GCGA programs and services are made possible through the generosity of many individual and corporate supporters plus revenue from tuition, concerts, exhibitors, advertisers, and honoraria from private concerts. We extend special thanks for their generous support.
Venues
St. Philip Presbyterian Church Campus hosts the Houston Classical Guitar Festival and Competition (HCGFest) each year, the second full week in June. The Education Building provides classroom spaces for lectures, workshops, master classes, and private lessons. The Gathering Area, located just outside the Sanctuary, serves as an ideal space for our Kickoff Lunches, Open Mic Nights including dinner, and master classes. We also use this space for vendor displays and as a gathering place for festival participants. The Sanctuary, with acoustics ideally suited for classical guitar, provides the setting for two evenings of festival concerts that are open to the public, as well as additional concerts during the year.
Ovations Night Club in Rice Village provides an intimate setting for live music with comfortable chairs and bar service. For over 40 years this Art Deco venue has been a treasure to Houstonians. Owner Frank Tilton has been especially generous, making Ovations affordable for small, non-profit music organizations to perform there. GCGA currently produces a fall and a spring show featuring our artistic directors with additional classical guitarists and other musicians sometimes on other instruments.
The Center for Performing Arts Medicine at Houston Methodist Hospital invites HCGFest students and faculty to play in the Margaret Alkek Williams Crain Garden Performance Series. These concerts are live-streamed and broadcast to patient rooms on the Methodist Hospital TV channel and remain available for later viewing. Patients, visitors, and hospital staff alike enjoy the concerts in Crain Garden, Dunn Tower.
Episcopal High School hosted HCGFest for three years prior to its move to St. Philip Presbyterian Church. They have also donated a large supply of music stands for use by GCGA and HCGFest.
Bayou Theater at University of Houston-Clear Lake has presented GCGA musicians to perform as part of their Classical Concert Series.
St. Thomas the Apostle Episcopal Church, Nassau Bay has hosted GCGA for fundraising concerts.
The Hallmark has welcomed GCGA faculty and students for performances enjoyed by residents of this vibrant retirement community.
Collaborations
In 2023, Ars Lyrica Houston collaborated with the Houston Classical Guitar Festival by sponsoring Richard Savino, Matthew Dirst, Cecilia Duarte, and Pedro Funes-Whittington to teach and perform with other guest artists and core faculty to create an Early Music theme for that year’s festival. We also advertise each other’s programs.
Hospitality
Each year during festival week, Davanti Ristorante provides dinner for Open Mic Night, and Avalon Diner provides lunch for the Kickoff Lunch and Vendors Presentation. Barb and Marc Garvin host a yearly dinner for HCGFest guest artists, faculty and board members.
Lodging
UH Conference and Guest Housing provide economical lodging at a University of Houston dormitory and meals at a dining hall. Affordable housing has enabled more participants from throughout the country to attend HCGFest.
Several patrons have volunteered as “innkeepers”, opening their homes during festival week to house guest artists and out-of-town faculty. Likewise, others have served as “charioteers”, driving guests to airports and venues.
In Kind
Kelli Estes of Lone Star Lyric has generously lent us her lighting setup for use at Ovations and other venues, and she has volunteered her services as Stage Director at some of our performances. She has advised us on many operational tasks as well.
Memorial Music has generously sold us guitar strings at a deep discount to give to students who perform at fundraising concerts.
D'Addario and Strings by Mail have provided strings and other swag for our HCGFest attendees.
Advertising
GCGA receives advertising revenue from the following:
D'Addario, Strings by Mail, Memorial Music, Straight Frets Guitar Repair, A. Torres Luthier, Marchione, Viella, Berklee College of Music, Del-Mar College, Roosevelt University – Chicago College of Performing Arts, University of Houston – Moores School of Music, Solero Flamenco, Texas Guitar Quartet, Lone Star Lyric, Spanish Romance (concert starring Andrew Blanch and featuring Maria Eugenia Nieva).
Website
GCGA thanks Araptus Software Engineering for its ongoing partnership in developing and maintaining gcguitar.org. (Araptus Software Engineering)
