The Quick Center for the Arts celebrates women guitarists - Patty Larkin's "La Guitara" | Press Releases

After Fairfield University's Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts acknowledges Women's History Month by presenting singer/songwriter Patty Larkin and female guitarist virtuosi Ellen McIlwaine and Badi Assad in an evening celebrating the musical accomplishments of past and present women guitarists - "La Guitara" - on Friday, March 23 at 8 p.m.

Patty Larkin is widely known for her acoustic guitar wizardry as well as for her musical curiosity. These two Larkin characteristics combine to create a borderless artistic landscape that currently embraces the talents of women guitarists from around the world. As Executive Producer on her latest CD, "La Guitara - Gender Bending Strings," Larkin's goal for the project was "to better define the contribution of women to the history of modern guitar." She believes that the role "women guitarists of the past played in the evolution of the instrument is largely unknown," and through the dovetailing of this concert and Women's History Month, she and the guitarists that accompany her fill that gap with dazzling accomplishment.

Ellen McIlwaine, a formidable and celebrated slide player, brings her own gutsy brand of blues to the stage. Based on tradition but drawing on influences as far east as Egypt, India and Japan and as close to home as R & B, she continues to blaze new musical trails and welcome the evolutionary challenges that inevitably arise.

Badi Assad epitomizes the innate musical sensibility thought to penetrate deep in the very fiber of native Brazilians. Her repertoire has grown over time as she explores everything from interpretations of traditional Brazilian guitar to world beat-influenced originals to neoclassical compositions. In concert, she simultaneously plays guitar and percussion while singing and vocally improvising creating a musical explosion that defies categorization.

Simply stated, Larkin describes herself as being "inspired by change - it defines me and it can be subtle or radical. It captures my imagination." This successfully ambitious project has become a window into this phase of Larkin's burgeoning career.

Tickets are $35, $30 and are now available online at www.quickcenter.com or call the Box Office at (203) 254-4010. The toll free number is 1-877-ARTS-396. For more information, consult the website, www.quickcenter.com