Paul bangser, director
Paul Bangser is an active performer and teacher based in Bethesda, Maryland. He is the former Director of Guitar Studies at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts (D.C.'s only arts-dedicated high school), where he taught guitar and music theory and led the school's guitar ensemble. He has also taught privately for many years and has operated his own private teaching studio in Bethesda since 2006. Paul is incredibly enthusiastic about teaching guitar and music and helping others realize their dreams of playing the guitar.
Paul has also been performing as a guitarist for over 30 years and has a versatile record of performances in jazz, rock/pop, classical and latin guitar styles. He has led his own jazz quintet on the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage, performed at Strathmore Mansion’s tea room, and has performed on many occasions with D.C.’s exciting latin jazz group Trio Caliente. Paul’s own groups have performed at area clubs and coffeehouses, outdoor festivals, and other public and private events. Paul has performed regularly as a duo with jazz singers and has also held the guitar chair for professional theater productions, including Evita and Jesus Christ Superstar.
Paul is also Music Director and Associate Conductor of the Interplay Orchestra (a Resident Partner at Strathmore Music Center), a 50-piece orchestra composed of members with cognitive/developmental differences who play together with professional and community musicians. Paul arranges the music and conducts this group in year-round rehearsals and concerts at Strathmore Music Center. In addition, from 2010-14, he served on the Board of Directors of the Jazz Education Network, an international organization for advancing jazz education and performance.
Starting on guitar at age 12, Paul learned to play the great folk/rock/pop music of the day, turning to jazz guitar and improvisation in high school. During college, Paul’s teachers included Herb Pomeroy and other faculty at the Berklee College of Music, and later, jazz guitarist and educator Paul Bollenback.
Paul has also been performing as a guitarist for over 30 years and has a versatile record of performances in jazz, rock/pop, classical and latin guitar styles. He has led his own jazz quintet on the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage, performed at Strathmore Mansion’s tea room, and has performed on many occasions with D.C.’s exciting latin jazz group Trio Caliente. Paul’s own groups have performed at area clubs and coffeehouses, outdoor festivals, and other public and private events. Paul has performed regularly as a duo with jazz singers and has also held the guitar chair for professional theater productions, including Evita and Jesus Christ Superstar.
Paul is also Music Director and Associate Conductor of the Interplay Orchestra (a Resident Partner at Strathmore Music Center), a 50-piece orchestra composed of members with cognitive/developmental differences who play together with professional and community musicians. Paul arranges the music and conducts this group in year-round rehearsals and concerts at Strathmore Music Center. In addition, from 2010-14, he served on the Board of Directors of the Jazz Education Network, an international organization for advancing jazz education and performance.
Starting on guitar at age 12, Paul learned to play the great folk/rock/pop music of the day, turning to jazz guitar and improvisation in high school. During college, Paul’s teachers included Herb Pomeroy and other faculty at the Berklee College of Music, and later, jazz guitarist and educator Paul Bollenback.
Francisco quintero, instructor
Francisco was born in Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela. In Venezuela, he worked and performed with top renown jazz artists such as drummer Andres Briceño, Pablo Gil and Gustavo Caruci, and was involved as a producer, arranger and musical director for bands in other musical idioms. In 2009, he moved to Boston MA to attend the prestigious Berklee College of Music, where he obtained a Bachelor’s degree in performance. Since then, Francisco has studied and performed concerts with artists such as Richie Hart, Peter Bernstein, Carl Allen, Alain Mallet and Derrick Gardner throughout the United States. In 2015 he moved to Chicago to pursue his master’s degree in Jazz Studies at Northern Illinois University, where he was an in-demand sideman in the area and performed at the city’s most prestigious venues, the Chicago Jazz Festival, and top jazz venues of near by cities such as Milwaukee and Madison, Wisconsin. He has released an album as a leader with Venezuelan guitarist Manuel Reyes entitled “Duet” and also appeared as a sideman in recordings both in Venezuela and the U.S. In addition to being an active performer, he is also very passionate about teaching and has been extensively involved in music education at all levels. He has most recently moved to the Washington D.C area, where he continues to pursue performing and teaching in one of the most thriving music scenes in the U.S.