Student Guitar Show features guitars, mandolins & more built by college students

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Brian Todd, May 15, 2019
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Dust is flying, the smell of lacquer is in the air, and excitement is building as the Guitar Repair and Building students of Minnesota State College Southeast are completing work on their brand new musical instruments. At the Student Guitar Show on May 15, 2019, their beautiful new guitars will be on display in the guitar labs and played in concert by professional musicians. The event is free and the public is invited to attend. 

• In the first year Guitar Repair and Building program, you'll find flat top acoustic guitars in the works. All first year students are required to build a flat top guitar. Several have chosen to build electric guitars as well. 
• In the second year Guitar Development and Production program, students are building a variety of more complex instruments, including archtop guitars, mandolins, and electric guitars. Second year students explore more challenging options in finishing and inlay work.

During the Student Guitar Show, three award-winning guitarists -- Phil Heywood, Mike Cramer, and Chris Silver -- will play the new acoustic instruments, giving students the thrill of hearing their instruments played on stage by expert professional musicians. 

First year student Eric Ouren, from Kasota, MN, said has dreamed about coming to Red Wing for a long time -- about ten or fifteen years. "I always wanted to get better at building musical instruments. There's a lot I still don't know, but I would say I'm learning how to be more precise," he said modestly. His small-bodied acoustic guitar is built from fine tone woods, including East Indian rosewood and Sitka spruce.

Caleb Holst, a second year student from Hartford City, Indiana, is putting the final touches on a guitar and a mandolin. "I came to Red Wing because I was interested in working with my hands, and I enjoy making music, so I felt that it's the perfect combination," he said. "I've gotten a lot of knowledge and skills here that are going to be really valuable to me in the future. I am planning to into furniture or cabinetry building, but eventually I'd like to have my own guitar building business."

Photos

Above: Caleb Holst uses a hand drill to place position markers on the neck of the guitar he is building.
Below: Eric Ouren checks the fingerboard angle with a straight edge.