History

Sarah Wilke has been the Greater Cincinnati Guitar Society President and Artistic Director since 2022.  Her love of guitar began at age 11 and has been a lifelong journey. Her adventures have taken her to study with guitarists of many styles including rock, country, metal and classical. She acquired her B.A. in Music from Northern Kentucky University where she studied with Robert Mercer. She has taught classroom music in the states of Kentucky, Ohio and New York. She founded the Northern Kentucky University Preparatory Guitar Ensemble in 2005 where she directed over 20 players and led them to concertize throughout Ohio and Kentucky. She has maintained an active guitar studio since 2000. She has been on the faculty of the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music’s Summer Guitar Workshop since 2003.  Wilke has recordings featured on Ring I, Ring II and Aura for Cincinnati Public Radio. She can be heard live with the Wilke Guitar Duo. During the day she works as an Investment Management Consultant and mother of twins. 

Howard Le, GCGS Videographer and Board Member. In 1977 Howard passed the valedictorian entrance exam at the department of composition at the Ho Chi Minh Conservatory of Music but, was refused admission at the last minute due to political filtering red tape because “he had to make room for others because of his family background as having officers of the former regime”. Howard is a classical guitarist who immigrated to New York City in 2011 from Vietnam. He joined a classical music community in NYC and started playing guitar again after a 20 year hiatus due to the harsh conditions in Vietnam. He performed annually in December at the Vermont International Festival from 2012-2019. He performed three times at Carnegie Hall New York with ACMA(Association of Classical Musicians and Artists) in 2012,2013 and 2014. He also has performed for Los Angeles County Libraries in 2017, 2018 and 2019. He graduated Cum Laude from the Los Angeles Film School in 2020 with a degree in digital music production. He has released two albums of spiritual Vietnamese songs titled “Move On With Life” and “Living Zen”. Together, with musician Vo Ta Han he founded the Vietnamese American Classical Guitar Society in Orange County California.

Doug Calton has been treasurer of GCGS since 2016. He has been playing guitar since he was 19 off and
on (more off than on). In college, he participated in renaissance fairs, accompanied friends in student
recitals, and performed eleswhere to the detriment of his other studies. After college, life’s demands
took over, and guitar took a back seat for many years. Since retiring at 62, he has tried to make up for
lost time, participating in this society, in CCM’s workshops, private lessons, and working on a personal
youtube channel.

Dr. Christopher Wilke has been a member of the GCGS Board since 2016 and currently directs the GCGS Bravo Ensemble. He integrates modern and historical performance on guitar and lute with his interests in composition and research. He is director of guitar studies at the University of Cincinnati-College Conservatory of Music (CCM). In September 2022, the CCM guitar program celebrated its 50th anniversary with a Gala Concert featuring an alumni guitar orchestra under Wilke’s direction which gave the premiere of his composition, Double Shot. 

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Wilke holds degrees from the Eastman School of Music (historical plucked instruments under Paul O’Dette), Mt. St. Joseph University (guitar and composition), and the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music (classical guitar). He has had recordings released on Centaur Records (USA), original compositions published by Les Productions d’Oz (Montreal, Canada) and editorial work printed by Le Luth Doré (Paris, France). He’s lectured or published articles for the American Musicological Society, The Lute Society of America and the Guitar Foundation of America. 

Donald is an active composer, whose compositions are primarily solo guitar works. His music has been heard in Concert at: The Cincinnati Guitar Society, Dayton Guitar Fest, CCM’s Something Different, Classical Revolution and House Concerts all over the midwest and as far as North Carolina. With two albums of original classical and classical crossover compositions, his music has reached listeners in 73 countries and 5 continents.

He earned my BM in Classical Guitar Performance at the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) under the direction of Clare Callahan and graduated Magna Cum Laude. Donald has also taken masterclasses with internationally acclaimed artists: Oscar Ghiglia, David Russell, Zoran Dukic, Marcin Dylla, Carlos Perez and Johannes Möller
He studied composition with Terry McQuilken at the University of Oregon, Orchestration at CCM and took private lessons with Jennifer Jolley (Professor of Music Theory and Composition
at CUNY Lehman College, President and Co-founder of N.A.N.O. Works Opera Company). He humbly gives back to the community through the Greater Cincinnati Guitar Society where he served as President from 2013 to 2022. His current role is Education Director. He is a member
and guitar adjudicator for the Ohio Music Educators Association. He is a dedicated teacher whose students have won both state and regional gold medals through the Royal Conservatory of Music. He currently teaches at Indian Springs Academy of Music, The Wyoming Fine Arts
Center, Leaves of Learning, Frederick Douglass Elementary, as well as, his Home Studio.