By Tess Peterson
Staff Writer
SPRINGFIELD – A small audience watched intently as Russel Brazzel’s fingers worked meticulously to play his guitar.
The Lincoln Land guitar instructor performed a diverse set of music, from the 1880s to the 1990s, from various countries and many unique styles.
Brazzel’s one-performer guitar concert, “Classical Guitar Music: Classical to Modern,” on Sept. 20 was the first of the eight-part recital series in the Trutter Center.
There were 70 chairs, but only about 25 people. Those empty chairs represented a missed opportunity for a top-notch concert.
The performance wove together beautiful and relaxing musical choices. Brazzel appeared calm and confident as he worked through intense pieces that required focus.
“I am an emotional person so playing a long piece, like Giuliani’s sonata, requires great focus,” Brazzel said.
Brazzel started his performance with English composers then moved to early 1990 Viennese composers. He ended with composers of the modern French and Spanish styles from the 1900s.
“The performance was like a history lesson in classical guitar,” said Megan Garrison, an audience member.
His pieces came from composers Fernando Sor, who was friends with Johann van Beethoven, Mauro Giuliani, Heitor Villa-Lobos and Francisco Tarrega.
Another audience member commented, “I loved how the pieces played showed different cultural aspects of classical guitar music.”
Brazzel received his bachelor’s degree in music from Loyola University of New Orleans and started playing guitar in college when he was 20 years old.
Brazzel commented that he got a late start to the guitar at 20. He said that one of the things he likes about composer Villa-Lobos is that he didn’t start playing guitar until he was 50 years old.
Brazzel continued his music education, attending graduate school at Tulane University, where he earned his master’s degree in fine arts.
He has lived in Central Illinois since 1990, teaching at Millikin University, Carl Sandburg College and Lincoln Land.
An experienced teacher and performer, Brazzel co-founded the Springfield Guitar Society, which showcases many guitar performances in Springfield.
This was a first of eight concerts at Trutter Center this year. The next show, The Central Illinois Woodwind Quintet, will be 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 18.
All shows are free and held at 4 p.m. on Sundays. The full schedule is:
- 15 – Theresa O’Hare & Tom Irwin
- 31 – Melinda Pitt Kaye
- 21 – River Ramblers
- March 20 – Brickhouse Brass
- April 3 – Emerald Underground
- May 1 – Paul Van Heuklom – Native American Flutes
Tess Peterson can be reached at [email protected].