The music fes­tival, which runs June 19–23, will fea­ture an array of con­certs, sem­i­nars, work­shops, master classes, and com­pe­ti­tions. For more infor­ma­tion about Gui­tar­Fest, the schedule of events, and tickets, visit http://​www​.boston​gui​tar​fest​.org/​2​0​13/. (Tickets can also be pur­chased directly through myNEU.)

The annual fes­tival explores the past, present, and future of the guitar, the instrument’s reper­toire, and its rich cul­tural legacy around the globe. Visionary gui­tarist Eliot Fisk founded the event. He serves as the event’s artistic director and is a pro­fessor at the New Eng­land Conservatory.

Wednesday’s opening night con­cert will pre­miere last year’s solo guitar com­po­si­tion com­pe­ti­tion winner, “Catarsis,” by Saúl Chapela (with Stefan Koim on guitar), gui­tarist and 2012 per­for­mance com­pe­ti­tion winner Chad Ibison, as well as John Gib­bons on harpsichord.

The fes­tival con­tinues the col­lab­o­ra­tive efforts of North­eastern and the New Eng­land Con­ser­va­tory, which recently com­bined to offer a new joint cer­tifi­cate pro­gram that allows stu­dents to receive musical per­for­mance expe­ri­ence and cre­den­tials from the New Eng­land Conservatory.

“The Boston Gui­tar­Fest rep­re­sents the best kind of part­ner­ship with our neigh­boring insti­tu­tions,” said Anthony De Ritis, chair of the Depart­ment of Music in Northeastern’s Col­lege of Arts, Media and Design. “The New Eng­land Con­ser­va­tory brings its focus on its inter­na­tional net­work of world class artists and per­formers and North­eastern brings its exper­tise in arts-​​based event man­age­ment and pro­duc­tion. Having the con­certs take place both at the Fenway Center and at Jordan Hall is yet another tan­gible example of our joint collaboration.”

This article was originally published by news@Northeastern.

The all-vocal contest was held in New York City on April 20th, 2013. ICCA, organized by Varsity Vocals, is the real-life competition depicted in the hit movie, “Pitch Perfect”, which made a huge splash in theaters last September.

The group’s journey to ICCA 2013 will be documented as part of a new reality television series from the producers of American Idol. The event organizers announced plans for the show on stage, just days after the news of a forthcoming “Pitch Perfect” sequel.

The competition evaluated hundreds of groups across seven regions in the U.S. and abroad into multiple Quarterfinals, from which the best groups move on each region’s Semifinal. From there, one group is selected to move to Finals in NYC. The Nor’easters earned the honor of representing Boston and the Northeast region this past weekend, ultimately placing first in the tournament.

“This victory is especially poignant given this past week’s tragedies, tensions, and most importantly, triumphs,” said David Crozier (President of The Nor’easters). “Being able to participate in such a high caliber competition and representing our city is the pinnacle of years of hard work for many of the Nor’easters’ members.”

The group’s leaders acknowledged that their success was not accomplished without an astounding amount of enthusiasm and support from fans from both Northeastern University and Boston, alike.

“Leaving home for the competition wasn’t easy, but we are so proud to return with a trophy that epitomizes the strengths inherent to Boston and its people; cooperation, dedication, and above all else, an appreciation for what can be accomplished when people tune in to one another,” explained Shams Ahmed, the group’s Music Director.

In-Depth: The Nor’easters were featured in competition coverage by Linda Holmes of National Public Radio.

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The Nor’easters are Northeastern University’s premier a cappella group. As the first co-ed group on campus, the Nor’easters have been entertaining a huge variety of audiences for years. Recent SoJam X and ICCA 2013 Champions, this award-winning group consistently pushes the envelope when it comes to artistry and emotional drive in performance. @NUNoreasters

“We’re not looking for the next Justin Bieber, the next Adele, the next fill-​​in-​​the-​​blank,” Lafy­atis said. “We’re looking for the next unique act.”

Lafy­atis has spent much of his time at North­eastern helming Green Line Records, par­tic­u­larly helping it tran­si­tion from an over­bur­dened stu­dent group to a fully-​​functional label that helps stu­dent acts record albums, sell mer­chan­dise, and book shows. The Col­lege of Arts, Media, and Design rec­og­nized Lafy­atis last semester for his entre­pre­neurial lead­er­ship with the label’s restruc­turing, which involved jet­ti­soning Green Line’s existing crop of artists in order to rebuild the orga­ni­za­tion from the ground up. In the past year, the orga­ni­za­tion has devel­oped a sus­tain­able busi­ness plan and pro­vided music industry stu­dents with valu­able expe­ri­ence in recording and management.

Prior to April, Green Line had signed three groups since its reor­ga­ni­za­tion last year. But that number grew ear­lier this month during the Green Line’s first ever “Signing Week,” which saw the intro­duc­tion of five new solo artists or groups, including singer-​​songwriters Brandon Pascua and Anneka, indie rock band Bon­fire Blue, indie folk act brave ele­phant, and free-​​spirited jam band Under­water Bear Ballet.

Green Line Records signed The Great Destroyer, a local act made up of two alumni and a cur­rent stu­dent. Cour­tesy photo.

In addi­tion to Green Line’s bur­geoning port­folio of artists, they’re becoming a go-​​to source for recording on campus. They pro­vide their acts—all of which have some North­eastern con­nec­tion, either as stu­dents or alumni—with the resources to record any­thing from a single track to a full album.

Musi­cians signed with Green Line say being part of a label makes it easier for them to focus on their music, leaving details like booking shows and ordering mer­chan­dise to those with the know-​​how to do the job. And having others working for the suc­cess of your band serves as an extra push to create the best pos­sible music.

“It gives us moti­va­tion to become the best band we can be,” said Joe Froeber, a third-​​year music tech­nology major who is a member of The Great Destroyer, a classic rock-​​inspired band formed by two North­eastern alumni, Anders Olson and Mike Simpson. “When you see them wanting us to suc­ceed, it pushes us to do even more.”

This article was originally posted at news@Northeastern

“Not only do we see this high wire act of a great entertainer realizing she’s about to fall off the tightrope and then getting herself back on, we watch that happen through improvisation,” Tick remarks. “And then we watch her impersonate – Ella was impersonating Louis Armstrong (…) When you impersonate someone in the jazz world that’s an act of friendship. It was pure love that was coming out in a time of great need.”

To hear the full program, with much more historical perspective from Tick and other contributors, visit the Ella in Berlin page at BBC Radio 4.