Gaëlle Solal: strums her guitar, entertaining audiences with a concert filled with classical pieces at the Jule Collins Smith Museum on April 6. JD Schein / ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR
Saturday night, the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art hosted a guitar concert by Gaëlle Solal.
The artist began the concert with a 19th century piece by an Italian composer and played a series of pieces by French and Spanish composers throughout the concert.
The concert was co-sponsored by the Jule Collins Smith Museum and the Chattahoochee Valley Guitar Society.
Andrew Zohn, associate professor of guitar at Columbus State University as well as a member of the CVGS, explained that organizations like the guitar society are non-profit across the country and their goal is to spread their interest to the general population.
Gaëlle Solal, originally from Marseilles, France, began playing the guitar when she was six years old.
She has won several national competitions including second place at the 2006 Guitar Foundation of America’s competitive event.
“(This event is) the most prestigious competition in the United States for guitar,” Zohn said.
He further explained this is where he first met and began working with Solal.
Solal won three gold medals at the Conservatoire de Marseilles at the age of 14.
She has placed first at the Grand Prix at Alessandria Competition and in competitions in Locquémeau, Savona and Sernancehle.
She was a finalist at the Concert Arts Guild in New York and an Honor Diplom at Accademia Chigiana.
Solal now teaches advanced guitar at the Superior Conservatory in Seville, Spain.
She had been touring California, and her performance at the Jule Collins Smith Museum Saturday was her last before she left to return home.
Solal said her “parents bring family to see different concerts,” and at a particular guitar concert she “fell in love with (the sound) of guitar.”
She has developed a highly advanced talent in the classical area of the instrument.
Before each composition was played, Solal explained where the composition came from and its significance to the composer.
She told the audience to use their imaginations in reference to meanings of the pieces she picked for the concert.
“I would like to thank the people who made this concert possible, especially the museum and the Guitar Society and my good friend Andrew Zohn,” Solal said.
Sarah Jane Bonn, a freshman in interior design, said she liked the concert.
She said she had “never heard the guitar played in that way,” in reference to the classical pieces Solal played during the concert.
The concert was considered a good experience by many.
“I feel sort of cultured because she is an international musician who is very talented at the specific way she plays the guitar,” Bonn said.
Andy Tennant, assistant director at the museum, explained the museum “hopes to do more and more musical concerts,” and wants to continue hosting successful musical events in the future.
