My personal observations and reflections on a Ben Bolt concert which was performed on 6-20-09 in Charlotte, NC:

With the courage of a warrior, Ben walked into the concert arena Saturday evening and, in a victory of the human spirit, love cast out fear. His passion for making music dominated, dwarfing any fear of making a mistake. He did not ‘play it safe.’ His focus stayed on something much higher. While many performers today would seem quite content to have merely played all of the correct notes, Ben went for the whole enchilada, the poetic expression, the soul of the music, and he succeeded. The pieces came alive under his control. Ben exuded such a positive spirit that the audience was swept off its feet in a kind of mass euphoria. It was as if hearing these familiar pieces for the very first time! One could observe nods of affirmation throughout the hall and faces were beaming in total agreement as Ben played. Ben doesn’t just play the guitar, he inspires an audience. This was a heroic performance, and Ben’s role as an ambassador for the classical guitar should not be overlooked, as I’m sure he has won new converts and fans.

This concert was a ‘make or break’ event for the Charlotte Guitar Society. Previous concerts by various guest artists had not brought enough audience attendance to justify the expense. It’s not as though there was any pressure placed on Ben to somehow rescue the ailing society single-handedly with this performance. However, it was announced by society president and founder, Steve Kahn, that this is indeed what has happened. Ben has also demonstrated himself to be a most magnanimous and caring human being.

The brilliance of his musicianship in combination with his solid technique and captivating sound, place Ben Bolt in the category of ‘Major Artist.’ Ben not only understands the music he is playing, he understands the guitar with all of its intricate and subtle resources. He knows how to tap those resources to obtain a richness of sound, color and texture rarely heard in a classical guitar performance. When you combine all of these qualities with impeccable taste, a profound sense of musical style and poetic sensitivity, you have a rare artist indeed. You have Ben Bolt.

Ben Bolt, being a mature artist, is drinking from the same well that Segovia drank from, and is therefore in no need of emulating Segovia or anyone else. His renderings bring to the table an authenticity, originality and a creativity which make old pieces sound new. He doesn’t do anything just because of precedent or tradition, but he re-thinks every piece, every arrangement and transcription. He brings fresh new ideas to old pieces, and then breaths new life into them on the concert stage. It would be easy to forget all but the music when Ben plays, so I write these observations to share with the reader my awareness of that which lies just beneath the surface.

At the risk of going overboard, I did observe one more aspect which seems worth mentioning. The spotlight cast a larger than life, statuesque image of Ben on the rear wall of the concert stage, and I couldn’t help studying this image as he played. The sounds emanating from his resonant Fleta guitar, like this dynamic image, were also larger than life. One could imagine being transcended in time and place and experiencing something akin to what audiences hearing a younger Segovia for the very first time might have experienced.

Charles Vaughn

Lecturer in Guitar, UNC-Charlotte, professional classical guitarist,
recording artist and teacher, Charlotte, NC
www.charlesvaughn.net