Dedicated to the interests of classical guitarists and those who enjoy classical guitar music.
Our next meeting will be Saturday, October 4th at 7:30 pm. This meeting will take place at our permanent location - Faith Lutheran Church at 7500 De Soto Ave in Canoga Park, CA.
Click here to read our September 2025 AGS Newsletter.
Click here to visit our AGS Youtube channel and see recent performances from our monthly meetings.
To the classical guitar teachers and young students of Southern California
AGS says THANK YOU for submitting your applications to compete in our 2025 annual Bickford Competition. This competition will be held at our monthly meeting on November 1st. We began accepting registration forms at 12 midnight on September 1st. And just 20 hours later, all 14 competition slots were filled! This competition features 7 students ages 8 - 13 in Division 1, and another 7 students ages 14 - 17 in Division 2. The pieces these students have selected to perform are classical guitar masterpieces. Please mark Novemeber 1st on your calendars as a very special evening of music at the AGS meeting.
October 25th - AGS Presents Eric Henderson in Concert
The first concert of our AGS 2025 – 2026 season will feature the Southern California concert artist Eric Henderson. Eric’s concert will take place on Saturday October 25th at 7:30 pm. Eric is a uniquely creative master of the classical guitar and will surely present a concert that you will remember far into the future.
Maestro Christopher Parkening states: “Whether he is playing fast scales or a lovely tremolo, Eric Henderson plays every note as if he means it. His commitment and passion are evident whether he is playing standard repertoire or his own compositions.”
Southern California guitar legend Howard Heitmeyer states: “Wow! That’s the only word strong enough to describe the effect of Henderson’s music on me.”
Visit our EVENTS page for more details and online tickets.
Vahdah Olcott Bickford
photo from about 1915
The American Guitar Society is the oldest, continuously operating guitar society in the United States. It was founded in 1923 by Vahdah Olcott Bickford (VOB), who was born in Norwalk, Ohio, in 1885 and died in Los Angeles in 1980. She was considered one of the foremost concert guitarists in the United States from 1910 to 1957, at which time she retired from the stage to devote the rest of her life to teaching and publishing. VOB published a number of original compositions and arrangements of popular pieces for the guitar, where she declared AGS as the publisher. Visit the LIBRARY tab to view and download all 20 of the works she published via the AGS organization.
Our Mission
The purpose of the AGS is to promote the beauty of the Classical Guitar via Education, Scholarships, Concerts, and monthly Meetings where members perform.
Meet, Play, Listen
Our next meeting will be held at 7:30pm on October 4th. We meet at the FAITH LUTHERAN CHURCH located at 7500 De Soto Ave, Canoga Park. Please join AGS and sign up to perform your classical guitar pieces at an upcoming monthly meeting. Our meeting dates for remainder of our new fiscal year are these: November 1, December 6, January 10, 2026 (second Saturday due to New Year's), February 7, March 7, April 11 (second Saturday due to Easter), May 2, June 6.
