BKCGS History and Co-Founders

  • I always wanted to live in NYC and moved here in 1995 after finishing grad school. NYC was a short bus ride from my hometown in NJ. Growing up, my family often visited NY, and as a teen I spent many days and nights hanging out on the LES. So, it was with reluctance and economic necessity that I moved to Brooklyn only two years after arriving.Looking back, moving to Brooklyn proved to be a terrific, if not totally deliberate, decision. I happily live here now with my wife Courtney and son Ira, and run a martial arts school called Aikido of South Brooklyn. And now I have the wonderful opportunity to help create and build The Brooklyn Classical Guitar Society.As the pandemic waned, I was eager to meet new musicians and to practice performing for a live audience. There were surprisingly few opportunities. I eventually started my own Meetup group at my studio, and through it very happily connected with the BKCGS team. As I quickly learned, creating, promoting, and managing an open mic/Meetup is a multi-person job.In a short time, the BKCGS introduced me to an extraordinary network of talented musicians, provided me and many others an opportunity to perform, and helped me improve my playing (which was my first goal). I’m thrilled and grateful to be a part of it, and I’m looking forward to sharing more classical guitar with Brooklyn.

Matt Kaplan - The Brooklyn Classical Guitar Society

  • Even though I've called New York City my home for the past 10 years, I've only just moved to Brooklyn a year ago. I really love the rhythm of this neighborhood - there's a wonderful community here of artists, musicians, and creatives alike which is always inspiring to be around.I moved to New York City in 2012 to complete my Masters degree at the Mannes College at The New School and was privileged to study with Frederic Hand and Michael Newman. Moving to NYC from PA was a no-brainer and I had attended the New York Guitar Seminar at Mannes for a few years prior to get to know the school and musicians in the area.

    Since that time I've enjoyed opportunities to play at venues like Carnegie Hall, Symphony Space, The DiMenna Center for Classical Music, and more as well as overseas in Chile, Perú, and Spain.

    I also released my first album in 2021 and made a decision to make it a chamber music album rather than a solo one. Over the years in NYC I've been lucky enough to have great friends who happen to be amazing musicians and I wanted my first record to represent that. My album Zenamon - A Chamber Music Collection featured NYC based classical guitarists Pierre Ferreyra- Mansilla, Matthew Pidi, Hannah Murphy, Phil Goldenberg, Adam Hug, and Jason Sagebiel.To me, community has been one of the most important aspects of being a working musician in NYC. A network of friends, musicians, and lovers of art and music makes it all worth it. I hope that with BKCGS I can help contribute towards working up a large classical guitar community that supports each other, learns from one another, and has a good time along the way!Hope to see you or meet you at the next BKCGS event 🎸.

  • I came to the US from Bolivia in 2001 to study physics. I did that until 2010, when I dropped out of my doctorate program (all but dissertation) in favor of a career in tech. I started a couple of tech companies and sold one in 2015. I started guitar in around 1994, and played in various styles with with various degrees of seriousness throughout this time. After selling the company, I took a year off and decided to start studying classical guitar more seriously, and eventually started studying with Koh Kazama. The sale of my tech company was a happy outcome but not enough to retire, so I re-joined the ranks of the employed in 2017 as a software engineer at Google, where I currently work on Google Search. The gig is nice in that it leaves enough time to practice guitar seriously, and pursue extra curricular activities such as organizing events and societies!

  • I started playing guitar when I was nine, and haven't stopped since.  After finishing my studies at Mannes and Juilliard, I moved to Brooklyn after living in New Jersey for many years.  I was amazed at the quantity and quality of musicians that Brooklyn has to offer, and BKCGS is an amazing way of meeting and networking, and of course making new friends. I am very excited to continue this great journey with the great community of Brooklyn musicians.

The Brooklyn Classical Guitar Society was founded in 2022 by Rodrigo Guzman, Matt Kaplan, Pierre Ferreyra-Mansilla, and Josh Paul.

In the summer of 2022, the four Brooklyn-based classical guitarists began to see a widespread need for more performance opportunities and classical guitar culture in Brooklyn. There was virtually no organized classical guitar community and there were very few events in the borough. Yet, there seemed to be many classical guitar players, students, and enthusiasts. 

Rodrigo Guzman, a tech entrepreneur and classical guitarist, saw the need among his friends, teachers, and peers. Matt Kaplan, a professional classical guitarist and teacher, had just moved back to Brooklyn after a sojourn to Texas. He likewise saw the need in himself and his colleagues, and said as much to his long-time friend guitarist and educator Pierre Ferrerya-Mansilla. Pierre, too, had been thinking about how to stimulate the classical guitar landscape in Brooklyn.

Pierre first met Rodrigo at a Groupmuse classical music house concert. Discovering that he, Rodrigo, and Matt all shared a similar vision for a guitar community in Brooklyn, they met for tacos at Chilo’s Tacos in Greenwood, Brooklyn, and The Brooklyn Classical Guitar Society was born.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in Brooklyn, Josh Paul, an amateur classical guitarist, was in search of performance opportunities and community, as well. Finding none, he started his own open mic at this martial arts school Aikido of South Brooklyn. Rodrigo heard about the open mic on Instagram, attended, and Josh joined the BKCGS, completing the team. Together, they formed the first active classical guitar society in Brooklyn since 1978.

The BKCGS started as an LLC, and Rodrigo secured the Groupmuse Foundation as the LLC’s fiscal sponsor. Rodrigo, who provided a significant proportion of the LCC’s start-up funds, was also instrumental in forging the Society’s ongoing relationship with the A4 Collective, home of the BKCGS’s monthly open mic. The BKCGS’s free, monthly open mic has run uninterruptedly since November 2022. These events offer classical guitarists a safe space to perform and network, and music lovers a space to meet. Guitarists of all ages and levels, and from all five boroughs, New Jersey, Long Island, and elsewhere attend regularly.

In October 2024, the organization was designated a 501(c)3 nonprofit. Matt, Pierre, and Josh currently serve as the president, secretary, and treasurer, respectively, while Rodrigo has relocated to the West Coast, but continues to support the society.

The first BKCGS concert was held in May 2023. Since then, the BKCGS has featured dozens of artists from around the globe. In 2024, the BKCGS also hosted its first Luthiercon—a unique daylong event that brought together classical guitar luthiers and players to learn about, celebrate, and discuss the art of classical guitar lutherie. The Society also hosts an annual Members’ Concert and social events, and continues to develop new ways to engage and support its members and community.