Dedicated to the interests of classical guitarists and those who enjoy classical guitar music.

Here is an important message from AGS regarding the recent fire storms.

Our next meeting is Saturday, MARCH 1st at 7:30 pm. This meeting will take place at our new, permanent location - Faith Lutheran Church at 7500 De Soto Ave in Canoga Park, CA 91303. If you wish to perform, signup on our Meetings page.

Our first concert of 2025 on February 8th, featured guitarist Taso Comanescu. Taso performed solo works and duets with guest artists Yoshika Nasuda (cello) and Anastasia Malliaras (soprano.) These gifted artists delighted our audience with a wide variety of music, played with perfection!

Vahdah Olcott Bickford photo from about 1911

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 7:30pm on March 1st and will be a live, in person meeting. We meet at the FAITH LUTHERAN CHURCH located at 7500 De Soto Ave, Canoga Park. Our meetings for the 1st half of 2025 will be: • April 5, • May 3, • June 7. Please join AGS and sign up to perform your classical guitar pieces at an upcoming monthly meeting.

 
 
 
 

The AGS Guitar Orchestra with conductor, Vahdah Olcott Bickford. circa 1927