Description
Brendan’s playing invites you in rather than showing off from a distance, shifting from quiet intensity and warmth to rhythmic bite and moments where the guitar seems much larger than one instrument.
Five centuries of guitar music come together in Brendan Evans’ return to Wilmington, in a program that moves from the clarity and intricate counterpoint of the Renaissance to the color, rhythm, and harmonic language of the twentieth century.
That breadth is central to Evans’s playing. His recent debut recording, Tiento, ranges from music originally written for Renaissance lute through Spanish and Latin American repertoire to the striking modern language of Maurice Ohana and Dušan Bogdanović. The result is a program built on contrast: intimate music alongside brilliant dance rhythms, old forms heard through a modern instrument, and familiar Spanish sounds set beside repertoire well outside the usual concert-guitar canon.
Evans brings an unusually direct connection to this music. During his conservatory training he spent a year in Granada and Córdoba studying flamenco guitar, an experience that continues to inform his approach to Spanish repertoire. His playing on Tiento was praised by Vivascene for its “sparkling and flawless” technique and for the range of “tone, mood and texture” he draws from the instrument.
Evans last appeared with Wilmington Classical Guitar in 2018. He returns November 21 with a program that shows just how much territory one guitar can cover.
Works to be performed by Ponce, Barrios, Duplessy, Tarréga, and Montoya..
Concert: 7:00 pm (doors open at 6:30 pm)
Venue: Covenant Community Center (formerly Presbyterian Church of the Covenant), 503 Duncan Rd., Wilmington, DE 19809
MASTERCLASS
11/21/26: Brendan Evans will be teaching a masterclass in the afternoon, November 21 at 1:00 pm in the West Room of Covenant Community Center. The masterclass is free to observe and open to the public, but registration is required. Register as an auditor to sit in and hear what Mr. Evans has to teach our guest performers, or register as a performer for your chance to perform for Brendan and have him critique your performance (a small tuition fee applies). Register as either an auditor or performer in our Online Store.
Wilmington Classical Guitar Season 2026-27
October 17* – Andrea González Caballero (Spain)
November 21* – Brendan Evans (USA)
February 27* – Slavic Sessions – Mateusz Kowalski (Poland) and Mak Grgić (Slovenia)
March 27* – Penelope Shvarts (USA)
April 24* – GFA Winner’s Tour featuring Virgile Barthe (France)
May 16 – 15th Annual Members Concert
*artist will also be teaching a masterclass in the afternoon at 1:00 pm