OGCMA Presents Guitar Duo Alex And Wesley Park

There's a lot of rock'n'rollin' on the Jersey Shore every summer, but for classical music lovers the best place to go is The Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association (OGCMA). And OGCMA's always-crowd-pleasing "Summer Stars Classical Series" will continue with a bright new sound and blend when the dynamic young classical guitarists Alex & Wesley Park strum into The Great Auditorium on Thursday, July 26, at 7:30 pm. The Auditorium is located at Pilgrim and Ocean Pathways in Ocean Grove, NJ. Individual tickets are $17.00/$10 for students (plus applicable fees). All facilities are handicapped accessible. Order tickets by phone at 800-590-4064 or online at www.oceangrove.org.

About The Park Brothers
Both Alex and Wesley Park started their music education on the piano at an early age, then began their guitar studies in their teens. They initially started as a duo on the piano, then decided to change to guitars - a result of their individual and joint study under Christopher Parkening at Pepperdine University. The brothers enjoy working together as they complement each other with a natural synergy of sounds. The Park Brothers have performed together as far away as Heidelberg, Germany and Hermagor, Austria. As a duo, they have participated in masterclasses with Christopher Parkening, Andrew York, and Detlev Bork. In the 2014 Pacific Guitar Competition in Monrovia, California, The Park Brothers placed as finalists in the chamber mixed division category. Says their proud teacher Parkening: "Alex and Wesley make beautiful music on the guitar by using tonal colors and contrasts. They utilize the entire range of the guitar to bring out the intrinsic beauty of the instrument."

About Alex Park
At the age of eight, Alex started playing the piano and at 15 began his studies in classical guitar. He recently graduated from Pepperdine University, studying under Christopher Parkening and is currently continuing his studies under Andrew York at Cal State Fullerton, pursuing his MS in Music. In 2013, Alex placed Honorable Mention at the Parness Concerto Competition sponsored by the Culver City Symphony Orchestra. In 2016 alone, he won the Thomas Osborn Concerto Competition, playing the Concierto de Aranjuez by Joaquin Rodrigo; was a finalist in the Classics Alive Young Artists Competition; placed second in the American Guitar Society's Bickford Award; and was the third finalist in Lee Ritenour's Six String Theory Competition. The following year, he was a finalist in the solo division at the Pacific Guitar Competition. This extraordinary young man has participated in masterclasses with Christopher Parkening, Jason Vieaux, Andrew York, Scott Tennant, Thibaut Garcia, Jubilant Sykes, Detlev Bork and the Ironwood Duo. Demonstrating his diversity, Alex has worked on film and media projects as a session guitarist and film composer. Most notably, he played guitar for the soundtrack of Lew Wallace: Shiloh Soldier/Ben Hur Bard, an Emmy Award winning documentary in the Musical Composition/Arrangement category. In addition to performing, Alex Park teaches at the Pangrazio Music Conservatory in Los Angeles, California.

About Wesley Park
The younger of the two talented brothers, Wesley is currently pursuing his BS in Music at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, studying, as his brother did, with Christopher Parkening. In addition to the guitar, Wesley still plays the piano, as well as drums. In fact, in 2004, he won the Loyola University First Annual Elementary Artists Competition on the piano. In 2013, Wesley won Second Place in the ASTA/Aron Green Classical Guitar Competition junior division. And in 2014 he placed as a finalist in the Pacific Guitar Competition in the junior division. Wesley has participated in masterclasses with Christopher Parkening, Meng Su, Jason Vieaux, Andrew York, Jubilant Sykes, and Detlev Bork.

THE EVENING'S PROGRAM

Three Renaissance Pieces

Anonymous, trans. Patrick Russ and Christopher Parkening

Le Rossignol

Drewries Accordes

La Volta

Two Spanish Pieces

El Paño Moruno - Traditional

The Miller's Dance - Manuel De Falla

Una Limosna - Agustín Barrios Mangore

Leyenda - Albéniz

Danza de la pastora - Ernesto Halffter

Evening Dance - Andrew York

Intermission

Ave Maria - Bach/Gounod

Intermezzo - Granados

De los álamos vengo, madre - Rodrigo

Woven World - Andrew York

Koyunbaba (The Shepherd) - Carlo Domeniconi

Michelle - Lennon and McCartney

Laudate Dominum - Mozart

Jongo - Paulo Bellinati

La Vida Breve - Manuel De Falla

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