When Alejandro Taylor asked me if I would be interested in explaining the work I have been doing in the past 13 years as Chair of the Guitar Department at Indiana University School of Music, I felt that it was time to describe in some detail the whole process from its beginning.

In 1980, during a tour of concerts in the U.S., I was invited by the famous cellist Janos Starker to give a recital at Indiana University. After this event, Mr. Starker proposed that I give a workshop in summer, 1981. Many years afterward, in 1988, when I finished my recital at a music festival in Caracas, Venezuela, I met by coincidence Dean Charles Webb of Indiana University, who was present. That recital of mine seems to have made Dr. Webb reflect on the necessity of creating a guitar program at I.U. Later, when I had a call to Madrid offering me this possibility, I was so engaged in performances that I delayed my reply for several months. Finally I agreed to open the program in September 1989, as a true challenge in my professional life, which up to that point had been dedicated only to performances (touring 7 months a year) and recordings.

It was a major enterprise, for it's not easy to build up such a program. There were very few elective guitar classes, and that was all. So it took me almost 3 years to develop and create, besides the Bachelor's, the Master's and Doctoral Program, a strategy in how to increase the elective classes as an enhancement for the School and at the same time to provide an income for scholarships to graduate students. Today we count 12 graduate, 16 undergraduate, and 472 elective guitar students, for a total of 500. Numerous guitarists come from foreign countries: Norway, Italy, Taiwan, Bulgaria, Serbia, Canada, Costa Rica, Brazil, and the U.S.

Two other programs that we offer, more focused on performance, include one for a Performer and Artist Diploma. Because of their opportunity to teach not only elective classes but also undergraduates, graduate students get excellent training for future positions. Of course, chamber music is a "must" in our School, and this is a privilege inasmuch as there are so many excellent instrumentalists (flutists, violinists, cellists, etc) willing to play together with guitar. The goal is to make guitarists better musicians by taking advantage of the infrastructure of our School of Music, which is the largest in the world, having 4 symphony orchestras, a chamber orchestra, a contemporary music ensemble, etc.

A total of more than 1100 performances per year are held at our School. Our Music Library has catalogued 2500 works involving guitar in all its forms of presentation (solos, duos, trios, chamber music, concertos, etc.) With the composition department we have a joint program called "Hammer and Nail" which brings to light around 6-10 works every year, written by composition students who work with guitarists during a whole academic year and premier their pieces at the end of the spring semester.

Our pre-college program has 40 youngsters (6 to 17 years of age) who are taught exclusively classical guitar and who have their own workshops and recitals. This past summer, 2003, the first Spanish Guitar Academy was held. It focused on preparing youngsters, students from various states, for future auditions. Sharing the same projects, they were helped to progress in their technique and interpretation of music. It's amazing how much interest classical guitar is getting in this country with so many applications. I believe that pre-college programs are essential so that kids are introduced to classical guitar as soon as possible and prepared to perform at high level before 18 years of age.

To finish, I feel that the classical guitar is healthy in the U.S., that it's beginning to be taken seriously, and that it's coming to be considered the instrument of the 21st century.

Hoping this expectation will be accomplished, I wish great success for GUITARRA MAGAZINE in all stages of their endeavor to promote the guitar and its interpreters.

ERNESTO BITETTI
Chair Guitar Department.
Indiana University. School of Music
ebitetti@indiana.edu