Our Mission

The Minnesota Guitar Society promotes the guitar in all its stylistic and cultural diversity through sponsorship of public forums, concerts, and workshops. We serve as an educational and social link between the community and amateur and professional guitarists of all ages.

Our History

Since its founding in 1984, the Minnesota Guitar Society (MGS) has entertained, expanded, and developed audiences, supported local artists, promoted musical diversity through two annual concert series that present regionally and internationally known artists, provided workshops, masterclasses, and other educational programs, and informed our members and the wider Twin Cities community through our newsletter, website, and social media. The MGS is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization with elected board members and officers. It is a largely volunteer organization with one-part-time paid staff person (the Managing Director) who is responsible for program planning and implementation, concert promotion, volunteer recruitment, and fundraising. The MGS is supported by one of the largest dues-paying memberships among the 60-plus guitar societies in the US. Our members come from a range of socioeconomic groups—a reflection of the cross-cultural appeal of the guitar and guitar-related music.

Celebrating 40 Years in 2024

In 2024, the guitar society celebrated its 40-year history by publishing articles in Guitarist about its founding and development, and holding two celebrations. The first celebration took place in January 2024, and was a party to which all of the MGS’s founders, members and friends were invited. Attendees enjoyed performances, displays and memorabilia, birthday cake, and rekindled friendships. (Celebrating 40 Years story continues after images.)

The celebration continued with a special Founders Concert, as part of our Jazz & Fingerstyle concert series, on June 11, 2024.

History buffs and long-time MGS concert-goers enjoyed looking at these maps (below), which were displayed at the anniversary celebration in January 2024. Each map displays a continent and identifies our past performers’ countries of origin. Click here to see if any of our past performers come from your ancestral homelands or a country that you’ve visited!