Dedicated to the interests of classical guitarists and those who enjoy classical guitar music.
Our next meeting will be Saturday, February 7th at 7:30 pm. This meeting will take place at our new permanent location: The Faith Lutheran Church at 7500 De Soto Ave in Canoga Park, CA.
From all of us at the American Guitar Society, Happy New Year! May 2026 bring joy, laughter, harmony, and many pleasures from the music of the classical guitar.
The AGS is thrilled to present to our members and fans, a classical guitar concert by the world-renowned artist William Kanengiser.
William Kanengiser has forged a career that truly expands the possibilities of the classical guitar. He has recorded four CD’s for the GSP label, playing music as diverse as Caribbean, Eastern European, and jazz. He has been a member of the guitar faculty at the USC Thornton School of Music since 1983, and is well known to all as a founding member of the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet. He has given hundreds of recitals and concerto appearances around the world. AGS is “over the moon” pleased that it is our turn for Maestro Kanengiser to grace our concert stage as he presents a unique concert that will be remembered for a long, long time.
Date: Saturday May 9th, 2026
Time: 7:30pm
Location: Faith Lutheran Church, 7500 De Soto Ave, Canoga Park, CA
After this last highly successful Giving Tuesday, AGS said that we would be using your donations to do exciting things in 2026. This concert is a first effort in that direction. This is a “must see” event. Please mark your calendars now for this May 9th. Tickets go on sale April 14th.
The AGS 2026 Guitar Orchestra is now in progress with rehearsals
Our annual fund raising concert will happen - APRIL 18th!
On Saturday April 18th, 2026, the AGS 2026 Guitar Orchestra will present our annual concert which will feature an all new selection of music.
Click on this link to see the scrap book for our 2025 AGS Guitar Orchestra event.
Please visit our AGS Library to browse the 20 publications that Vahdah created to enhance the repertoire of the classical guitarist. As a starter, we suggest spending some time with this one
The Chopin Album for Guitar.
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 January 10th. 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: 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.
