Looking forward to presenting a paper “Pioneering Female Guitarists in American Popular Music” at this symposium in the UK.

In March 2014, the University of Surrey will launch the International Guitar Research Centre. The research centre aims to establish an international hub for guitar-centred research in all styles of music.

Surrey has had a strong association with the guitar since the 1960’s when Reginald Smith-Brindle was Professor. In more recent times, the Guildford Guitar Weekend has become a permanent fixture in the annual cycle of significant guitar events in the UK. The University has a large cohort of guitarist PhD students and alumni.

The research centre will work in close affiliation with various partner institutions including the IGF (International Guitar Foundation, King’s Place, London), the IGRA (International Guitar Research Archive, CSUN, Los Angeles, California) and the University of São Paulo (Brazil).

The launch will comprise a two-day event on 29th and 30th March that will include academic papers, seminars, public discussions, lecture-recitals and concerts. Guest artists will include John Williams, Xuefei Yang, The Amadeus Guitar Duo, Bridget Mermikides, Declan Zapala and Michael Partington.

• Public concerts
• Papers, panels, and lecture-recitals
• Symposium Abstracts and Biographies
• Purchase tickets

Future plans for the research centre include:

• the hosting of an annual research event
• co-hosting events with the IGF at London’s South Bank and King’s Place
• developing an online database of guitar research
• building an online network of current guitar researchers and research projects
• increasing the number of affiliated institutions and industry partnerships
• providing an online peer reviewed publishing platform for guitar research
• applications for funded research projects
• applications for funded research degree studentships through the AHRC (Arts and Humanities Research Council) block grant scheme or through the Faculty of Arts and Humanities studentship competition

For more information

http://www.surrey.ac.uk/schoolofarts/research/guitar/