Benjamin Beirs Guitarist, Teacher, Composer Benjamin Beirs

I had a very busy and fruitful summer, ending with preparations for my new solo album, called “Widening Circles.” I recorded the album in September and am so excited to share with you a preview of some of the pieces, as well as some more information about the project. There’s also an opportunity to pre-order a CD or contribute to the project, which will help me to cover the costs associated with producing a record such as this! Please click here to vist my Kickstarter site, or click the link below.

 

Blackbird arrangement on CDBaby and iTunes!

For those of you who have seen my Blackbird arrangement on youtube, I’ve recently released the mp3 on CDBaby and iTunes (click here to buy from iTunes). You can buy the mp3s through CDBaby here:

Just in case you haven’t seen the Blackbird video:

New Duo Transatlantique CD!

I’m happy to announce that Duo Transatlantique has recently released our sophomore album entitled “From Moment to Moment.” The album and mp3s can be bought on CDBaby through the link below. It is also available through a number of online vendors including iTunes (click here).

Summer Travels!

I have a busy summer, with two trips to California, a tour of France with Duo Transatlantique, and preparations for recording my next solo CD in early September! Please check my calendar for all my upcoming dates.

For June, I’ll be in Malibu for a little under a week, performing for Bodhifest, a daylong event featuring music, yoga, meditation, and much more. You can view the poster for the event below. July will take me to France, as well as to L.A. for The Buddhist Geeks Conference.

I hope you all have a beautiful and relaxing summer. I hope to see you around!
Ben

I really wanted to have a nice post ready for you all on the 1st of January. Thankfully, I’ve managed to find some to write one before January completely evaporates – in fact, I have one day to spare before February is upon us!

I’ve added FOUR new videos to my music section, and one track to my audio samples. All of these are live, and I hope you enjoy them – just mosey on over to the Music page and dig in!

In other news, I was accepted as a semi-finalist at the 15th annual Schadt String Competitionin Allentown, PA. I will compete with, I believe 9 other semi-finalists for the first prize of money, fame, and immortality. Is that in the fine print?!?! Oh, and a return engagement with the Allentown Symphony Orchestra in 2012. Keep your fingers crossed!

Also prepping for my tour in March 2011 with Duo Transatlantique. Please check our Calendar to see specific dates if you’d like to see us in the Philadelphia / Baltimore area (or in France!).

Wishing you a very healthy, happy and successful 2011 – about a month late, but who’s counting?!

-Ben

I had a great time playing music in November. I was all over the place: from Keene, New Hampshire, to Asheville, North Carolina, and everywhere in between. There were a lot of highlights – the Salon at Andrea Clearfield’s in Philadelphia was awesome, and it was a great way to wrap up all the performances I gave.

My trip to North Carolina was also great. On Friday, November 19th, I appeared on WCQS, Western North Carolina Public Radio, and then performed for the newly-formed Asheville Classical Guitar Society. Here are some excerpts from my radio interview:

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Then I drove over  Greensboro, NC for a masterclass with guitar students of Kami Rowan at Guilford College and a concert in conjunction with the Piedmont Classic Guitar Society. Here are a couple pictures from the masterclass:

Texas
First of all, at the beginning of March, I participated in the 9th Annual Texas Guitar Competition and Festival at the University of Texas at Dallas. I’m happy to say I won first prize! I had a lot of fun hanging out with some of my guitar friends from all over the country, and I also heard a great performance of the “Concierto de Los Angeles” by Shingo Fujii, performed by William Kanengiser with the Guitar Festival Orchestra. The link to the press release can be found here: http://www.utdallas.edu/ah/programs/arts/musi/guitarcomp.html

India
Immediately following that was an amazing tour of the south of India. I performed at a wedding, gave two concerts, and also taught masterclasses and private lessons in conjunction with the Bangalore School of Music. I also received some great reviews in the papers – an online version of one of the reviews can be found here:
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/59440/ensemble-east-west.html

Finally, check out this performance at the Bangalore International Centre I gave with incredible Indian musicians Muthu Kumar, Amith Nadig, Karthik Mani, and Ashwin Kumar during my visit. This was our second concert together, and it only happened because someone who saw our first concert loved it so much they had to have us perform again in Bangalore before I flew back to the states. I had a blast playing with these guys and hope to do more fusion and improvising with these guys in the future.