Wearing Flowers In Your Hair Is Optional

My father as a young man, playing guitar in the woods of Idylwild, California.

 

Last year I introduced you to my dad, Guitar Whitey. He was out on his porch strumming some old tune by Merle Haggard and soaking up the sun.

Tonight, he will be honored at an event in San Francisco, at the prestigious San Francisco Conservancy Of Music. No, he won't be playing any hobo songs, but he will be recognized as the very first classical guitar student they ever had! He was 27 years old.

Today, the San Francisco Music Conservancy has over 400 guitar students. The Bay Area is one of the most active classical guitar scenes in the US.

This event, known as Guitarrada, is really about Pepe Romero, the greatest classical guitarist in the world. His father before him, Celedonio Romero, was a world renowned classical and flamenco guitarist. He taught Pepe everything he knows. I'm so excited for my dad to be escorted to such an occasion as this. To be a part of such a special evening, all surrounding the main theme, The Guitar.

My mother used to say that my father's best friend was the guitar. It's come full circle today.

Tonight will be a rare occasion. If you are in the Bay Area, how fortunate for you to be a part of it. It's free!

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HERE IS THE ANNOUNCEMENT:

• San Francisco Conservancy of Music

  50 Oak Street, San Francisco, CA.

  concert hall

• Guitarrada is a term invented by Celedonio Romero to denote a group of players working their way through a special collection of guitars. In this case, we will be listening to and discussing instruments from the wonderful Harris Guitar Collection with Pepe Romero and the great guitar scholar and storyteller Richard Bruné, and there are some further features of the evening. David Tanenbaum will be introducing perhaps the country's first classical guitar student, a 92 year old man named Robert Symmonds, who is making the trip from San Luis Obispo for this event. He wrote a wonderful book about his hobo life of riding trains called Ridin' Free, and he made the San Francisco Conservatory find him a guitar teacher so he could become a guitar major here in 1948. Also, 8 more guitarists will perform on some of these instruments.
  

  This is a free - and delightful - event.