by Dr. Matthew Warnock.

The venue slowly fills as fellow students and local guitarists take their seats in the cozy little common room located on the first floor of the Honors College. Quickly tuning your guitar, and finding a scratch on your B string that makes you wish you had changed it today, you run through a few scales and the beginning of the piece you are about to play. After finishing the opening bars, you notice the room has quieted down and the audience has turned to welcome the man everyone is here to see, someone that you have looked up to ever since you first picked up the instrument, David Russell. When he throws you a smile and a short greeting, your heart begins to race and you notice your hands are not as nimble as they were a minute ago.

Once seated, he quiets the room and gives you a short nod that is the go ahead to begin your performance. Though you have played this piece countless times before, Russell's presence somehow makes the work feel completely new. After a few shaky notes in the opening statement, you close your eyes and focus on the music, trying to ignore the man next to you as he mentally analyzes every note and phrase. When what seem like hours pass, you arrive at the end, half-glad that it is over, half-wishing you could go back and redo a few sections which you feel could have been better. You open your eyes to the sound of the audience clapping and sit back, hoping that the critique to follow will not be as bad as you expect. With a smile, and in his Scotch-Spanish accent, he says, "Let's start with the beginning. I think we can make that opening line a little cleaner." And with that, the performance begins all over again.

This is a scene that plays out every spring as students and fans of the guitar gather at the University of Arizona's campus for a two-week long residency held by Grammy award winning recording artist David Russell. During his yearly pilgrimage to the U of A, Russell gives a series of nine to ten, four-hour long, masterclasses as well as two concerts, all of which are open to the general public for a modest fee. With an opportunity to study with one of the most highly-regarded guitarists of the past 50 years, it is no wonder that the school has developed a reputation for being the place to study classical guitar at the college level.

Listen to samples from a variety of David Russell albums:

When attending the masterclasses, the first thing one notices is the incredibly high skill level and musicianship displayed by each of the more than 20 students that participate over the course of the two-week residency. These are not your garden variety young players. In fact, most of the students at the U of A could easily be leading a residency at the university level, and some of them already have. While a professional level of performance should be expected of the Masters and Doctoral students, even the undergraduate guitarists displayed masterful levels of technique and interpretation, often playing pieces that can be found on the concert programs of many of the world's top players.

Though there were many great performances during this year's residency, three guitarists who stood out among their peers were Matt Palmer, Eduardo Costa and Jane Curry. Palmer's highly expressive and technically virtuosic interpretation of Sergio Assad's piece "Portrait of Eli" was one of the highlights of the classes. Palmer has developed a unique right-hand technique that utilizes all three fingers that he calls "AMI," or ring-middle-index, that allows him to perform even the most difficult passages with the utmost clarity and incredible speed.

At the other end of the spectrum, Curry showed that technical virtuosity is not the only way a guitarist can win over a crowd. During her first piece of the week, Bach's "Prelude 1006A," Curry performed eloquently and with a level of control, intonation and expression that few guitarists can ever hope to master. Costa also possesses a fine mixture of both technical prowess and expression in his playing. His dynamic performance of Walton's "Bagatelles" showed why this young guitarist has been winning competitions and developing a fan base wherever he performs.

While listening to the students perform is both entertaining and educational, the reason most people attend these classes is to be in the presence of the master himself, David Russell. Within a few minutes of hearing Russell teach it becomes blatantly apparent why he is considered to be one of the top performers of his generation. His attention to the smallest detail of each piece, often working pieces through bar by bar, or even note by note, as well as his ability to show the student how these details relate to the larger picture, produced immediate results from every performer. Apart from the detailed dissections of each piece, Russell also encouraged every student to express himself during his or her performances. He would often ask students, even the younger ones, "how do you hear this phrase?" or "what does this chord mean to you?" Allowing the students to think for themselves, with a little guidance of course, not only made them more comfortable working with one of their idols, but gave each of them a point of reference for future practicing when Russell is not there to coach them.

Throughout the entire series of clinics Russell went out of his way to make sure that each student felt comfortable and was in a good head space during their performances and subsequent critiques. For a man that has accomplished so much and could easily have talked down to the students, he never once made a criticism that wasn't followed by words of encouragement or put in a context where the student could understand why they needed to change a certain fingering, phrase or interpretation. Russell would also frequently reference other students' performances, and even performances from years past, when giving examples of how to interpret a certain movement or piece. The fact that he can remember a critique he gave a student one or two years previously, then tell them how much better they sounded today, is a testament to the man's dedication and level of focus when he works through a piece with a student.

The David Russell masterclasses have become a favorite time of year for both the students at the university and local guitarists who come to audit the classes. While the focus of the week's activities is Russell and the students who perform during his classes, none of this would be possible without the hard work of U of A guitar professor Tom Patterson. Since arriving at the school in 1980, Patterson has developed the program into one of the best in the world. His ability to attract high-level players, and to push them to the next levels of their development, as well as bringing in world-class clinicians such as Russell has made him one of the most well-respected teachers in the business. With Russell signed on for a few more years of classes, and the Assad brothers coming in the fall for a residency, it is no wonder that students of all levels dream of being accepted into this highly competitive program.

Related Links
David Russell
Professor R. Thomas Patterson, University of Arizona