We are very excited to present our first concert of the 2026 Season —join us this January 24th for a recital with the Brazilian duo Gabi and Edu!

Gabriele Leite and Eduardo Gutterres are award-winning musicians, cherished members of the NYC classical guitar scene, and we’re incredibly lucky to open our season with their concert. They’ve prepared a vibrant program featuring Brazilian classics, arrangements, and even some original compositions.

We’ll be hosting this event at Christ Church, Cobble Hill, and we can’t wait to fill the space with familiar faces and new friends alike.

Don’t miss this concert! Here are the details:

• 🎸 Saturday, January 24
  🎸 Doors: 6:30 PM | Music: 7:00 PM
  🎸 Location: Christ Church, Cobble Hill — 326 Clinton St, Brooklyn, NY 11231
  🎸 Tickets: $30 BKCGS | $40 General Admission
  🎸 Early Bird Discount: Sent via newsletter. Did you miss it? Join our newsletter today for future discounts for our subscribers!

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out at hello@bkcgs.org. We hope to see you in Brooklyn as we begin another great year of concerts, community, and classical guitar.

About the Artists

Gabriele Leite and Eduardo Gutterres are multi-awarded Brazilian guitarists based in New York City since September 2021. Their concerts, entirely dedicated to Brazilian composers, include works written for two guitars, original compositions by Eduardo and Gabriele, as well as their own arrangements of iconic Brazilian pieces, such as Wave by Tom Jobim.

Most recently, they were invited to perform at the United Nations during the 2025 General Assembly. In December 2024, they performed at Teatro Cultura Artística in São Paulo, one of Brazil’s most prestigious venues, as part of the theater’s reopening season following renovations after a 2009 fire. In September 2023, they won the Vienna International Classic Strings Competition (Chamber Music Category) in Austria. They traveled to Europe with a sponsorship by the Instituto Guimarães Rosa, the Brazilian governmental organization promoting cultural diplomacy abroad.

In 2019, they received individually the prestigious Magda Tagliaferro Scholarship, awarded by Sociedade Cultura Artística to twelve promising young Brazilian artists, marking the beginning of their collaboration as a duo. In 2021, they won the Lilian Fuchs Chamber Music Competition in New York with their performance of Suíte Retratos by Radamés Gnattali.

Since then, they have performed at internationally renowned events, including the opening concert of the United Nations Security Council Meeting (2022), the Brazil-United States Chamber of Commerce’s Person of the Year 2023, and Brazil Week, organized by Citigroup. In 2023, they were selected to participate in the Aspen Music Festival with a full scholarship covering tuition, housing, and board.

Gabriele and Eduardo are endorsed by Augustine Strings (New York, USA).

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Gabriele Leite was included in the Forbes Brasil 30 Under 30 in 2021 and has received the Young Revelation Award from Concerto magazine, the Hubert Kuppel Prize in Germany, among others. She has just released her second album, Gunûncho, featuring works exclusively by female composers, including original compositions by Gabriele. Her first album, Territórios (2024), also on the same Brazilian label Rocinante, features Brazilian composers such as Sérgio Assad, Edino Krieger and others. Gabriele holds a Master’s degree with Honors from the Manhattan School of Music, and is currently pursuing her PhD in Musical Performance at Stony Brook University.

Eduardo Gutterres has received numerous awards, including Young Musicians Award from CitiGroup Brazil (2024), and the 1st prize in the Eisenberg-Fried Concerto Competition (2022). He has collaborated with the Brazilian streaming platform ZapMusic on the documentary Guitar Around the World, highlighting the life of a young Brazilian musician in New York. Gutterres is endorsed by Augustine Strings and serves as the host of their Wind Up podcast, where he interviews guitarists. He is currently a Doctoral of Musical Arts candidate at the Manhattan School of Music, where he also teaches Chamber Music. He holds a Master of Music with two commencement awards from the Manhattan School of Music and a Bachelor of Music with honors from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil).

Join us this December 6th to hear the extraordinary Polish guitarist Mateusz Kowalski

The BKCGS is happy to have the amazing Mateusz Kowalski for a second time (check out his concert video from his first visit to Brooklyn!). Here are the details:

• Saturday December 6th, 2025

• Doors at 7pm / Music at 7:30pm

• South Oxford Space at the Alliance of Resident Theaters (ART)

• Tickets $40 general and $30 for BKCGS members

About the Artist:

Mateusz Kowalski is one of the most outstanding guitarists, touted by Classical Guitar Magazine as a "spectacular" musician who performs a vast repertoire ranging from the renaissance to contemporary works with remarkable expertise, stylistic sensitivity, and great musical culture. He has performed in some of the most prestigious concert halls around the world, including the Musikverein in Vienna and the Shanghai Grand Theatre, captivating audiences in cities such as New York, Los Angeles, Paris, and London. His performances have been heard in over 20 countries. Kowalski gained recognition for the first-ever live performance of Fryderyk Chopin’s Piano Concerto in F minor arranged for guitar and orchestra. The premiere took place during the "Chopin and His Europe" festival in 2023 with {Oh!} Orchestra conducted by Martyna Pastuszka. He is the winner of prestigious competitions, including the 1st Bach Guitar Award in Darmstadt - one of the most prestigious guitar competitions in the world, dedicated to the music of Johann Sebastian Bach - and the 2nd EuroStrings International Competition in London - a contest open only to the winners of the most significant European guitar competitions. Kowalski has already released several albums, both as a soloist and chamber musician. The most notable of these - "Polish Romantic Guitar" was premiered in 2021. These recordings were produced in collaboration with the Fryderyk Chopin Institute.

“Two virtuosos at the top of their game.” - Blair Jackson (Classical Guitar Magazine, 2021)

We’re so excited to welcome the incredible CC Duo for a concert at Christ Church Cobble Hill! Come join us for an intimate evening of classical guitar music in an incredible space with our community. Everyone is welcome! Please click the link below for ticket info.

Click here for all of the LuthierCon 2025 info!

Click here for tickets.

You’re invited for our 2nd Annual BKCGS Members’ Concert! Join us on Saturday, May 17 at Christ Church Cobble Hill, for an evening of community and music that showcases some of our very talented members in solo and ensemble performances. The program includes solo and ensemble music music by Tárrega, Villa Lobos, and Barrios, as well as original compositions. The event is free for performers and guests, although donations are appreciated Get your tickets today below!

Here are all the details:
Saturday, May 17
Doors at 6:30 pm / Music at 7:00 pm
Christ Church Cobble Hill / 326 Clinton St, Brooklyn
The concert is BYOB, BYOSnacks, and we’ll have refreshments available, too.
All members eligible for our raffle at intermission - concert tickets, LuthierCon, and strings by La Bella

This concert will be a highlight of our year focusing on bring the classical guitar music community together for an evening of music and fun. Even if you are not currently a member of the society we would love it if you could come to support our local musicians, hang out, and enjoy the performances. Come say hello and make news friends, too. Any questions, let us know, and we look forward to celebrating our BKCGS community with you!

And if you’d like to become a BKGCS member, you can easily become one here. See you soon!

BKCGS Presents: Cinzia Milani, Solo Classical Guitar Concert

From Italy to...

Join us for an evening of mesmerizing classical guitar music performed by classical guitarist Cinzia Milani. Cinzia has prepared a beautiful program called, "From Italy to..." featuring music by Ida Presti, John Duarte, Mauro Giuliani, Astor Piazzolla, and more! This in-person event will take place at the Soapbox Gallery. Don't miss out on this unique opportunity to experience the beauty of classical guitar up close and personal. Mark your calendars and we'll see you in Brooklyn!

Saturday, March 29, 2025

• Doors at 6:30 pm / Music at 7:00 pm

• Soapbox Gallery, 636 Dean St, Brooklyn

• Tickets $35

We are thrilled to close out our 2024 season with none other than a solo classical guitar concert by Rupert Boyd! Rupert is a phenomenal musician and internationally acclaimed artist who performs as a soloist and as one part with Boyd Meets Girl (guitar and cello). Please join us for this concert with Rupert which is also a fundraising event for the BKCGS! Get your tickets below and we’ll see you soon in Brooklyn!

New York-based Australian classical guitarist Rupert Boyd has been described by Gramophone as “a very fine musician,” by The Washington Post as “truly evocative,” and by Classical Guitar Magazine as “a player who deserves to be heard.” His performances have taken him across four continents, from New York’s Carnegie Hall, to festivals in Europe, China, India, Nepal, the Philippines, New Zealand and every state and territory in Australia.

“Remember the name Rupert Boyd. While there may never be another classical guitarist like Segovia, this young Australian left his audience with the impression that someday there may not be the likes of him again, either.”

- The Washington Post

It’s our 2nd Year Anniversary Party! Please join us in celebrating two years of classical guitar music and community in Brooklyn. We had a blast last year and hope you can join us too! Hit the button below to get more information and to RSVP!

Kevin stands as a distinguished artist, having achieved the esteemed Fellowship of the Royal Schools of Music, alongside the 2018 Goh Soon Tioe Centenary Award and the 2010 HSBC Youth Excellence Award for his musical achievements. In 2023, Kevin earned multiple accolades, including 1st prizes at the XXII Concurso Internacional de Guitarra José Tomás Villa de Petrer, the Josefina P. Tuason International Guitar Competition, and the Boston GuitarFest. Most notably, he secured 2nd place at the 2023 Guitar Foundation of America International Concert Artist Competition, arguably the most prestigious classical guitar competition in the world.

Program coming soon!

Saturday, October 26 6:30PM - 9:30PM

Soapbox Gallery

636 Dean Street Brooklyn, NY 11238

We are so excited to announce our first event of our fall series with LuthierCon 2024! LuthierCon is a new event that brings classical guitar luthiers and players together in Brooklyn to learn about, celebrate, and discuss the art of classical guitar lutherie.

On Saturday, September 14 from 11AM to 6PM you’re invited to come out to Brooklyn for the day with the Brooklyn Classical Guitar Society and four incredible and renowned classical guitar luthiers: Matt Rubendall, Garrett Lee, Lubos Naprstek, and Brian Itzkin!

Discover the ins and outs of our beloved instrument with presentations, a luthier Q&A panel, guest artists from the NY Guitar Seminar doing live demonstrations and performances, and plenty of free time to play guitars, talk with the luthiers, and more! Bring your classical guitar with you to ask luthiers questions about your instruments, and to compare and contrast with the other guitars at the event. Learn about what goes into making a guitar, how to choose a guitar that’s right for you, optimal set ups for your instrument, and much more.

Get your tickets now at the link in our bio and stay tuned for more LuthierCon news. Full schedule, guest artists, and more to be announced soon!

Here are the details:

👉9/14/2024

👉 11AM - 6PM

👉Brooklyn Army Terminal | Building B | 7th Floor

👉$20 General Public | $15 BKCGS Members

👉 Presentations, Guest Artist Demos, Luthier Panel, and free time to try guitars, meet luthiers, and hang out with our great BKCGS community.

👉 Refreshments will be served throughout the day

👉 Full schedule announced soon!

Please join us for a farewell (for now!) concert featuring Brooklyn's own Colin Fullerton on Saturday 7/20 in Cobble Hill! Not only is Colin a cherished member of our BKCGS community but he is an award-winning and highly acclaimed musician that will no doubt treat us to a rich and virtuosic program of classical guitar repertoire. Colin is preparing to move at the end of the summer starting teaching at the prestigious Duke University’s Department of Music! Come out and join us all in saying farewell to Colin (for now)!

We are also thrilled to present Colin in a new venue for us - the beautiful Christ Church in Cobble Hill! This venue is big, yet intimate, and the classical guitar sounds absolutely amazing in there! Don't miss this evening of classical guitar with Colin as we break in a new space for us - reception to follow 🎸

Here are the details:

👉7/20/2024

👉Doors open at 6:30 pm

👉Music at 7:00 pm

👉Christ Church, Cobble Hill - 326 Clinton St, Brooklyn, NY 11231, USA

🍾🍿 BYOB and BYOSnacks!

Follow the Artists:

@colin.fullertone

@thebkcgs

https://www.bkcgs.org/

Colin Fullerton is an award-winning guitarist from Winston-Salem, NC whose work as a classical soloist has taken him across the US and Europe. Over the eight years since completing his master’s degree at the University of Texas at Austin, he has established himself as one of the leading young guitarists in NYC, collaborating extensively across a variety of genres. Highlights

have included solo recitals on the “Plucked Horizons,” “Odeon,” and “El” concert series’, as well as solo and chamber appearances in a diversity of settings including Mezzrow, Theater for the New City, Merkin Hall, The Owl Music Parlor, Spectrum, National Sawdust, and over 50 house concerts through the Groupmuse organization. A proponent of contemporary music, he

was a founding member of the “Blue Morpho” ensemble at his alma mater, Columbus State University, and he has premiered and recorded multiple new chamber works during his time in New York.

As a teacher, Colin operates a private studio from his home in Brooklyn and provides online guitar lessons to students around the globe, in addition to former positions held at the Music Conservatory of Westchester and the Diller-Quaile School of Music. In the Fall of 2024 he will be relocating to North Carolina, where he looks forward to starting a new chapter as the guitar

instructor at Duke University’s Department of Music.

His primary teachers include Patrick Lui, Joseph Pecoraro, Andrew Zohn, and Adam Holzman. Colin is honored to perform for the BKCGS, which has been a wonderful haven and resource to the Brooklyn guitar community since its inception in 2022.

In alliance with the Fundación Guitarra Viva Ernesto Quezada, the BKCGS is thrilled to present Chilean guitarist Sebastián Molina in concert! Sebastián will be performing on June 17 at St. John’s in the Village.

Sebastián has performed worldwide. He earned his Master’s degree from the Manhattan School of Music under the guidance of célebre guitarist David Leisner, who describes Sebastián as a “powerfully expressive player, who delights and enchants his audiences.”

Sebastián recently earned the Andrés Segovia/Rose Augustine Award from Manhattan School of Music in recognition of excellence in classical guitar performance, as well as the Honorable Mention award at the 2024 Buffalo International Guitar Festival and Competition in Buffalo, NY.

Sebastián will present a varied program that includes works from Silvius Leopold Weiss, Sergei Rudnev, Heitor Villa-Lobos, and more. Tickets and details are at the link in our bio.

This year we are going to throw our very first Members' Concert! This concert will be held on May 18th feature the members of the Brooklyn Classical Guitar Society with solo and ensemble performances at A4 Collective.

The event is free, BYOB, BYOSnacks, although we will have refreshments available.

Please fill out this form below perform or to RSVP to attend and watch the concert!

Please join us in welcoming classical guitarist Tal Hurwitz to perform for our 2024 Concert Series! Tal has prepared a beautiful and virtuosic program to share in an intimate setting. Don't miss this concert!

Here are the details:
👉4/13/2024
👉Doors open at 6:30 pm
👉Music at 7:00 pm
👉Aikido of South Brooklyn, 205 Columbia St, Brooklyn
👞 This is a shoe-free space! Kindly leave them near the entrance
🍾🍿 BYOB and BYOSnacks. See you there 🎸

About the Artist

Classical guitarist, Tal Hurwitz has garnered international acclaim in concerts and masterclasses around the world, showcasing his reputation for technical mastery and artistic clarity.

His devotion for music, desire for beauty and aesthetics in interpretation, and his constant search to combine the old with the new have led to an extensive performance career, including notable venues such as the Moscow House of Music, the Großer Saal of the Stiftung Mozarteum and the Sala de Espectáculos in Mexico.

Since graduating from the Mozarteum University, Tal has performed and given master classes at festivals around the globe, including;the Festival Hispanoamerica de guitarra (Mexico), Guitar Foundation of America (USA), Petrer Guitar Festival (Spain), Forum Guitar Wien (Austria), Guitar Art Festival (Serbia), International Guitar Festival J.K Mertz (Slovakia) and Essonne Guitar Festival (France).

He has performed with such orchestras as the New Russian Symphony Orchestra and the Camerata Salzburg.

In addition he was awarded top prizes as both a performer and composer in numerous international competitions including; the Boston Guitar Composition Competition for his solo guitar sonata, Michele Pittaluga International Competition for Composers for his Sonata for Two Guitars “Omaggio a Olivier Messiaen” , Sinaia International Guitar Competition (Romania), the Internationaler Gitarrenwettbewerb Nürtingen (Germany), the Norba Caesarina International Guitar Competition, Caceres, (Spain).

Tal Hurwitz holds two bachelor’s and a master’s degrees in music, obtained while studying under some of the world’s most renowned pedagogues, first in Israel with Joseph Urshalmi and then in Europe with Costas Cotsiolis, Marco Tamayo, and Carlo Marchione. In addition, he studied composition with Adam Stratyevsky.

World class composers have dedicated works for him, such as; Nikita Koshkin, Daniel Akiva, Wulfin Lieske and Ariel Man.

Alongside performing, Tal is a dedicated and enthusiastic teacher, who has worked with countless students, guitar teachers and guitar lovers from around the globe.

Tal's debut recording 'GuitarRecital' was published in 2023 by Emmaya Records.

We are thrilled to present our first masterclass with the amazing Gohar Vardanyan! Ms. Vardanyan will be conducting the class on Friday, March 22, at Aikido of South Brooklyn in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn. Ms. Vardanyan is a world-renowned performer, and an avid teacher. She maintains a private studio in New York City and frequently teaches masterclasses and guitar technique workshops during her concert travels. Gohar is the author of four books from Mel Bay Publications and has an extensive list of instructional guitar videos on both her own and the Strings by Mail channels on YouTube.

If you’d like to perform in the masterclass, please click here to complete the application. The performance fee is $50.

Click here for auditors’ tickets. This is a super opportunity to see, hear, and learn from a master in an up close and personal venue. 

We are so excited to announce an evening of music with Gohar Vardanyan at the beautiful Madison Avenue Baptist Church in Manhattan. Ms. Vardanyan is an internationally acclaimed, virtuosic artist, and she has prepared a wide-ranging program for the evening featuring composers like Manuel Ponce, Isaac Albéniz, Niccoló Paganini and more.

We are thrilled to be presenting this concert in partnership with the historic Madison Avenue Baptist Church as part of their Madison Sounds 2024 Concert series and community partnership program, and hope to see you there for a very special night of classical guitar music in the city.

All proceeds from this event will support the mission of the Brooklyn Classical Guitar Society! We are so grateful for the support from our community. If you cannot attend, please consider leaving us a donation below to help achieve our fundraising goals!

Ms. Vardanyan holds a Master of Music Degree from The Juilliard School where she studied with Sharon Isbin and a Bachelor of Music degree from the Peabody Conservatory of Music where she studied with Manuel Barrueco. She is also an alumna of the Aspen Music Festival and School. Ms. Vardanyan is sponsored by Strings by Mail.

Here are the concert details:
👉Thursday 3/21/2024
👉Time: Doors at 7:00 pm; Music at 7:30 pm
👉 Madison Avenue Baptist Church, 129 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016

Refreshments will be provided! See you there. 🎸

Please join us back at the dojo for a fun evening of classical guitar duos! We are featuring Dúo Copla (José Maldonado & Ernesto Ramos) and Dúo Kaplan Mansilla (Matt Kaplan & Pierre Ferreyra-Mansilla) for an evening of Puerto Rican music, Cuban music, and much more!

Here are the details:
👉3/9/2024
👉Doors open at 6:30 pm
👉Music at 7:00 pm
👉 Aikido of South Brooklyn 205 Columbia St, Brooklyn, NY 11231

BYOB and BYOSnacks! See you there 🎸

Please join us in welcoming classical guitarist Andrea Roberto to the A4 Collective in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn to perform for our 2024 Winter Concert Series! Andrea is in town from Italy and has prepared beautiful, wide ranging, and virtuosic program to share in an intimate setting. Don't miss this concert!

Here are the details:
👉2/25/2024
👉Doors open at 6:00 pm
👉Music at 6:30 pm
👉A4 Collective, 636 Dean St #2F, Brooklyn, NY 11238

BYOB and BYOSnacks! See you there 🎸

About the Artist

Italian Guitarist, Andrea Roberto's triumph in the 2019 Parkening International Guitar Competition, the world's preeminent competition of its kind, has moved him into the forefront of the classical guitar world.

 Andrea distinguished himself at the Giordano Conservatory under Maestro Sandro Torlontano where he obtained the Bachelor degree at the age of 14. Subsequently, He began to display his prodigious talent and refined his artistry under the guidance of Maestro Aniello Desiderio in Koblenz (Germany) and Carlo Marchione in Maastricht (Netherlands).

Read more at: https://www.andrearobertoguitar.com/

We are so excited to welcome Octávio Deluchi to Aikido of South Brooklyn to perform for our 2024 Winter Concert Series. Octávio is an award-winning guitarist and incredible musician. This is a concert you won't want to miss! Octávio also has just released his new EP that you can enjoy on all streaming platforms now ahead of the show.

His program, Saudade: Brazilian Soirée, will include works by Villa-Lobos, Barrios, D. Reis, and other composers that address the feeling of “saudade.”

Here are the details:
👉2/2/2024
👉Doors open at 7:00 pm
👉Music at 7:30 pm
👉Aikido of South Brooklyn, 205 Columbia St, Brooklyn

We are so excited to close out the year with our 5th Brooklyn Classical Guitar Society concert featuring Chilean guitarist Matías Inzunza!  He will be in town from Barcelona and will present his program, "Asterión" for solo classical guitar.  Asterión is based on the book by Jorge Luis Borges and Matías has selected evocative pieces that represent that characters and themes of the story.  Music by Johann Sebastian Bach, Frédéric Chopin, Joaquín Clerch, and more!  We hope you can join us at the Aikido of South Brooklyn for an intimate classical guitar concert exploring storytelling through music. BYOB and BYOSnacks but we will also have refreshments available for our guests! 

Pencil the date: 12/16/2023, 6:00PM doors, 6:30PM music, reception to follow!

Click here to reserve a spot.

Program here! Spanish English

Pop-up concert alert! We are so excited to welcome Mateusz Kowalski to Brooklyn to record pieces from his 2nd U.S. Tour! This is a surprise stop in the Brooklyn and his last stop in the U.S. before returning back to Poland so don’t miss out on seeing this unique concert experience with us!

Tickets Here

"A true musician. Technically perfect with the ability to make the audience feel attentive and drawn to every note he played, he also showed that he was a musician of the highest calibre with gifts of communication and beauty of sound."

- Nigel North

Let's celebrate our BKCGS birthday! Join us for our BKCGS birthday party on Saturday, October 21st at 7:00PM at Rullo's in Brooklyn. The BKCGS would not be where we are today without all of you so this will be a fun get together to celebrate a year of classical guitar in Brooklyn! The first couple of rounds are on us, feel free to bring food or order at the bar.

Be there or be square🎸

RSVP Here!

Join us for a evening of classical guitar and piano duos! We are excited to present Weiwei Zhai, José Maldonado, Isidora Vladic, and Matt Kaplan at A4 Collective. José Maldonado and Weiwei Zhai will perform compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach, Ferdinando Carulli, and Mauro Giuliani. Matt Kaplan and Isidora Vladic will perform duets by Steve Goss, Radamés Gnattali, and Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco. Click below for the full program, event details, and to reserve your spot for the concert!

Sign up here.