VCU news

By Tom Gresham

In the early days of the VCU Community Guitar Ensemble, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, the group was small and the pieces it played relatively brief. The ensemble, which started with eight guitarists in 1986, tended to perform musical works that were no longer than a page of sheet music in length, according to Anne Lueke, who has played in the ensemble for more than 20 years.

Today, the ensemble counts 35 members on its roster, and its concerts feature works that frequently are eight or nine pages long, full of complex rhythms and fingering techniques that provide a serious challenge for the guitarists on stage. The ensemble celebrates its anniversary on July 24 with a free concert at 4 p.m. at the Singleton Center for the Performing Arts, capping off the 19th annual Guitars and Other Strings Concert Series organized by the VCU Department of Music.

The Community Guitar Ensemble features guitarists from a range of personal, professional and musical backgrounds, united by their skill and their interest in playing in a setting that is unusual for the instrument, which typically suggests solo virtuosity rather than collaborative precision.

“It’s a good chance for guitarists to do something different,” said John Patykula, assistant director of the Department of Music in the VCU School of the Arts and the ensemble’s founding director. “They’re not used to playing in an ensemble with other guitarists, and it’s a chance for them to be in a conducted ensemble. It also helps them with rhythm and they play a range of music – everything from bossa nova to Bach.”

The community detail of the name is emphasized in the ensemble’s mission. A number of the guitarists have VCU roots – one is a current student and at least eight others are alumni – but it is not a requirement for joining the ensemble. The focus is on developing a diverse group of guitarists from different parts of the community that meets for a couple of rehearsal seasons each year, culminating with performances. The ensemble features both guitarists with extensive performance experience who continue to play in other venues and those who work full-time jobs unrelated to music and for whom the VCU Community Guitar Ensemble is their featured gig.

“I think principally it’s an educational experience,” Patykula said. “For some, it’s also a social thing. And I know all of them get a kick out of performing.”

As the ensemble has aged, it has received interest from a widening sphere of musicians. Several of them, such as Lueke and Jim Ladd, who joined in 2002, were encouraged to join the ensemble by their instructors, many with VCU ties.

“There are a lot more community people involved now,” Lueke said. “It speaks to John’s involvement in the guitar department at VCU and to the department’s outreach to the community.”

Ladd was a self-taught guitarist – “a hobbyist,” he said – when he began to take lessons with an instructor a decade ago. The instructor, David Robinson, a VCU alumnus, recommended that Ladd try Patykula’s ensemble. Ladd, a VCU School of Business alumnus, was in his fifties without much performing experience. He was intimidated and wary. “I never had visions of doing anything like that,” Ladd said.

However, Patykula encouraged and assured him, and Ladd joined up in 2002. The work is demanding but rewarding, he said. During the rehearsals leading up to a performance, Ladd frequently resolves that he will relinquish his spot in the ensemble when he gets through those pieces. But then, as soon as the performance is over, “I can’t wait to get out there and do it again.”

“It’s my one hour of fame every six months,” Ladd said.

A major appeal of the ensemble for its participants is the steady growth it provides for them as musicians.

“Every rehearsal season brings new challenges and experiences,” Lueke said. “We’re always learning. There is something new that I take away from each rehearsal season in terms of technique and in terms of just getting better.”

Patykula said the members of the ensemble have an evident commitment to the work and clearly spend considerable time working on every piece on their own.

“They come very prepared for rehearsals,” Patykula said.

Lueke said Patykula himself is part of the reason for the ensemble’s collective work ethic.

“John is one of those people that you will go to the end the world for because you don’t want to let him down,” Lueke said.

Patykula has been the driving force for the VCU Community Guitar Ensemble for the entirety of its existence, and Lueke said he is the ideal leader – generous with his time and knowledge.

“There aren’t enough words to convey my regard for John,” she said. “His work ethic and discipline are amazing, but he never seems like a taskmaster. In fact, he comes off as laid back.”

Ladd marvels at Patykula’s thorough preparation for every rehearsal, which always run smoothly, he said, because Patykula has spent so much time getting ready for them. At the outset of each rehearsal season – the ensemble will have six Sunday rehearsals before the July 24th event – Patykula takes the ensemble through every piece in detail and provides background and context, often including riveting anecdotes, that makes the music come alive in surprising ways. 

Lueke and Ladd said Patykula has a knack for keeping an eye and ear on every player in the large ensemble, and he understands their strengths and weaknesses. “He knows who did not hit that note and who did,” Lueke said. “He’s very much aware.” He also provides a calming influence when pre-performance jitters strike.

“He has more confidence in us than we have in ourselves,” Lueke said.

Patykula said he is proud of the camaraderie that has developed among ensemble members. Despite their somewhat disparate backgrounds, the group gets along well, he said, and supports each other through the rigorous process of preparing for a performance. He said it particularly pleases him to see groups of them attending VCU music concerts during the course of the year.

Ladd said the group is bound by their love of the guitar and the opportunity the ensemble provides for them to show off what they can do.

“The real joy is getting to share your music with other people,” Ladd said.