About MGQ
Wade Oden, Steve Newbrough, Ben Gateño, Joseph Hagedorn (photo by Leslie Shank)
With the passion, style, and musical sophistication borrowing from the best chamber music and string quartet traditions, the Minneapolis Guitar Quartet has successfully made its case as one of the world's leading guitar ensembles since its founding in 1986. "Flawless, musical and witty" (Classical Guitar Magazine, England), the MGQ has performed throughout the United States both in recital and with orchestra, balancing a dizzying array of first-rate repertoire ranging from Renaissance and Baroque to Spanish, Latin American and Romantic, to highly imaginative existing and newly commissioned contemporary works. Cutting-edge composer/performer Daniel Bernard Roumain, one of the more than 20 composers commissioned by the MGQ, calls the group "more than a guitar quartet, more than superb musicians, and more than a great chamber group. They are ambassadors of sound, style, and substance."
Since 2006, the MGQ has collaborated with Flamenco dancer Colette Illarde, developing two different productions with music by the great Spanish composers Joaquin Rodrigo and Enrique Granados. This dynamic and wide ranging synthesis features music arranged by the MGQ, while Ms. Illarde’s choreography reflects the extraordinary vitality of Spanish culture and includes Spanish regional and folk dancing, classical ballet and flamenco.
The Minneapolis Guitar Quartet’s concerto appearances include the Austin Symphony, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Britt Festival Orchestra (OR), Minnesota Orchestra and the Columbus (GA) Symphony, among others. In recital, the MGQ appears in such cities as Seattle, Chicago, New Orleans, Los Angeles, Baltimore, Omaha, and Williamstown (MA). Other highlights include Princeton University, the Il Encuentro Internacional de Guitarra at the National Arts Center in Mexico City, the Omni Foundation Dynamite Guitar series in San Francisco, the Stetson International Guitar Workshop in Florida, and the Guitar Foundation of America Festival. Its concerts may feature as wide a range of repertoire as Bach, Piazzolla, Peter Maxwell Davies, Ginastera, Purcell, Rodrigo, Stravinsky, many new works by commissioned composers, and an exceptional arrangement of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition. The web magazine minor7th.com called it "the best arrangement of these 16 movements (Pictures at an Exhibition) I have heard…While staying true to the original sense of the pieces, the Quartet brings fresh colors and lyricism."
With funding assistance from organizations such as the Jerome Foundation, the American Composers Forum and the Schubert Club, the Minneapolis Guitar Quartet has commissioned many new works for guitar quartet. Recently commissioned composers include notable Chinese-American composer Huang Ruo who recently was recorded by NAXOS, internationally performed Cuban-American Ileana Perez Velazquez, and award winning composer Anthony Gatto. MGQ’s commissions also include works by Bun-Ching Lam, Daniel Bernard Roumain, Yuanlin Chen, Edie Hill, Eleanor Hovda, David Evan Thomas, Janika Vandervelde, David Hahn, Ian Krouse and David Kechley.
The MGQ has been heard on the nationally syndicated Saint Paul Sunday, and on National Public Radio's Performance Today. From its first four CDs on the Albany and GSP labels, the group has garnered unanimous international critical acclaim. "With (Over Land and Sea)," said Soundboard Magazine, "the MGQ demonstrates that it is one of the major guitar ensembles in the world."
Highlights from the 2007-2010 seasons include concerts and masterclasses in 20 states and concerto performances with the Austin(TX) Symphony, the Columbus(GA) Symphony, the Orchestra of Indian Hill (MA), and the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra. January 2007 brought the MGQ to Seattle's Benaroya Hall, a three-day residency in Lancaster, CA, and a recital and educational programs in Los Angeles. In March 2009, the Minneapolis Guitar Quartet toured to Oregon and Alaska.
Committed educators as well as performers, members of the Minneapolis Guitar Quartet (Joseph Hagedorn, Wade Oden, Ben Gateño, and Steven Newbrough) often appear to teach and present workshops at festivals and universities throughout the United States. The cultural accessibility of the guitar makes it a natural for the MGQ's educational and outreach programs like its two popular versions of "Guitar Talk" for ages 5-12 and 13 through adult.
Steven Newbrough
Steven Newbrough joined the Minneapolis Guitar Quartet in 2009 and has performed as a classical guitar soloist across the US, in concert and on television and radio. An eclectic musician, Steven’s experience includes playing the electric guitar with gospel choirs and rock bands, playing abstract twentieth century music with dancers, and playing classical guitar as a member of various chamber music groups. As part of his extensive work with dance, Steven has collaborated with choreographers Brenda Daniels, Kristen O'Neal, and Shawn Bowman-Hicks. Newbrough spent his early years in Fredericksburg, VA and Elizabeth City, NC and began his classical guitar studies with Gordon Kreplin. As a student of Joseph Pecoraro, Steven received his Bachelor of Music degree from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, then continued on to earn his Master's Degree in guitar performance under Jeffrey Van at the University of Minnesota.
Wade Oden
Wade Oden was born in Lubbock, Texas and grew up in Saint Paul, Minnesota. He received his B.M. and M.M in guitar performance at The University of Minnesota where he is currently pursuing his doctoral degree in the same field. Wade’s guitar teachers include O. Nicholas Raths, James McGuire and Jeffrey Van and he currently directs the guitar program at Normandale Community College. Wade’s performance credits include concerts with the Voce y Cuerdas duo performing a widely varied repertoire including new works by composers Chris Gable, Libby Larsen, Carol Barnett and Todd Harper. In 2008, Wade toured with the Rose Ensemble vocal group to the Festival d'Il de France. This performance was recorded and broadcast on Radio France. Wade is an active composer and arranger and his "Aquam Effunde" for piano, bass clarinet and marimba won first prize in the 2005 Eric Stokes song writing contest.
Joseph Hagedorn
Since winning the 1990 Guitar Foundation of America solo competition, Joseph Hagedorn has maintained an active performing career as a soloist and chamber musician. Praised for his passionate performances and flawless technique as well as his varied programs — on guitar and Renaissance lute — Joseph’s solo and concerto appearances have taken him to more than 25 American cities and to Canada. He has been heard twice on the nationally broadcast radio program Saint Paul Sunday, once with the MGQ and again with St. Paul Chamber Orchestra violinist Leslie Shank. in 1995 he was awarded the Minnesota State Arts Board Fellowship. This native Iowan and founding member of the MGQ received his Bachelor of Music degree from Cornell College in Mt. Vernon, Iowa, and his Master of Music degree from the University of Minnesota. He was a student of Richard Stratton, Christopher Carrington, Nelson Amos, and Jeffrey Van. Joseph has been on the music faculty of the University of Wisconsin-River Falls since 1988.
Ben Gateño
A native of southern Minnesota, Ben Gateño began playing electric guitar at age 13 and began study of classical guitar after a few years of playing only rock music. His early classical training included lessons with former MGQ member David Crittenden at the Perpich Center for Arts Education. Ben continued on to earn a Bachelor’s degree at Minnesota State University in Mankato while studying with James McGuire. Immediately after finishing his undergraduate work, Ben attended the Eastman School of Music where he earned Master’s and Doctoral degrees in performance and literature and studied guitar with Nicholas Goluses and performance practice with Paul O’Dette. Ben’s awards and honors include the Eastman School of Music’s Andres Segovia award, and first prize in the 2004 Boston Classical Guitar Society duo competition. He was also a finalist in the 2003 Winter Guitar Festival competition in Volos, Greece. Gateño has been the recipient of several study grants and fellowships including a generous fellowship from the Belgian American Educational Foundation, allowing him to study guitar with Antigoni Goni at the Koninklijk Conservatorium in Brussels. Ben joined the Minneapolis Guitar Quartet in 2009.
