Guitar and Flute: A Happy Meeting Bringing You an Evening of Music

A musical duo of guitar and flute will present a concert entitled Duo Primo on February 4th at 4:00pm at O'Donnell Auditorium on the Wesleyan campus (Tickets $10, Students $5, Free up to age10). Musicians Betsy Bobenhouse and Antonio Forgione spoke with LincolnCMN about the upcoming performance. 
Forgione is excited that:

"The concert will feature some of the best composers who wrote for flute and guitar, from Mauro Giuliani, who made by far the largest 19th century contribution with 22 compositions, to Astor Piazzolla, who dedicated to this ensemble the celebrated Histoire du Tango."

The duo met, according to Bobenhouse, "last April through mutual musical friends. We had both played flute/classical guitar repertoire in the past and were excited to do so again." With Forgione having moved from Italy in 2011, he said, I missed my friends flutists in Italy, but it was only by chance that I met Betsy and the excitement about doing a duo was immediate" since he'd played guitar since the age of 11 and flute was the first instrument that "gave me the feeling of a perfect match with the guitar."

With both members of the duo having played guitar/flute music before, there are carefully selected favorites as well as some that are new to them both such as a piece by Libby Larsen.

What brought them to a love of music and a life with their instruments?

For Forgione, "The guitar happened to be my instruments just by chance, after a gift from a friend. I would say that it really chose me rather than the contrary,"and he feels that classical guitar is the "'ultimate' guitar" because while "not many big names of the history of music dedicated their efforts to this instrument, [...] still what the classical guitar repertoire can offer is extremely fulfilling and second to none especially in the 20th century. It challenges the hands and the mind in directions that every young musician can find rewarding."

Bobenhouse had an early start and exposure to music since her "father played French horn in the Omaha Symphony for over 30 years and my sister joined OSO as a 'cellist when she was 18 years-old." But Bobenhouse chose the flute for its sound, and while she's been playing and teaching the instrument for years, the thing she loves the most is "starting a rank beginner; it is so much fun introducing children to the music, in general, and the flute, in particular. It doesn't matter to me if a student intends to pursue a career in music because music is for everyone!"

Music is indeed for everyone, and this performance is a perfect way to experience music for those who've loved it for years or those who are just discovering the beauty of music--especially the classical sounds of guitar and flute duo!