A variety of genres of guitar music will fill the air at the Black Mountain Recreation Center this Sunday as the city of Henderson presents the Guitar Society of Las Vegas as part of its Coffee Shop Sunday series.
Manny Gomez, president of the Guitar Society of Las Vegas, said the group was founded in 1997 as a nonprofit organization. The group currently includes about 100 members and Gomez said it tries to cover the entire spectrum of guitar music.
"We try to represent all styles of guitar music with the guitar society," Gomez said. "Our youngest member is 11 years old and our oldest is in his 70s."
Gomez said this is the second time the Guitar Society has performed a concert commissioned by the city of Henderson. The last concert was performed about three years ago.
The two-hour concert will feature four segments of performances, including Classical Guitar From a New Generation from 2 to 2:30 p.m., a selection of classical pieces played by members of the society's student chapter; Love Songs, Ballads and Neat Old Stuff from 2:30 to 3 p.m., a selection of jazz and folk solo pieces played by Gomez and friends; Thumbpickers from 3 to 3:30 p.m., a selection of music in the style of Chet Atkins played by John Barger and friends; and Smooth Jazz from 3:30 to 4 p.m., a selection of traditional and contemporary smooth jazz pieces played by Bill Swick.
Gomez said in addition to performing and attending concerts, the members of the Guitar Society of Las Vegas recently recorded a CD.
"We released our most recent CD about midway through the year," he said. "It's really eclectic -- it represents a good cross section of our membership."
Swick, director of the student chapter of the society, is the guitar teacher at the Las Vegas Academy. He has been a member of the Guitar Society of Las Vegas for the past eight years and has taught at the academy for four years.
Swick said Gomez supports finding ways to get young talent involved with the guitar society.
"He asked me about a year ago to look into that, so about a year ago we started the student chapter," he said. "It gives students the opportunity to do things like recording on the society's most recent CD. It's a nice opportunity for them and the program at the academy."
Currently about eight youth are involved with the student chapter. Swick said participants don't have to attend the academy. The student chapter mainly focuses on traditional classical repertoire for solo guitar.
During Sunday's performance, four to five members of the student chapter will perform two to three pieces each.
"The kids that perform will be those that volunteer to play for this," Swick said. "They're always excited about performing. The opportunity to perform is something they enjoy taking advantage of."
Swick also will perform during the event, playing a selection of smooth jazz and traditional and contemporary pieces.
"This is one of my favorite styles," he said. "I do a lot of professional solo guitar playing, mostly smooth jazz and standards."
The Guitar Society of Las Vegas meets the first Wednesday of each month at 6:30 p.m. in the Jewel Box Theatre at the Flamingo Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road. Membership is open to community members of all ages interested in the performance and study of the guitar. For more information, visit www.gslv.org.
Sunday's concert is free to the public. Performances will begin at 2 p.m. at the Black Mountain Recreation Center, 599 Greenway Road.
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