Recognized as one of America's premier instrumental ensembles, the Grammy Award-winning Los Angeles Guitar Quartet is one of the most charismatic and versatile groups performing today. As the Los Angeles Times put it, "the group has set an enviable standard for the range of repertoire, the craftsmanship of the playing and the entertainment potential of a four-acoustic-guitar ensemble."

Of course, calling the LAGQ a 'classical guitar quartet' pigeonholes them unfairly. In its own compositions and its treatment of the repertoire, LAGQ has sought to expand the potential of the quartet, bringing in Brazilian, Tibetan and West African influences, while also mining such American forms as jazz, blues, country and funk.

"Is the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet classical or pop?" asked the St. Petersburg Times. "Any group whose repertoire ranges from Bach to Falla to Count Basie to Led Zeppelin is tough to label."

The group has explored the very possibilities of sound for guitar, occasionally using clips or bells on the instrument's strings to create guitars that sound like percussion instruments, thus prompting the Washington Post to wonder, "Who knew that four guitars could sound like a baroque ensemble or a gamelan orchestra?"

These four virtuosi bring a new energy to the concert stage with their eclectic programs and dynamic musical interplay. Their inventive, critically-acclaimed transcriptions of concert masterworks provide a fresh look at the music of the past, while their interpretations of works from the contemporary and world-music realms continually break new ground.

http://www.lagq.com