Nicholas Lambson Reconnects in First HSU Concert

In his first local concert, classical guitarist and HSU Music faculty newcomer Nicholas Lambson is reconnecting, especially to people who influenced him, even when he didn’t realize it.

“I wanted to pay homage to the teachers and influences in my musical development,” Lambson said. He will pay tribute to the first classical guitarist he saw play: the late Terry Graves, at the University of Redlands. But he will also play a composition by a man he never knew: his father.

Lambson’s parents divorced when he was two years old, and he didn’t see his father after he was about seven. “I knew he had something to do with music,” but Lambson had already himself begun playing classical guitar when he discovered that his father composed for the instrument and was himself a guitarist. “When I found out he was a guitar player it freaked me out,” Lambson recalls.

He reconnected with his father in 2000. “I called him out of the blue, and drove to Utah to see him. I hung out with him for a weekend, and we got acquainted, and have been in touch ever since.”

His father is composer Stanley Anthony Funicelli. “When I was there, and discovered what his career was all about, I wanted to see what he had written. So he gave me basically everything he’d written for the guitar, and I’ve been sifting through it ever since. There were a few pieces I immediately gravitated to, and I’m playing one of them in the program here. I may record it next year.” Funicelli has also begun composing pieces especially for his son.

In addition to the Funicelli piece, Etude No. 1, “Stormsong” in E, Lambson will play selections by Benjamin Britten, Dusan Bogdanovic, Fernando Sor, Moreno Torroba, Leo Brouwer, Manuel Maria Ponce, Phillip Houghton and Manuel DeFalla.

In addition to teaching in the HSU Music department and Music Academy, Nicholas Lambson performs throughout California. His first solo guitar album will be released later this year.

He recently completed his Masters at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music under David Tanenbaum and Dusan Bogdanovic. He graduated with honors with a Bachelor degree in Guitar Performance and Recording Arts from Cal State San Bernardino.

Nicholas Lambson’s local debut is a Faculty Artist Series concert on Saturday, March 31 at 8 PM in the Fulkerson Recital Hall on the HSU campus in Arcata. $8 general, $3 students and seniors. Tickets from the HSU Box Office (826-3928) or at the door.

Media: Eureka Reporter "Spotlight."