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Richard Smith and Julie Adams have a truly harmonious marriage. Smith, a fingerstyle guitarist, and Adams, a classically trained cellist, are each standout musicians individually. But the couple also take their talents on the road together and perform as a musical duo, blending the unique sounds of fingerpicked guitar and cello in a wide range of music, from classical to contemporary, bluegrass and jazz.
The Los Gatos--Saratoga Community Concert Association will ring in the new year with Smith and Adams in a lively concert on Jan. 11 at the Los Gatos High School Auditorium.
Smith, a native of England, took up guitar at a very young age under the tutelage of his father. A child prodigy, at 5 he mastered the chords and melody of a Chet Atkins/Merle Travis song in a single day. At age 11, Smith not only got a chance to show Atkins in person what he could do, he got to perform with the fingerstyle-guitar legend when Atkins invited him onstage during a London concert.
He delighted the audience of nearly 1,000 with his performances of several of Atkins' own arrangements. Smith's accomplishments have continued into adulthood: He was named National Fingerstyle Guitar Champion in 2001 and can add to his already impressive résumé credits as a skilled violinist, banjo player and songwriter.
The American-born Adams trained at the Cincinnati Conservatory and has toured extensively throughout the United States, in addition to winning many competitions. Adams and Smith, who married in 1999, have taken up residence in Nashville, and Adams has begun taking part in session playing there, lending her talents to albums and film scores. Though classically trained, she has begun to explore folk music and made a major contribution to folk artists Holly and Glen Yarboroughs' album, Family Portrait, on which she had the chance to work with renowned fingerstyle guitarist Muriel Anderson. She and Anderson have since collaborated on an album titled Theme for Two Friends.
Anderson also wrote the title track for the recently released Living Out a Dream, Smith and Adams' first album together. The album features an eclectic mix of classical selections and contemporary standards from the couple's repertoire, everything from "Ave Maria" and "Flight of the Bumblebee" to "I Only Have Eyes for You" and "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." Living Out a Dream also includes music that Adams and Smith composed themselves.
Los GatosSaratoga Community Concert Association presents guitarist Richard Smith and cellist Julie Adams Jan. 11, 2:30 p.m. at the Los Gatos High School Auditorium, 20 High School Court (at Main Street), Los Gatos. Tickets are $10 students, $20 adults. For more information, call 408.377.1106 or 408.356.5698.
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