Latin guitars in concert Saturday in Arlington Heights

Latin America styles from classical guitar to tangos, rumbas and fandangos will be featured Saturday, Sept. 12., at the second annual "Music Under the Stars" concert at Mission San Juan Diego Church, 2323 N. Wilke Road in Arlington Heights.

The concert reunites a master teacher and his former students - now, all professional musicians with roots in Brazil, Cuba, Mexico and Venezuela - who will play solos, duets and quartets. The concert falls during Latin Heritage Month and the start of a fall session of guitar lessons offered as a ministry at the church.

Steven Suvada, who headlines the group, teaches guitar at Harper College, Elmhurst College and Loyola University, and has appeared as a soloist with symphonies around the country. Most recently, he premiered a work with the Chicago Sinfonietta at Symphony Center.

Rounding out the quartet are Wesley Hixson of Addison, who teaches guitar at Elmhurst College, Steven Vasquez of Palatine, who teaches guitar at Harper College, and Edgar Huerta of Arlington Heights, who formerly taught at Harper, but now has started his own Ministry of Strings at Mission San Juan Diego.

All three have performed at multiple venues in Chicago in styles ranging from Latin American to acoustic and classical.

"It is our intention to bring a diverse program of music - from all over the world and all different styles - to a diverse audience for one night a year," Hixson said of the nearly 20 pieces in the program.

All three musicians honed their skills in Suvada's classical guitar ensemble at Harper, and they describe the experience as formative and inspiring.

"The first time I saw his guitar ensemble perform, I was amazed," said Huerta, who teaches English as a Second Language at Conant High School. "I had never seen anything like it before. I thought it was so wonderful to put a group of guitarists together and make them sound like an orchestra."

After seeing his first guitar ensemble, Huerta went on to perform with Harper's group, as well as the guitar ensemble at Northeastern Illinois University, where he earned his degree, and in guitar master classes.

Huerta now is working to form a guitar ensemble at Mission San Juan Diego, where he teaches the instrument to students of all ages through what he calls the Ministry of Strings.

"It's important to me to create a guitar culture in our community," Huerta said. "I'm trying to encourage especially young children to take up this instrument at an early age and to continue to grow as musicians."

For his part, Hixson said the chance to reunite with his former teacher and classmates, and make beautiful music together, is a growth experience.

"It's like we get to relive the great memories of the past at every rehearsal," Hixson says, "and also continue to move forward musically and grow as friends."

The evening starts at 6 p.m. with a reception, followed by the outdoor performance at 7 p.m. under a tent. Proceeds will go toward benefiting Mission San Juan Diego as well as the Ministry of Strings, and purchasing more guitars for aspiring musicians.