Beatrix Lozach: Hello! This is Talking On Sunshine. We’re your hosts Beatrix Lozach…

Riley Pita: And Riley Pita

Beatrix Lozach: Today we’ll be speaking with senior guitarist Paul Devens. Paul, would you like to introduce yourself?

Paul Devens: Hi, I’m Paul Devens. I’m a senior at McCallum High School and a guitar major.

Beatrix Lozach: What initially drew you to guitar?

Paul Devens: I grew up surrounded by guitar, not particularly classical guitar, but my dad plays guitar, plays steel string and electric guitar. And from when I was born, there were always guitars in the house, and I’d always be going into guitar stores. When I was in fourth grade, I started playing steel string guitar, and that was great. I really enjoyed it. And after about a year, I switched teachers and my new teacher’s name is Vijay Meunier, and we worked on steel string guitar, but he had a classical guitar degree from UT and Florida State and kind of urged me in that direction.

Riley Pita: how was your guitar training at Austin Classical Guitar shaped your development as a musician?

Paul Devens: The Austin Classical Guitar Society has been extremely formative for me in developing myself as a musician. My involvement with them started last summer. They invited me to come open for one of the many world class artists that they have played at their venue, called the Rosette, and I kind of got introduced to the people at ACG and fell in love with the organization. And so this year, I had the opportunity to join the ACG Youth Orchestra. I’ve really, really enjoyed doing that. And. The ACG Youth Orchestra, it’s a very tight knit ensemble. Because it’s extracurricular, they really want to be there. And so they just provide a number of unique perspectives because they are people who really want to be there and really care about classical guitar and care about music and the educators do as well. So I think it’s just kind of allowed me to be in a community of people who are very passionate about guitar, just like myself.

Beatrix Lozach: How would you say your experiences in McCallum’s Fine Arts Academy differed from your experiences at Austin Classical Guitar?

Paul Devens: there are a few key differences. One of them is that McCallum’s guitar program is larger, and that that allows for just more perspectives. The nature of McCallum is attracting people with diverse interests, and I think that that has been very interesting to talk to people who are not solely interested in guitar, that deepens the music making that we are able to have.

Riley Pita: What has your most transformative experience been performing guitar? 

Paul Devens: When I think of transformative experiences, one comes to mind and that is my experience working with the guitarist Pepe Romero, as part of AGS’ Give season last year.  And Pepe is a kind of a titan in the guitar world. He was in one of the first guitar quartets that became world famous, and they standardized the repertoire that guitar quartets play to this day. And through that season and through the performances that we did, we got to play alongside Pepe in a guitar quartet and play the pieces that he made famous. And so playing alongside him, which has really shaped who I am as a guitarist.

Riley Pita: So would you say he’s kind of like a role model for you?

Paul Devens: Oh, for sure, for sure. Pepe, there’s a number of virtues that I think he exemplifies. He is extremely joyful. If you have the opportunity to meet him, he’s jubilant a lot of the time. You can just tell he loves what he’s doing even for as many years as he’s been playing. There’s also a thoughtfulness that he brings that I think comes with his experience. Each note that he plays is intentional, and that’s something that I try to emulate and try to learn from.

Beatrix Lozach: What was the most valuable piece of advice that Pepe gave you?

Paul Devens: One thing jumps to mind when I think of the most significant piece of advice, and that has to do with the anxiety that comes with performing. What Pepe told me regarding performance anxiety is that when you’re on stage, the music flows out of your guitar, it flows through your body and it forms a bubble around you. And when you’re up there, if you mess up, it doesn’t matter, you’re invulnerable. I think that’s so true because people who go to see classical guitar concerts and people who care about music, to them it doesn’t matter if you make a minor mistake, they’re there because they love it.

Riley Pita: So what urged you to decide to audition for the Butler School of Music?

Paul Devens: The choice to do guitar in college didn’t happen overnight. I originally was planning to study business and one day I was thinking about it, and I realized, this is interesting to me, but guitar is what I care about. And if I did anything else, I don’t know, I don’t think I could live with myself. I think I need to do the thing that’s fulfilling to me. That brings me the most joy more than anything else in the world. And so that was when I began looking at colleges for music and UT stood out to me for a number of reasons. First of all, there’s a number of notable alumni from UT who have been role models for me in my life. My teacher, Dr. Joseph Palmer, the ACGYO (Austin Classical Guitar Youth Orchestra) conductor, Dr. Joe Williams, my other teacher, Vijay Meunier, and just a number of other phenomenal guitarists who I know who’ve attended the program. So when I had the opportunity to work with Professor Adam Holzman from UT at the Brevard Music Center Summer Festival last summer, I realized that we clicked.

Beatrix Lozach: What do you hope to do with a degree in guitar performance?

Paul Devens: There’s a number of things that you can do with a performance degree or any kind of fine arts degree. And I think there’s a view from a lot of people that performing is the only path if you get a performance degree, and that I understand why people think that. But to get a fine arts degree requires a number of traits, one of them being focus. You need dedication. To get to an extremely high level at anything requires very hard work. And I think that’s, first of all, a very transferable skill to whatever I may end up doing. Secondly, I am very interested in nonprofit work through guitar and through music, being inspired by organizations like Austin Classical Guitar. I would like to be able to bring that to a city that’s not as lucky as Austin, to have this foundation, and one of the things required for that is a deep understanding and connection with the guitar. And I think studying with Professor Holzman, studying at UT and getting this degree is a great next step for me.

Beatrix Lozach: Well, this has been Talking On Sunshine. We’re your hosts Beatrix Lozach 

Riley Pita: And Riley Pita 

Beatrix Lozach: Go Knights!