Evening of guitars set for Bethany Beach
In the spirit of Andres Segovia and Charlie Byrd, Larry Snitzler, classical guitarist, and Rick Whitehead, jazz guitarist, will combine their talents in the second concert of the summer season presented by Concerts at the Beach. The program will feature Latin American, classical and jazz standards, and the concert will be held in St. Martha’s Episcopal Church in downtown Bethany Beach, at Pennsylvania and Maplewood Avenues, on Saturday, July 31, at 8 p.m.
Larry Snitzler, who has been playing classical guitar since he was 18, was long associated with Andres Segovia, with whom he studied, traveling the world with him as part of the special master class offered by the composer.
Snitzler was a founding member of the Washington Guitar Quintet, a group specializing in North and South American and jazz-oriented music. The Washington Post has described Snitzler’s work as a composer as “beautifully formed, immediately attractive music.”
Long associated with National Public Radio, Snitzler has served as on-air host, performer and freelance music producer. He is a former co-chair of the Music Advisory Panel of the National Endowment for the Arts and has been a music consultant to the National Gallery of Art. He has lectured extensively at the Smithsonian Institution, addressed the National Press Club and has appeared at the Sunday at the Met lecture series at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
Rick Whitehead is the recipient of the Washington Area Musician’s Association 2007Award as Best Jazz Instrumentalist. For 22 years, he was the featured guitar soloist for the U.S.Air Force Band’s Airmen of Note, touring with the group throughout the United States, the Far East and South America. He appeared with the band on the “Tonight Show,” “The Mike Douglas Show” and “Nashville” Now and has performed at major jazz festivals across the U.S.A.
In the Washington, D.C., area, Whitehead has performed at the Corcoran Gallery, Blues Alley, Bohemian Caverns, the Smithsonian Jazz Café, the John F. Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage, the Washington National Cathedral and Shenandoah University in Winchester, Va.
Retired from the Air Force in 1991, he teaches jazz guitar at the Shenandoah Conservatory in Winchester and at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., and in his home studio.
Concert tickets cost $18, or $5 for students, and include a meet-the-artist reception following the concert. Reservations are available by calling (302) 539-2963.
Bethany Beach restaurants Blue Water and DiFebo’s are offering $2 off the price of Concerts at the Beach tickets purchased at the door. Concert goers can enjoy dinner at these two restaurants, present their dinner receipt at the time of ticket purchase and receive the discount.
DiFebo’s is located at 789 Garfield Parkway (Route 26) in Bethany Beach. They suggest early reservations by at least 6 p.m. The number for reservations is (302) 539-4550. Blue Water is located at 786 Garfield Parkway (Route 26) in Bethany Beach. Reservations can be made by calling (302) 539-4005. They, too, suggest early reservations.
