Contact: Katryn Conlin, Communications Director
651-385-6364, [email protected]

For Immediate Release

Student Guitar show at Southeast Technical showcases the sights and sounds of newly-built instruments on May 10

Red Wing, MN (April 27, 2016) - Dozens of newly-built acoustic guitars and mandolins as well as electric guitars and basses will be on display at Minnesota State College - Southeast Technical on Tuesday, May 10 from 12 noon to 2:30 pm on the Red Wing campus. 

Chris Silver, Phil Heywood and Mike Cramer will give concerts featuring the finished acoustic instruments, giving students the exciting opportunity to hear their guitars played by professional guitarists for the very first time on stage.

STUDENT GUITAR SHOW

Minnesota State College - Southeast Technical
Tuesday, May 10, 2016
Noon to 2:30 pm
Red Wing campus, 308 Pioneer Road
Red Wing, MN

As the 2016 school year comes to a close, students in the lutherie programs at the college are finishing a year's worth of work building an array of beautiful new instruments:

• In the first year Guitar Repair and Building program, all students build a flattop steel string guitar. They also have the option to build an electric guitar or bass. First year students have built more than 20 acoustic and 15 electric guitars/basses. 
  
  
• In the second year Guitar Development and Production program, students build at least one arched instrument -- such as an archtop guitar or a mandolin -- as well as acoustic and electric instruments of their own design. Second year students have built approximately 15 acoustic guitars, 8 archtop guitars, 7 mandolins, and 5 electric guitars/basses. Many of these instruments feature complex finishing techniques and inlay work. 
  
  
• In addition, students in the Violin Repair program have the option to build a violin; some of their instruments may be on display as well.

For more information and high-resolution photographs, please contact Katryn Conlin, 1-651-385-6364 or [email protected].

###

About Minnesota State College - Southeast Technical

Southeast Technical is a two-year institution that provides its students with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes they will need for a lifetime of learning. With more than 30 programs of study and 90 degree, diploma, and certificate options, many students are prepared to launch a career in a technical or trade field as soon as they graduate. Others begin the pathway to a four-year bachelor's degree by earning transferable college credits in liberal arts and sciences. The Winona campus opened in 1949, merging with the Red Wing campus in 1992 and becoming Minnesota State College - Southeast Technical in 1999. Southeast Technical is a member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system. For more information, visit www.southeastmn.one.

About the Musicians

Mike Cramer
Guitarist Mike Cramer is a music major from the University of Northern Iowa. His award-winning flatpicking technique has earned him championship titles in both the Minnesota State Fair Flatpicking Competition and Wisconsin's Upper-Midwest Flatpicking Contest. A fluid and powerful guitarist, Mike is as comfortable playing jazz standards as he is playing Bill Monroe instrumentals. He currently plays guitar in The Good Intentions with Chris Silver.

Phil Heywood
Fingerstyle guitarist Phil Heywood has been based in Minneapolis-St. Paul since the mid-1980s, performing locally and regionally while also establishing himself in the greater guitar and acoustic music world. In 1986 he won the National Fingerpicking Championship, and followed up in 1987 by winning the American Fingerstyle Guitar Festival Competition. He plays with a bluesy swing and tone, lyricism, and groove.

Chris Silver
A veteran of Stoney Lonesome, Tangled Roots, and the Kate Mackenzie Band, Chris Silver now plays with The Good Intentions. He is an award-winning flatpicking guitarist and an accomplished fiddle and mandolin player. Chris is featured on many recordings that showcase his ability as a guitarist, stretching beyond the boundaries of traditional bluegrass into jazz, blues, roots, and global music.