Guitar getaway
Tommy Emmanuel brings Guitar Camp to Europe
One of the world’s greatest acoustic players will share his knowledge in stunning Scottish surroundings with students this May.
Tommy Emmanuel’s Guitar Camps have already found success in the US and his homeland of Australia, but the Scottish event – which is running between 11-15 May in 2018 – will be the first time Emmanuel has brought the camp to Europe.
All playing levels are catered for, and there will be nightly performances and morning Q&AS with Tommy. The grandiose surroundings of Atholl Palace and Fonab Castle in Pitlochry are the perfect locations to focus completely on guitar. And Tommy’s chosen some great players who are teachers too, including jazz virtuoso Frank Vignola, British fingerstylist Richard Smith, rhythm man Vinny Raniolo and John Knowles who, like Tommy, was also awarded the rare distinction of Certified Guitar Player by Chet Atkins.
“I really pick the people I want at my camps because they have to be good teachers,” says Tommy. “There are a lot of good players out there but not everyone can teach. So that’s exactly what these guys are all about.”
Aside from playing wisdom and getting to grips with specific pieces at the four-day camp, a lot of players ask Tommy Emmanuel for his advice on making a career in music.
“Most people want to know how they can get to be doing what I’m doing,” the musician notes. “How can they become good enough to be a concert player and travel the world. How do you do that? And I talk about all that stuff. I talk about how hard you have to work to get anywhere in the music business. I try to tell people the realities of life in music and I don’t sugarcoat it. Because I think that’s really important.”
For those of us not lucky enough to attend the Guitar Camp this year, there will be plenty of opportunity to study Tommy’s incredible playing up close when he hits the road with Frank and Vinny afterwards. The trio will play gigs in Buxton, Warrington, Whitley Bay, Birmingham and Bristol, ending with a show at London’s prestigious venue, Union Chapel in Islington.
For more information, visit tommyemmanuel.com and tommyemmanuel guitarcampscotland.com
I talk about how hard you have to work to get anywhere in the music business