Classical guitarist Adrian Roll is looking forward to sharing his passion for music as he returns to his roots in Bundaberg.
The musician will return to the region on 18 February for the Evening of Classical Guitar at the Brothers Sports Club.
Growing up at Burnett Heads, it was during his primary school years when Adrian found his musical calling as he was guided by local music teacher Marlene Morris.
“Marlene was more than just a guitar teacher for me, she has been and continues to be a mentor, an inspiration and a dear friend,” he said.
“I began guitar lessons with Marlene when I was eight years old.
“The story goes, my parents stumbled upon an advertisement in the Burnett Heads primary school newsletter promoting guitar and piano lessons. We made contact with Marlene through that fateful advert and the rest was history.”
Adrian said although Marlene was primarily a piano teacher, she was also an exceptional musician.
“She made teaching the guitar seem second nature,” he said.
“Marlene gave me a solid grounding in guitar technique, music theory, notation reading and general musicianship.
“I studied with Marlene for about 10 years, I vividly remember when I was in my senior years of high school, Marlene regularly driving me down to Brisbane to get me to specialist guitar lessons with a wonderful teacher named Angelina Ellis.
“Marlene is responsible for getting me to where I am today, I couldn't have wished for a better teacher, I owe her a great debt.”
Adrian said a large part of what he had achieved in his musical career was in the education industry.
“I have taught guitar for the past 18-plus years in schools around the Brisbane area,” he said.
“I have been lucky enough to see some students pursue a music career themselves taking them to the international stage, most notably Hamish Strathdee.
“I have had the privilege to be able to perform all over Australia from Melbourne to far North Queensland, Broome to Perth.”
Adrian said he was excited to return to Bundaberg for his Evening of Classical Guitar performance at the Brothers Sports Club.
“I very much enjoyed my time growing up in Bundaberg, I had a fantastic childhood,” he said.
“My parents owned a house on the Burnett River near the port.
“If I wasn't practising the guitar, I was spending time in the outdoors, gallivanting along the river with my brothers, fishing, crabbing, boating etc.
“It's funny, when I was younger, I could not wait to get out of Bundaberg, as the culture, food and musical opportunities were too inviting to resist the big smoke, now that I am older, I cannot wait to get back to my roots in Bundaberg.”
The Evening of Classical Guitar with Adrian will provide the audience with a concert program that contains a mix of early 20th century Spanish classical guitar and a South American repertoire.
“I've gone for pieces that I think the listener will like and I hope the audience enjoys the choice of pieces as much as I enjoy performing them,” he said.
“My aim for performances like these, which I hope to continue in Bundaberg, is to bring music to an audience that rarely gets the opportunity to see this type of live performance.
“The reality is if you don't live near or in a capital city, performances like this are an uncommon occurrence in regional towns, and I'm doing my part to change this.”
To find out more about Adrian's Evening of Classical Guitar show click here.
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