B.M. Guitar

The Guitar Department at California State University Northridge has enjoyed a reputation for excellence for the past forty years since its establishment by Professor Emeritus Ronald Purcell.  It is considered to be one of the pre-eminent guitar departments in the Los Angeles area and is respected as a leader in the field throughout California and North America. All students receive their instrumental training by highly trained faculty from the first semester of entrance. The environment amongst the study is competitive, yet highly supportive.  A high standard of diligence and study of the instrument are encouraged and demanded by faculty and students alike. Within the Guitar Department at CSUN, we offer the opportunity to focus in your main area of interest with options of Classical Guitar, Flamenco Guitar, and Electric Guitar.

Our current guitar faculty in the classical and commercial music genres include:

• Dr. Steve Thachuk, Chair of the Guitar Area
• Bryan Fasola

The library at CSUN holds the International Guitar Research Archive (IGRA), one of the largest collections of guitar music and research materials in the world.  This collection, which is the result of the dedication to guitar by Professor Emeritus Purcell, is available as a valuable tool to the serious student of the instrument.

Course of Study

Courses offered in the guitar area include the following:

• MUS 130 - Fretboard Sightreading
• MUS 406A, MUS 406B - History and Literature of the Guitar (2 semesters)
• MUS 463/L - Guitar Pedagogy
• MUS 433/L -Guitar Masterclass
• MUS 287/487 - Guitar Chamber Music Performance (offered every semester)

In addition to these courses, a strong emphasis is placed on regular performance.  This is achieved through weekly studio classes and chamber coachings.  Guitarists also regularly have the chance to perform for the student body in Noon Recitals, New Music Concerts and other students’ recitals. Additionally, the CSUN music department holds a yearly concerto competition, and over the years many students have had the opportunity to perform concertos with the CSUN Symphony Orchestra as a result of winning the competition.

The Guitar Department encourages further study through masterclasses and studies with master teachers.  In recent years, some of the world’s most renowned artists have worked with guitar students at CSUN.  These include residencies by:

• Zoran Dukic
• Scott Tennant
• Marcin Dylla
• Paul O'Dette
• The Eden Stell Guitar Duo
• Andrew York
• Martha Masters
• David Leisner
• William Kanengeiser
• Oscar Ghiglia

We also feature one of the school’s professional performing groups, the CSUN Guitar Quartet.  The quartet is chosen by audition and represents the school through outreach concerts and tours of Los Angeles and the State of California.  Auditions to the quartet are open to all current BM and MM guitar performance students.

Recent graduates have commenced further studies at some of the world’s most prestigious institutions,  These include the Eastman School of Music, Julliard, the University of Southern California, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, the New England Conservatory of Music, the Hochschule fur Musik in Koln, and the MusikAkademie Koblenz.