In 2005 Eliot Fisk already asked me to be his assistant for the GuitarFest and I happily agreed. Some weeks I did lots of work for it–others I practiced guitar instead. Whatever the case, I had decided early on that I would not compete for many reasons. (Eliot wouldn’t be anywhere near the jury, so that wasn’t one of them.)
March 2006 was my recital and after that there was very little guitar playing, just more phone calls, E-mails, and more school assignments. By late May, it was still the same–I was buried underneath tons of festival-related work with no guitar in sight. Something struck me this time though–two very different reasons why I should enter the competition.
1. For the heck of it. I mean, it’s right here in Boston, at New England Conservatory, right under my nose. Why not? Plus, I get to play in Jordan Hall–how cool is that! Just go up there and have a good time! Yea!
2. More importantly, entering the competition was a reminder of why I got into all of this in the first place. I’m not suffering from any identity crisis but having gotten myself into all kinds of different responsibilities, it was important to go back to where I started.
I tied first with Joseph Williams II and I could not have been happier with the outcome. The following trip to San Francisco to record and meeting Vince from VGo Recordings, then finally the creation of this website… It was supposed to be a boring summer in Boston–practicing a bit, transcribing a few pieces, getting caught up with things. It turned out to be the most productive summer of my life yet!
