My Livable City • 1st July 2021

Strategies for Reclaiming Autopian Spaces

In Tune Monthly • 1st October 2019

Tuition Dollars for Musical Scholars

Austin Classical Guitar • 18th April 2019

Borders of Belonging

In this unstable climate of boundaries drawn, borders disputed, and identities forced to bridge the middle ground, we’re often pressured into seeing concrete lines of distinction. We’re told to see others’ differences as discordant notes of tension rather than as the harmonious elements of an orchestra.

ACG was recently honored to perform at an event confronting these notions of division: ACC’s 8th Annual Peace and Conflict Studies Spring Symposium on Friday, April 12.

Austin Classical Guitar • 2nd April 2019

ACG Youth Orchestra Tour and the Joy of Sharing Music

A crucial element of the musical evolution, though, depends upon individuals coalescing into a unified ensemble. The young musicians, converging in the Youth Orchestra from diverse walks of life, spend every waking moment with each other. Stand-mates and part-sharers become bus-mates and meal-sharers; jokes and serious conversations build connections where before there were none; new shared experiences strengthen bonds; sooner or later, whether by choice or by proximity, these once-unfamiliar musicians become friends.

Austin Classical Guitar • 1st March 2019

Patti Troth Black: The Nurturing Beauty of Nature

She’s been working for the past seven months on shadow, light, and reflection. The focus of these works is not on the objects themselves, but on their reflections. Similarly to noticing things within photographs that she would highlight through painting, Patti began to see elements leaping out of the reflections, and felt the need to bring them to life.

Austin Classical Guitar • 19th February 2019

Miles to Go

A loving mother, wife, computer programmer, knitting aficionado, and athlete, Christina is spunky, matter-of-fact, and fearless. Her willingness to persevere and accomplish whatever she sets her mind to has driven her to run marathons, craft complex and time-consuming knits and quilts, and apply for her dream job.

Austin Classical Guitar • 11th December 2018

The Courtroom as a Stage for Music

The musicians were already seated onstage as the audience filed in to take their seats. A courtroom is an unusual concert venue: a short wooden barrier divides the performers from the crowd. The guitarists were in a small arc near the podium, not to face charges before a judge, but to share music with a warm audience of family and friends. The podium, as they began to play, was completely forgotten.

The audience witnessed a transformation during the performance, a transformation of three somber young teens into three focused musicians striving for beautiful tone and rhythmic precision.

Austin Classical Guitar • 15th November 2018

Let go and love: A Lullaby Story

Jennifer now realizes a lot of what she was going through emotionally was due to Postpartum Depression. She said even getting out of bed was a struggle at the time. But when she began to write down her thoughts for the Lullaby Project, reflecting on her first few months of raising a child, and how hard it was working, interning, going to classes, not having family in town, and never seeing her husband, she was able to overcome many of the feelings associated with those struggles.

Austin Classical Guitar • 26th October 2018

Music for a Little Spirit

Some mothers in the Lullaby Project choose to have someone else record their lullaby, but Kheira wanted to sing it herself. Her voice radiates with gentle, soothing strength. She tells Jennings of the uncertainty at the beginning of his life, and the fearless resilience she saw in his bright eyes. Her words reflect his light from within during the dark time, and encourage him to Be kind. Be brave. Be unafraid. Always remember you’re a part of my soul … If you ever forget how much you are loved, just listen to your song.

Austin Classical Guitar • 26th October 2018

Thoughts from the Border: Eclipsing Violence with Music

The students – one only six years old, his legs dangling off the chair as he held a half-size guitar – each played short solos while their mothers watched proudly. Ana listened to each one and gave thoughtful feedback, the students nodding with wide eyes at their teacher’s translation of her words into Spanish. A few years ago, the possibility of such an opportunity for these children would have been unthinkable.