Wynn celebrates 10 years in McKinney with series of concerts, workshops
McKinney -- Guitarist John Wynn is celebrating his studio’s 10th year in McKinney with a series of summer concerts and workshops.
Wynn will bring his music to McKinney residents and visitors this summer with a concert and workshop featuring Muriel Anderson (June 13), a spot in the city-sponsored Jammin’ in June concert series line-up (June 24), two anniversary concerts (July 17), and several workshops and regular classes.
The Jammin’ in June concert will feature Wynn’s jazz group, String Fever, which also celebrates its 10th anniversary this year.
“I realized the other day that the 10th anniversary of both my studio and the String Fever group just happen to fall the same year that my parents celebrate their 50th anniversary,” Wynn said, smiling. “That’s a nice sense of continuity.”
Helping Wynn celebrate during his 10th anniversary concert will be Beth Wood and Doug Smith, both acclaimed musicians and longtime friends of Wynn’s. Wood is an award winning singer/songwriter and Smith is a Grammy winning fingerstyle guitarist (“August Rush”).
“Beth is so energetic and brings such a happy presence in a concert setting,” Wynn said, “and Doug visits here at least once or twice a year, usually filling up his visits with private lessons and working with small groups.”
The July 17 concerts will be preceded by a day of workshops and private lessons set for July 16 with all three guitarists – Wynn, Wood and Smith -- who have partnered for workshops and concerts in the past, including during last summer’s McKinney GuitarFest.
Wynn finds partnering to be a crucial aspect of establishing and nurturing a presence within a community. In fact, he began partnering with Chestnut Square Historic Village practically from the beginning days of his studio. Here he presented the long-running “Around the Square” concert series and continues to host special workshops and concerts including this month’s Muriel Anderson workshop and concert as well as his anniversary concerts with Wood and Smith.
Wynn has also found a real kinship in McKinney’s arts community. He has performed at art gallery receptions in the historic downtown and has partnered with local artist Anne Royer who sometimes does spontaneous painting in conjunction with his concerts.
“People like the synergy of the art and music presented together,” Royer said of her presence during Wynn’s concerts. “Someone in the audience may only be focusing on one, either the music or the painting, but they’re experiencing both the audio and visual, which enriches the entire experience.”
Wynn remembers one concert when Royer’s painting changed completely from one point in the concert to another.
“Annie responds to the music. The music and feel changed throughout this particular concert, and that was reflected in Annie’s painting that started out as one thing and ended as something else entirely,” Wynn said. “Working with Annie creates an added excitement on stage.”
Royer will be painting during both the Muriel Anderson concert at Chestnut Square and at the Jammin’ in June concert at Towne Lake Park on June 24.
Wynn may be a guitar player, a composer and a McKinney business owner, but in his heart, he is first and foremost a teacher.
“I’m an educator, hands down,” said Wynn. “I want to teach teachers, too, to help build more guitar studios,” Wynn said. “I have my own curriculum, not a franchise thing, but my own business model that has been successful and I want to share that with other teachers.”
Wynn moved his business from the downtown square to his home studio earlier this spring, but plans to maintain a presence in the historic district by joining forces with the McKinney Performing Arts Center (MPAC) located at 111 N. Tennessee.
“I’ll be partnering with MPAC to hold day camps throughout the summer and in July, I’ll be holding blues and Beatles workshops there,” Wynn said. “And of course, I’ll continue teaching private classes and publishing my books. I just want to have a positive impact on the community through music.”
About John Wynn: Classical guitarist John Wynn moved to the McKinney area in 1999 and opened the John Wynn Guitar Studio with about 40 students in January 2000, quickly growing over the next few years to 140 students. He also started the Outreach Through Music scholarship program to provide free instruction to qualifying students, and has written more than three dozen instructional books designed not only for students, but also to help develop guitar teachers. One of his compositions, “Song for Kate,” written for his daughter, was recorded and released nationally this year by Dallas musician and leader of the Strata Big Band, John Wasson.
Wynn’s CDs are available at Chestnut Square’s Dixie Store and from his Web site. For more information about the John Wynn Guitar Studio and Wynn’s upcoming concert and workshop schedule, visit www.johnwynn.com or call 972-832-1646. Wynn can also be reached via e-mail at john@johnwynn.com.