Renowned classical guitar player Peter Fletcher will stop at Herzfeld Memorial Library in Benton as part of a national tour that will end with a performance at New York City’s Carnegie Hall (though this is not, by any means, his final stop for the year). Fletcher has performed at the library in Benton in the past, and library officials expect his March 16 performance to be just as successful as the previous ones. Fletcher will perform at Herzfeld Library at 6 p.m. His performance will be open to the public with limited seating available.
Fletcher began studying classical guitar at the age of seven with instructor John Sutherland. He made his formal debut in 1983 at the age of fifteen and has continued to gain in international renown since that time. Fletcher is well known for his arrangements and transcriptions of works by other composers such as Erik Satie. Fletcher has won multiple awards for his playing.
According to a recent Benton Courier article, Fletcher intends to play works by Bach, Federico Mompou (who was the subject of one of Fletcher’s earliest recordings), Michael Praetorius, Enreique Granados, Maurice Ravel, Isaac Albéniz, and Stanley Myers, as well as his own transcription of Paganini’s “Caprice No. 24.”
Fletcher played recently in El Dorado, Arkansas and wrote on his blog that this performance was “an absolute joy.” Fletcher will play in Conway on the 14 of March, two days before his Benton performance, though his Web site does not state the venue of that performance. He will then continue his tour largely around the South before heading to New York to perform at Carnegie Hall, as he has been invited to do every year since 2007, according to his Web site.
The Saline County Library System has been dedicated to reaching out to encourage artistry within the community. Other events happening near the time of Fletcher’s concert include a Creative Writing group for ages 16 and up at the Mabel Boswell Memorial Library, a seminar on green cleaning, a monthly watercolor class for ages eighteen and up, an after school arts program at the Bob Herzfeld Memorial Library, and a cake decorating craft workshop.