Simon Farintosh, guitar
Sunday, October 5 at 2:30 pm
Please note that this concert starts at 2:30
An award-winning guitarist, composer, and educator, Simon Farintosh brings us a program of original music by Castelnuovo-Tedesco and Yoshimatsu, arrangements of pieces by Debussy and Albéniz, and a set of original Farintosh compositions. Named one of CBC’s “30 Under 30 Classical Musicians” in 2023, Simon regularly receives top honours in national and international competitions as performer and composer, and is currently completing his Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the University of Toronto.
Programme
Prelude in D Major, op. 39, no. 2 — Alexander Scriabin (1872-1915), arr. Simon Farintosh
Pavane pour une infante défunte — Maurice Ravel (1875-1937), arr. Roland Dyens
La sérénade interrompue — Claude Debussy (1862-1918), arr. Simon Farintosh
Los Caprichos de Goya, op. 195 — Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895-1968)
VII. Están calientes (They are hot)
IX. Bien tirada está (It is nicely stretched)
XI. Y se le quema la casa (And the house is on fire)Tableaux para Guitarra — Liova Bueno (b. 1979)
I. Balada
II. Siciliana
III. Sarabanda
IV. Burlesca
V. PromenadeSunlit Shallows — Simon Farintosh (b. 1995)
The turning of the leaves — Ralph Towner (b. 1940)
Sky Color Tensor — Takashi Yoshimatsu (b. 1953)
I. Noon
II. Twilight
III. Night
IV. Midnight
V. Dawn
Background information
Simon Farintosh is an award-winning guitarist, composer, and educator based in Victoria,
BC. Named one of CBC’s ‘30 Under 30 Classical Musicians’ in 2023, he is known for his
unconventional programming choices, connecting with audiences by integrating the classical guitar
with more contemporary musical forms such as electronica and jazz. Simon is currently a music
performance instructor at the University of Victoria, where he teaches undergraduate and graduate
guitar students.
Simon studied with Dr. Alexander Dunn at the University of Victoria, where he earned his Bachelor
of Music Degree in 2018. Simon’s musical pursuits later took him to Milwaukee, WI, where he
completed a Master’s Degree at The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2020. Here, he was a
student and teaching assistant to Rene Izquierdo, a renowned Cuban virtuoso and revered
pedagogue. Currently, Simon is in the finishing stages of a Doctorate of Musical Arts at the
University of Toronto, where he is a student of Jorge Caballero and Dr. Jeffrey McFadden.
Simon’s performances have garnered him top awards in various national and international
competitions, including 1st Prize at the 2018 Northwest Guitar Festival in Spokane, WA. As a
composer, he was recently awarded First Prize in the 2022 Ottawa Guitar Society Composition
Competition for his original piece ‘Distant Light.’ He is a six-time recipient of the British Columbia
Arts Council Award, and has been a featured performer for organizations such as the Vancouver
Classical Guitar Festival, Victoria Conservatory of Music Summer Guitar Intensive, The Classical
Guitar Society of Tri-Cities, Madison Classical Guitar Society, Victoria Guitar Society, Ottawa
Guitar Society, Guitar Society of Toronto, and Higher Ground Music Festival.
Chemainus Classical Concerts 