The Sudbury Guitar Society was founded in 2015, but for more than 12 years, the society conducted business as Guitars Alive. Guitars Alive was created in 2003 as a non-profit partnership between Gary DiSalle, Paul Dunn and Philip Candelaria. to produce an annual concert series to provide Greater Sudbury guitar students with a high profile performance opportunity, scholarships for post-secondary and post-graduate studies, and funds to purchase quality musical instruments, equipment and supplies. In 2011, Gary, Philip and Paul retired from the organization and guitar Prof. Keenan Comartin (Cambrian College) and Prof. Allan Yzereef (Laurentian Univeristy) assumed the roles as producers. To date, the organization awarded over $17,000.00 in scholarships, grants and donations to Cambrian College and Laurentian University guitar students, Rainbow District School Board elementary and high schools who are developing guitar programs, and the Kiwanis Music Festival of Sudbury. Most recently, Guitars Alive together with the Joan Mantle Music Trust helped Lockerby Composite purchase guitars for its new guitar program that started Fall 2013, and most recently committed to an annual support of the Alla Grande Guitar festival at Ottawa University. Artists who have performed for the series include fingerstyle master Don Ross, The Canadian Guitar Quartet, Kevin Kloss, Kevin Breit, The Whitely Brothers, 12 year old blues prodigy Jimmy Bowskill, Colin Linden, Jamie Dupuis, The Guitars Alive Trio, Salzburg Guitar Quartet, and The Sudbury Guitar Trio, and the American Violin and Guitar ensemble Duo46. Since 2015, the Sudbury Guitar Society was created as an umbrella for Guitars Alive, and produce 4 concerts each year, many outreach concerts n unusual venues, organized performances for fund-raisers and various charitable events, given financial support for college and university students to participate in local and international guitar festivals, and more.. The society is always looking for interested people in Sudbury to volunteer, be a part of our advisor board, provide billets for traveling artists engaged to perform in Sudbury by the society, offer their homes for "house Concerts", and more. Drop us a note if you are ineterested in joining our endeavors to celebrate the guitar in the north!
