Classical guitarist Evan Drummond walked onto the Alaska Fine Arts Academy's stage Friday night without saying a word. Wearing a black suit, red tie and cream colored shirt, he sat center stage on a square, padded stool, seemingly oblivious to the dozens of audience members who had gathered to hear him play.
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About $1,200 was raised through a benefit concert for the Alaska Fine Arts Academy featuring classical guitarist Evan Drummond, who is originally from Anchorage and currently teaches at the State University of New York, Fredonia School of Music.
PHOTO COURTESY OF EVAN DRUMMOND
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After some minute string adjustments, the 28-year-old resolutely nodded his head and began playing “Recuerdos De La Alhambra” by Spanish guitarist Francisco Tarrega, the first piece in the evening's hour-long benefit concert to raise funds for the academy.
More than six feet tall, his large frame seemed to dwarf the guitar. His large hands moved with effortless speed across the strings and along the instrument's neck, as the room filled with the sound of his impassioned playing.
Working his way through the complex piece, Drummond pursed and bit his lips in concentration, periodically smiling when he reached a portion of the music that pleased him. His face transitioned from intense to serene throughout the performance in accordance with the tone of the music, which fluctuated from being gently coaxed from the strings to being fiercely torn from them. Beads of sweat began to form on his brow, as he nodded his head to emphasize notes and intently stared at his hand as it worked its way along the neck of the guitar.
The former Anchorage resident and East High School student has an impressive resume, featuring a degree from Interlochen Arts Academy, a bachelor's of music from Eastman School of Music and a master's degree in music from Yale University, but no one needed to see Drummond's credentials to know how talented he is, as his playing completely captured the audience's attention, making it impossible to think about anything else.
Then, as quickly as he began, Drummond reached the end of the piece, ceased playing and stared at the neck of the guitar for a moment longer before looking up and greeting the audience with a smile in response to their applause.
The initial silence that Drummond displayed at the beginning of his performance did not last, as he worked his way through a program featuring Spanish, French, Cuban and Russian pieces, taking a few moments between each work to explain its origin or a brief anecdote about the composer. He said choosing which works to feature in the concert was a painstaking process in an interview following the performance.
“There's some old favorites in here that I've played for quite awhile and some new favorites that I really like,” he said, explaining that he wanted to balance entertainment with the time constraints of the concert.
Although Drummond did not play all the pieces he had prepared, he said he was pleased by his performance and the audience's reception.
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Evan Drummond, right, signs autographs for Alaska Fine Arts Academy founder Arthur Braendel, left, and his son, Art, the academy's board of directors president.
STAR PHOTO BY MARY M. RALL
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“The audience was really friendly, I mean, you could feel the warmth from the audience,” he said, noting that many friends and family members from Anchorage were present. “I feel like it was a good show tonight. I liked the music a lot. I think the audience was very good too. I think there are some things that I could fix, but I'm going to be playing all my life, working on this the rest of my life. That's exciting.”
Drummond, who began playing guitar at 13, was in Anchorage for the holidays when he was approached by family friend and academy treasurer Lee Pekrul of Eagle River to play a concert to help raise funds for the academy.
“We're very fortunate to have him. This caliber of entertainer is just really hard to come across,” Pekrul said of Drummond prior to the concert. “You'd have to go to the West Coast to see this. We're just tickled pink to have anyone of this quality here. He's world class.”
The academy's board of directors president, Art Braendel, whose parents, Arthur and Eleanor Braendel, founded the academy 26 years ago, said the academy relies heavily on benefit events and donations for funding.
“We put on benefit concerts all the time when we find artists who will donate their time to the arts so that we can raise enough money to keep our doors open,” he said. “We need corporate donations and private donations from individuals to keep or doors open. It's as simple as that.”
Drummond, said he was happy to contribute his time to the event, which Braendel said raised an estimated $1,200 for the academy.
“Pushing the arts in communities like Eagle River, Anchorage and all through Alaska and continuing straight down to the Lower 48 is so important to the general wellbeing of the nation,” Drummond said. “This is a great cause, an arts academy in Alaska. As somebody who went to an arts academy, bravo.”
Braendel said the academy offers voice, violin, piano, guitar, brass instrument, art and pottery classes and has an active theater group, yet he still runs across people who are unfamiliar with it.
“Every once and a while we find that people don't know us, don't know we're here,” Pekrul elaborated.
However, Braendel said the academy is continually growing larger and expanding its offerings, which he hopes will not only encourage increased participation from locals, but will attract more instructors.
“The arts is a community thing, and we need the whole community involved because there's so much talent in our midst.”
Drummond said there is much to be gained from teaching the arts, explaining that his teacher and mentor, Nicholas Goluses of the Eastman School of Music, told him “you have no idea what you're doing until you have a blank slate in front of you and you have to create something.”
Now a teacher himself at the State University of New York, Fredonia School of Music, Drummond said he has seen firsthand what Goluses meant.
“He was completely right. I didn't realize how much I was affected by my students until a few months ago when I played another show,” he said. “I really like that element. It forces you to realize who you are and how you approach music. It's really helped me learn music quickly too, because I'm teaching them how to learn music.”
Braendel said the academy is actively seeking instructors, who can call 696-8909 or log onto www.akfinearts.org to obtain more information on the academy.
Reach the reporter at mary.rall@alaskastar.com.
