2017

“The [refugee’s] words are a door that open up into a space, and that space is created by the music. Everybody is part of that space.” –Joseph V. Williams II


Austin American-Statesman

Austin Classical Guitar Honors the Plight of RefugeesMichael Barnes
July 26th, 2017

“It seems to me that if ever humanity might benefit from seeing ourselves in the faces of others, it is with regard to refugees.”


Culture Map Austin

Top 10 things to do in Austin right now that aren’t SXSW, Deborah Hamilton-Lynne
March 15th, 2017

Expand your musical horizons with local institutions Austin Classical Guitar Society and Cactus Cafe.

 

 


Community Impact Newspaper

$11,500 grant awarded to nonprofit Austin Classical Guitar to teach court-involved youth in Travis County
January 5th, 2017

Area nonprofit Austin Classical Guitar received a $11,500 grant from the Texas Bar Foundation to help provide guitar classes for court-involved youth in Travis County.


KLRU

Sing Me a Lullaby, Arts in Context
November 24th, 2016

“What’s going to come of this is that you and your child will have a song together that will last forever.”


PBS News Hour

Learning classical guitar helps kids in trouble change their tuneKLRU
September 8th, 2015

“They played beautifully … They were in their court clothes and looked super professional, and they sounded professional, and they were just completely elated with themselves.”


Austin Family

Striking a Chord: Guitar Program Reaches Students in Austin and BeyondSherida Mock
July, 2015

“We can meet people where they are and resonate in their individual lives. We can say, “This is your music.””