horn gems main logo            Donate button               

Due to the unsafe air quality, we have canceled this performance. We will have Pascal back on our series as soon as we are able.

Guitaromanie.

Pascal Valois2 webPascal Valois ~ early period Romantic guitar

This program brings to life the frenzy and wonder of a musical performance where spontaneity is combined with virtuosity. It features a set of masterpieces that drew crowds and rocked music salons across Europe. Whether an operatic fantasy by Mauro Giuliani, a sonata by Niccolò Paganini or a theme and variations by Fernando Sor, audiences were fond of new works for guitar. Sometimes imbued with clarity and rigor, sometimes strewn with dazzling drama, romantic guitar music always charms ─ thanks to its richness and diversity.

Pascal Valois guitar, is dedicated to reviving enthusiasm for his instrument’s music as popular during the Romantic era. After graduating with honours at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal under Jean Vallières, and receiving the Pierre J. Jeanniot Award during his studies at Université du Québec à Montréal with Alvaro Pierri, Pascal studied romantic guitar with Hopkinson Smith at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis and with David Starobin in New York. He has played in Basel, Paris, Riga, San Francisco, New York, Ottawa, and Toronto.

Pascal has received the most renowned bursaries in Canada for guitar performance (Canada Council for the Arts) as well as musicology (FQRSC and SSHRC). He has also been awarded scholarships from the Desjardins Foundation, the Wilfrid-Pelletier Foundation, the Laval University Foundation, and the Université du Québec à Montréal Foundation. He has recorded for the Centaur records and Analekta labels. Pascal’s forthcoming album will reveal the music of forgotten composer Monsieur Vidal.

Artist Website

1:15–2:00 pm
All concerts are free; no tickets or reservations are necessary.

In person at St. Malachy's Church, 239 West 49th Street, Manhattan

Live stream details: You can watch it on your computer in any of two places by clicking on the name you wish: our website or YouTube.

GEMS is a non-profit corporation that supports and promotes the artists and organizations in New York devoted to early music — playing repertoire from the Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, and early Classical periods.