A Challenge to Artists, An Invitation to Audiences: Kevin Ginty at TEDxFSU

My "idea worth spreading" is that although classical music has earned a reputation of "high-brow", "outdated", or "irrelevant", it is just as relevant as many other forms of the arts, and deals with the same themes seen in art, movies, and literature. There are many people who quickly point their finger at a failing music education system in the US, however, I believe that while this is a problem we should first blame the musicians themselves. If artists can provide the audience with a connection to the intricacies and metaphors of classical music, the experience will be better for everyone involved. For this TEDxFSU event, I would like to perform Leo Brouwer's "The Flight of the Lovers Through the Valley of Echoes", and discuss how multiple factors, including increasing tempo, or velocity, recreates the feeling of a questionably tumultuous love affair.

Kevin Ginty is a senior Guitar Performance at Florida State University, where he studies under the tutelage of Bruce Holzman. He was first exposed to classical guitar through his middle school classroom guitar course, and continued his guitar education in high school at the Las Vegas Academy of Performing and Visual Arts. During this time he began to perform actively in the Las Vegas community and continues to do so in Tallahassee, FL. A co-founder and President of the Classical Guitar Society at Florida State University, Kevin works hard to advocate and promote for guitar awareness. At the moment, Kevin is applying for a Master's of Music in Guitar Performance and has been invited to audition at many prestigious music schools including University of Texas at Austin, University of Arizona, and Yale.

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)