Ryan Ayers, Aki Miyoshi, Donovan Raitt - Saturday, May 30th, 2026

An Evening with Ryan Ayers, Aki Miyoshi and Donovan Raitt Saturday, May 30th, 2026 Music at 7:00 p.m. (doors open at 6:30) Please join us for an evening of virtuoso guitar music! Aki Miyoshi Aki Miyoshi started guitar when he was 5 years old. Aki was active as a classical guitarist until 2002 in Japan. His recent music is considered to be ambient; his music is known to connect/calm/free the audience. His life is dedicated to music completely. Aki is considered to be one of the leading figures in the finger-style guitar genre. Having released three highly acclaimed musical compilations (such as his debut album "The Rock Garden") as well as live performances in Korea, Singapore, Italia, France, Australia, USA, and Poland. He is quickly becoming known all over the world. In his home country Japan, he has appeared in numero- us publications with full-length articles as well as countless appearances on the air. His musical transcriptions have been published by numerous trade magazines. During 2011, Aki won grand prize at the prestigious Japanese National Finger-style Guitar Competition, the most respected competition of its kind in Japan. 2016,Aki won Finalist and World Guitar Ranking 6th at the Guitar Masters 2016 Fingerstyle Category in Wroclaw, Poland. Ryan Ayers As a guitarist and composer, Ryan Ayers takes you into his world and holds you there; until a piece of music becomes as personal for the listener as it is for the artist. As a result, listening to a song by Ryan Ayers ends up feeling more like an intimate conversation, set to a rich, vibrant soundtrack. Whether you are a musical aficionado or new to the world of solo guitar music, this peek behind the curtain will give you new appreciation for the craft Ryan has spent years refining. Ryan’s current projects are multifaceted; in addition to touring internationally and producing albums for other artists he is currently composing new solo and ensemble guitar works for release in 2026. Standard notation editions of Ryan’s sheet music can be found on his website, ryanayersmusic.com, and tablature editions are available through his label, CandyRat Records, via candyrat.com/artists/ryanayers Donovan Raitt Dr. Donovan Raitt is an internationally recognized guitarist, composer, and educator, blending percussive fingerstyle techniques, strong melodic hooks, live looping, and improvisation, drawing on influences from rock, pop, jazz, and classical traditions. Donovan has released several acclaimed recordings, including his original solo albums Strategic Tension (2012), Pursuing the Horizon (2014), and Water and Light (2019), as well as collections of hymns and worship music such as Guitar Hymns vol.1 and 2 (2013) and Modern Worship Hymns (2024). His music has been featured internationally through tours across the United States, Canada, China, Japan, South Korea, and the United Kingdom. He has shared the stage with leading fingerstyle guitarists such as Don Ross, Preston Reed, Andy McKee, and Antoine Dufour. His music has been praised for its “great groove, warm chords, and catchy melodies… music that can be felt,” with critics noting his ability to make the guitar sound “as if three people were playing at once.” In addition to his original recordings, Dr. Raitt’s recordings of hymns and worship arrangements reflect his deep commitment to sacred music. Donovan earned his Doctor of Musical Arts in Guitar Performance from the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music, with concentrations in Musicology, Arts Leadership, and Flamenco Guitar. He also holds a Master's of Music in Jazz Studies from Cal State Long Beach and a Bachelor of Music from USC. His research on Michael Hedges and the history of the fingerstyle guitar tradition has positioned him as a leading scholar of contemporary acoustic guitar. He has been recognized with the USC Thornton School of Music Outstanding Graduate Doctoral Award, the Paul LaRose Memorial Scholarship, and membership in Phi Kappa Lambda National Music Honor Society. Dr. Raitt also teaches at Concordia University, Golden West College, Hope International University, and The University of San Diego, and previously taught at The University of Southern California and Musicians Institute. His contributions to education include the widely used Practical Guitar Method series of guitar instructional books as well as curriculum development in guitar, worship arts, music technology, and music history. Donovan is endorsed by Yamaha, Sonebridge, Breedlove, Furch, and Godin Guitars, Henriksen Amplifiers, Ernie Ball Strings, G7th Capos, Journey Instruments, GruvGear Cases and Accessories, and DiMarzio Pickups.