A 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Educational Arts Organization
Serving California's North Central Valley and Sierra Foothills
Sacramento Guitar Society
Daniel Roest, Artistic Director
droest@sacramentoguitarsociety.org
M. A., Music, San Jose State University, 1986
Bachelor of Music with Distinction, San Jose State University, 1978
Independent Guitar Instructor, Performer, & Presenter
Director Emeritus, Former President and Artistic Director (1993-2001) South Bay Guitar Society
Founding Member and First President of Sacramento Guitar Society 501(c)(3) phase
(916) 294-0400, www.danielguitar.com
James P. Banach, Treasurer
JBanachSGS@gmail.com
Retired - Michigan Technological University, Engineering & Business; 43 years experience as an Information Technology Professional with 20 years managing IT organizations and Operations including major banks and insurance companies. Formerly certified as a PMP, Project Management Professional, by the Project Management Institute. Former member of DPMA. Former co-owner of Aurora Portraits Photography.
Stephen Roberts, Past Secretary & Schools Outreach Director
(916) 690-7777
Founding member and immediate past SGS President 501(c)(3) phase
Former SGS Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer
Civil Engineer, CA Reg. No. 37,104
B. S. Civil Engineering, UC Davis, 1978
Principle Engineer, CA Dept. of Water Resources (2000-2010) (Retired)
Chaired two capital campaigns at local church, 2004 and 2014. Raised over $5.8 million in pledges
Janice Kuykendall, Membership Volunteer
(916) 765-2902
AA Degree, Sacramento City College
Telecommunications Management Certificate, California State University, Sacramento
Retired – State of California, Telecommunications Division, Telecommunications Manager. CHP Client.
Guitarist – 1995 to present
Member, Sacramento Guitar Society Orchestra – from January 2013
Board Director, Sacramento Guitar Society – from December, 2014
Ed Trujillo, Director - Past Grant Program Oversight
Former President of the Sacramento Guitar Society
Retired - Human Resources, State of California (39 Years)
Degree in Social Anthropology from Sacaramento State College
Classical Guitarist
Established Oak Park Rotary House, where families with children with serious illnesses may stay free of charge while being treated at the UCD Childrens Hospital..
Ben Rosner, Director - Past Community Development/Social Media
CantorBen@gmail.com website
Cantor (Clergy and Music Director) at Mosaic Law Congregation
Masters in Sacred Music - Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City
Cantor of Congregation Beth Shalom in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (July 2010 - June 2013)
Trains and conducts volunteer choirs and bands for services, concerts, and other events.
Studied with Maoz Ezra and Tali Roth and has been expanding in styles.
In addition to guitar, plays harmonica, mandolin, banjo and a few other instruments.
Lili Sahba Williams, President - Grant Writer
lwilliams@sacramentoguitarsociety.org
B.S. Electrical Engineering, 22 years at Intel Corporation
Former Owner/Director of OSC Computer Training, a licensed private adult vocational school, 10 years
Former Board Member, Rancho Cordova Chamber of Commerce
Musical Instrument Hobbyist: Piano, Guitar, Ukulele, Tombac, Santoor (Hammer Dulcimer),
Setar, Tare
2017-2018 Board of Directors
Sacramento Guitar Society
P.O. Box 621
Folsom, CA 95763
(916) 572-RING (7464)
2017-2018 Advisory Board
Sean O'Connor, Sacramento Guitar Society Orchestra Director
(916) 281-5096, oconnorguitar.com, gutplucker@yahoo.com
Bachelor of Music (Guitar Performance) CSUS, 2004, Magna Cum Laude
Private Guitar and Bass Instruction, O’Connor Guitar (2013-present)
For SGSO: Selection and/or arrangement of music for the 20+ piece ensemble, conducting and leading monthly rehearsals and twice-yearly concerts, with behind-the-scenes logistics.
Phil Kimura, Past SGS Secretary, Social Media Director
MBA, CSU Sacramento (Management of Computer Applications) 2002
Bachelor Degree, Business Administration, CSU Sacramento 1998
Senior Manager, Information Solutions, VSP (not for profit vision insurance company) 2001 to present.
Classical guitar training with Brandon Yip.
Fritz Harrold, DMD, Past SGS Treasurer
Doctor of Medicine in Dentistry, Sacramento, CA
University of Pennsylvania Dental School, 1974
Undergraduate work at University of Colorado
Current member of Sacramento District Dental Society, California Dental Association, American Dental Association
Past Board Member Sacramento Zoo, SPCA, Director Sacramento Water Festival (2 years)
Member Sacramento Sutter Club
Ben McClara, Sac Prep Guitar Project, Past Director
Mr. McClara teaches the strings studio, focusing upon beginning Fiddle, classical violin, cello, and double bass. He teaches a lot of guitar, electric guitar, electric bass, percussion and basic musicianship. Mr. McClara is a Certified Teacher for Sacramento City Unified School District, & holds a Bachelor of Music Performance in Double Bass from California State University Sacramento. Aside from his private studio of string students, Mr. McClara Founded and Directs the Guitar Project, Guitar Project Ensemble, programs underwritten by SGS, and conducts the SPMA String Ensemble.
Matthew Grasso, Co-founding Director
Classical guitarist, composer, arranger, musical instrument innovator, and improviser who began playing guitar at age twelve. He is a founding member of SGS and was prominent in the region for his accomplishments before the current phase of SGS as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. He attended the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, were he studied with Scott Tennant, Dusan Bogdanovic, and Lawrence Ferrara and participated in master classes held by artists including Eliot Fisk, David Russell, and the L.A. Guitar Quartet. Matthew complemented this training by studying the classical music of North India at the Ali Akbar College of Music with the late sarod master Ustad Ali Akbar Khan.
Greg Williams, Co-founding Director & Founder SGS Orchestra
Guitarist, composer and educator Greg Williams began playing guitar at age 13 after being inspired by rock groups Led Zeppelin and the Beatles. He also is a founding member of SGS and was prominent in the region for his accomplishments before the current phase of SGS as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Greg hosted years of SGS meetings at CSUS. Greg holds a Bachelor of Music degree in classical guitar performance and a Master of Music in composition from Sacramento State College, and has studied classical guitar with Richard Savino, Dusan Bogdonovic, Marc Teicholz and Brandon Yip. Greg has performed in master classes with William Kannengeiser, Andrew York, David Tanenbaum, Benjamin Verderey, Nigel North, and Paul Bier. Notable performances include the Festival of New American Music in Sacramento, the International Live Looping festival in Santa Cruz, and the Fringe Arts festival in Edinburgh, Scotland. http://www.gregwilliamsguitar.com/
Waylin Carpenter, Past Director
Waylin Carpeter is an all-round guitarist and former member of Steel Breeze, now engaged in constructing high-end custom classical guitars. Waylin owns and operates Wet Coast Decals and has donated artwork to SGS for T-shirts and banners. Waylin's innovative guitar construction methods have produced a number of atypical nylon-string guitars including, 6, 7 and 8-string models, several commissioned by Matt Grasso.
Harold Sexton, Past Director and Founding Board Member
Harold is trained as a Suzuki Guitar Teacher by Frank Longay and Brandon Yip. His real passion is for sharing the guitar as a form of healing, which he writes about in more detail here - which he writes about in more detail here.
Brandon Yip, Past President and Founding Board Member
Brandon Yip trained as a concert classical guitarist at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and has released several CDs of classical guitar. Brandon re-established SGS in the the State of California in 2003 with Greg Williams and directed its meetings at CSUS. Today Brandon is deeply involved in work for Bayside Church and his guitars are typically highly amplified.
William Anderson, Past Director
Nancy Exley, Past President and Founding Board Member
Dr. Bennie F. Carter, MD, Past Director
Daniel Rooney, Past Director
Jennifer Schieck, Secretary
Former Consultant at California State Assembly
Worked at Health Net
Studied Law at University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law
Studied Statsvitenskap at UC Berkeley
Fine Arts Advocate
John Reynolds, Director
Adult Ed Teacher at Contra Costa Adult School & self-employed Music Teacher, acoustic guitar, violin/fiddle, harmonica/blues harp & other instruments; Bachelor of Arts, San Francisco State University. California Teaching Credential, Adult Ed, Computers and Programming; and basic skills/ESL.
Sandy Strautman, Schools Outreach Director
Sandy majored in Music Performance (Flute) at CSUS under Laurel Zucker and spent her post college career teaching publicly and privately. Sandy is tasked with developing our school outrreach activities - concerts, workshops and masterclasses.
Past Board Members & Officers
