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A message from our President

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Welcome to the 2023-24 season of the Guitar Society of Toronto! We are excited to be welcoming many wonderful international artists to our concert stage, many making their first appearance in Toronto. Daniela Rossi and Andrea de Vitis both performed in online concerts but will be here in person this season. Ensemble concerts this year include Quartet Malamatina, (with local guitarist Tim Beattie) to open the season, and Boyd meets Girl, a guitar-cello duo in January.  GFA winner Lovro Poretic appears in November, and February will see a welcome return… A message from our President

President’s Message 2022-2023 Season

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Welcome to the 2022-23 season of the Guitar Society of Toronto! I’m delighted to tell you about our upcoming concert season!  We’re launching in September with something brand-new – a showcase of music created specifically for guitar, including several Guitar Society commissions. We will be welcoming some wonderful international and Canadian artists in 2023, including two — Irina Kulikova and Daniela Rossi – who are making their Toronto in-person debut after prior cancellations.  Other artists are making a welcome return, including GFA winner Bokyung Byun and Iliana Matos. The regular… President’s Message 2022-2023 Season

President’s Message 2021-2022 Season

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Welcome to the 66th season of the Guitar Society of Toronto!  We are eagerly anticipating a return to live music, and the opportunity to rediscover the power of live performance that we have missed so much.  We are planning to begin with the September concert at St. Andrew’s.  Luckily our beautiful new venue is large enough that physical distancing will not be difficult, and we will ensure all safety advice is met.   When we cancelled the remainder of the season in March 2020, I don’t think any of us… President’s Message 2021-2022 Season

2020 – 2021 President’s Message

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Welcome to the 65th season of the Guitar Society of Toronto!  Our 2020-21concert season will be very different from any that has come before, and will be a new experience for us all. When we cancelled the remainder of last season back in March, I don’t think any of us imagined how long the pandemic would continue. But here we are in September, and we, like so many other arts groups, are finding other ways to bring music to you and keep in contact with all of you who love classical… 2020 – 2021 President’s Message

2019 – 2020 President’s Message

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Welcome to the 2019-20 season of the Guitar Society of Toronto! This season we are excited to welcome many wonderful international artists to our concert stage.  Several – such as season opener Mak Grgic, and GFA winner Raphaël Feuillâtre – are making their Toronto debut.  Others are making a welcome return, including Xuefei Yang in January, and Judicaël Perroy in February.  Jason Vieaux, our feature performer for the Toronto Guitar Weekend, has not played for us since 2010!  As you can see on our Concerts page, we continue throughout the… 2019 – 2020 President’s Message

Eli Kassner

The Guitar Society of Toronto – By Eli Kassner

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(This article was published in Guitar Canada, Spring 1989, Volume 2, Number 4). It was shortly after WWII. The people of the world were picking up the pieces and trying to put them together again to start a new life. On the one hand, there was great despair over the horrible events that took place in the past, but on the other hand there was hope, incredible energy, dedication and faith in the future. It was during this time that I arrived in Toronto. When I came to Canada I… The Guitar Society of Toronto – By Eli Kassner

In Memoriam Eli Kassner 1924-2018

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We were deeply saddened by the passing of our founder, great friend and inspiration, Eli Kassner.  Eli passed away August 24, 2018 at the age of 94. We will miss his energy, his inspiration and his creativity but we are forever grateful to him for the gift of his knowledge and passion for the guitar. As many of you know, Eli arrived in Canada in 1951 as an orphan of the Holocaust, with little money and equally little English. Nevertheless he found work, first in a music store (practicing his… In Memoriam Eli Kassner 1924-2018

President’s Message 2018-2019

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Welcome to the 2018-19 season of the Guitar Society of Toronto! This season we are privileged to welcome many exciting international artists to our concert stage. Several – such as the Texas Guitar Quartet, our season opener – are making their first-ever appearance in Toronto.  Others are making welcome return appearances – including Paraguayan virtuoso Berta Rojas, whose performance here five years ago was one of our most popular and successful concerts. Berta will be the feature artist at the sixth Toronto Guitar Weekend next April – a wonderful opportunity… President’s Message 2018-2019

Order the Biography of our Founder, Eli Kassner

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‘Truly, Eli Kassner has lived a life full of liveliness, spirit, and joy – allegro vivace con brio.’ This autobiography by Guitar Society of Toronto founder Eli Kassner, with Jack Silver was published in 2016, the year the Guitar Society of Toronto celebrated its 60th anniversary, and coincidentally the same year Eli Kassner was awarded the Order of Canada. Costs listed include shipping within Canada, the US or International.  Select your location. Allegro Vivace con Brio, the Life of Eli Kassner CLICK HERE TO ORDER THE BOOKby our Founder Eli… Order the Biography of our Founder, Eli Kassner

Guitar Society of Toronto