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The Hispanic Heritage Council's Guitar Initiative is a multifaceted initiative that focuses on bringing world-class music to our community of western New York through free music classes for children and an International Concert Series that brings some of the best guitarists in the world to perform for our community.

1. Our Free Music Classes are going to be held in person at the Isaías González-Soto Public Library. This year we'll be offering two different courses, a Guitar Class, and a Recycled Instrument Building Workshop.
1. Our Guitar Class pays special emphasis in community. Students in our class get to meet new people and share their joy of music with their peers by playing music together, and later share this joy with the greater community in concerts. Students in the class receive the best formal music education. Our students get the opportunity to listen and learn from some of the best artists in the world, that come to our International Concert Series, and teach and inspire our students in masterclasses. The classes are taught by experienced professional musicians and educators. Classes will meet twice a week for a 90mins applied guitar class, and a 60 min music appreciation class where they'll learn about music theory, history, and will listen to local musicians perform for them. This class is for children ages 10-13, no prior music experience needed.
2. Our Recycled Instrument Workshop teaches all stages of building musical instruments using recycled materials while learning also how to play them. Students discover the wonder of construction, reusing, and music-making. Throughout the semester, our students build instruments representative of each one of the musical families (Strings, Wind, Brass and Percussion). This is a unique experience that converges music education with STEM education. This class is for children ages 10-12, and it'll meet once a week for a 2 hour class.

Enrollment for both classes opens on July 15. We will post information about the enrollment process in the coming weeks. Classes will begin on September 13. All classes will be held at the Isaías González-Soto Public Library. All classes are entirely free, we'll provide all necessary materials, including guitars, books, and building materials. Classes will be in person, following CDC's safety recommendations and Erie County Public Library's policies to ensure a safe environment for our students and instructors.

For more information about these programs please contact Dr. Ricardo Saeb at hhc.guitar@gmail.com *Please do not email Dr. Saeb to register. This process will be outlined in the coming days.

2. Our International Concert Series brings some of the best musicians in the world to perform for our community. Admission to our concerts is free. Our first season was interrupted due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, but we'll be resuming our series soon. Keep posted for our New Season coming up this Summer 2021.
Performers that have joined us in our First Season:
Andrea González Caballero
Grisha Goryachev
James Piorkowski
Lynn McGrath
Evan Drummond
Kahlil Sarikey
Christopher Gainey
Janus Duo
Walt Sopicki
Conn Sullivan
Jason Kaznicki
The Santacrose Brothers
Dr. Ricardo Saeb