LECTURES

Presented by the festival artists, MIGF lectures provide students and all community members opportunities to expand their understanding of a variety of musical subjects. Each lecture is free and open to public; virtual lectures can also be viewed online with free registration.

Guitarist and teacher Rafael Padron will present a lecture on Practice Techniques. In this lecture, Rafael will discuss tone production, vibrato, slurs, and warm up routines.

Guitarist Koh Kazama will present his lecture on Fretboard Knowledge & Applied Theory on the Guitar. Most classical guitar scales and arpeggios focus on developing one’s technique (i.e. shifting, speed, right hand fingerings); however, there is not as much emphasis on knowledge of the fretboard through these exercises. This interactive workshop will present a novel approach to scales and arpeggios that help guitarists develop their knowledge of the fretboard and apply their knowledge of theory to the guitar. Developing these skills can greatly improve one’s ability to sight read, figure out fingerings for pieces, and learn pieces at a faster pace. It is recommended that you bring a guitar for this workshop.

Composer Stephen Goss will present a lecture on Biopsychosocial composition: collaborative music-making through idiomatic alchemy. “My compositional process has become increasingly concerned with idiom and collaboration. With each commission, I engage directly with the individual player’s technical and musical mindset and their creative agenda. These become catalysts for a more wholistic approach to bespoke performer-driven composition. I will illustrate my lecture with examples from recent collaborations with theorbist Matthew Wadsworth, and guitarists David Russell, Zoran Dukić, and John Williams.”

Mr. Goss will also be giving a pre-concert talk on the premiere of his new concerto “Wynwood Walls” in the Wertheim Concert Hall on Thursday, February 23 at 7:00 pm.

19th century music specialist and guitarist Robert Trent will present a lecture on improvisation: Can I Improvise in Classic/Romantic Music? This lecture is an introduction to interpretation and improvisation in guitar music of the early nineteenth-century. Original sources of “Preluding”, and additional extant examples of cadenzi within published works of guitarists and non-guitarists of the 19th century will be explored as models from which guitarists can improvise in 19th century repertory.

Astrophysicist and director of Stocker AstroScience Center Dr. James Webb will present a lecture on Science and Music. “In my talk I will take you on a journey back to the early 1970’s and show you how popular music inspired a young aspiring astronomer to open up his mind to look at the subject of astronomy in different ways!”

Download the 2023 MIGF Schedule of Events\
Download the  2023 MIGF Program Book

2023 MIGF Festival Pass is available to attend all festival events at a single reduced price:

$100 general, $70 senior/FIU faculty, staff, & alumni, $30 student
BUY FESTIVAL PASS

19


February 2023
10:00 am

Lecture: Practice Techniques
Rafael Padron

Saturday, February 19, 2023
11:00 am EST
WPAC Instrumental Hall
Free Admission

21


February 2022
3:30 pm

Lecture: Fretboard Knowledge & Applied Theory on the Guitar
Koh Kazama

Tuesday, February 21, 2023
3:30 pm EST
WPAC Instrumental Hall
Free Admission

24


February 2023
3:00 pm

Lecture: Biopsychosocial Composition
Stephen Goss

Friday, February 24, 2023
3:00 pm EST
WPAC Recital Hall
Free Admission

25


February 2022
10:00 am

Lecture: Can I Improvise in Classic/Romantic Music?
Robert Trent

Saturday, February 25, 2023
10:00 am EST
WPAC Instrumental Hall
Free Admission

26


February 2022
10:00 am

Lecture: Science and Music
James Webb

Sunday, February 26, 2023
10:00 am EST
WPAC Instrumental Hall
Free Admission

Equal Opportunity/Access Employer and Institution
TDD via FRS 1-800-955-8771
To request materials in accessible format, sign language interpreters, and/or any disability accommodation, please contact FIU’s Division of Diversity Equity & Inclusion (DEI) ADA and Accessibility team at 305-348-2785 two weeks in advance to initiate your request.