Internationally acclaimed fingerstyle guitarist Hiroya Tsukamoto will lead a comfortable, informal masterclass for players of all levels of ability and accomplishment at 11:00 AM on December 17, 2023, at Stage 33 Live, 33 Bridge Street in Bellows Falls, Vermont, in advance of his 2:00 concert. This workshop is strictly limited to ten participants, advance registration through the stage33live.com website is strongly recommended. Walk-ups will only be accepted if there’s still room.

Wisdom on scales, thumb placement, tunings, improvisation, and more to help players improve and expand their talents will be presented with kindness and patience and easy laughter by one of the best fingerstyle players in the world. Hiroya will demonstrate fingerstyle techniques, including chords and basic theory, breaking down elements such as tone and rhythm, explaining how to apply them to a practice routine. Questions will be warmly received.

The workshop starts at 11:00 AM on Sunday, December 17, and the cost is $30. Bring your instrument. A discounted class-plus-concert bundle is $40. This workshop is strictly limited to ten participants, advance registration through the stage33live.com website is strongly recommended. Walk-ups will only be accepted if there’s still room.

Feel free to bring a lunch to eat after the class, or to pop out to a local restaurant before the concert.

Born and raised in Kyoto, Japan, Hiroya Tsukamoto received a scholarship to Berklee College of Music and came to the US. Since then he has been performing internationally including at the United Nations, the Blue Note in New York, and on Japanese National Television. He has released seven albums. In 2022, he won second place in the International Finger Style Guitar Championship. He is a dizzyingly agile fingerpicker who always chooses beauty over bombast. His concert performances are an eclectic, immersive, and mesmerizing impressionistic journey filled with earthy, organic soundscapes rich in subtle detail.