Just as Kyle Jenkins was starting to pick up guitar in 2020, a professor at his future college was “mourning” the loss of a group dedicated to the instrument.
“We didn’t formally disband, but I think our last concert was in early 2019, before COVID.” said Charles Truitt, former board member of the Classical Guitar Society of Northeast Pennsylvania.
With a performance tonight, May 2, Jenkins and Truitt will relaunch that group as the Guitar Society of Northeast Pennsylvania.
“I’m very excited about the potential,” Truitt said.
Jenkins came to college as an English major, but once he realized he could take guitar lessons with Assistant Professor of Music Diogo Carvalho, he enrolled and fell in love with classical guitar.
“Dr. Carvalho said ‘you should get a classical guitar,’ and I did,” Jenkins said. “It was one of those never-looked-back moments. I just feel like it’s such a wonderful way of expression.”
Carvalho leads the Marywood Guitar Ensemble and, after Friday night’s relaunch, will lead the Guitar Society of Northeast Pennsylvania as well.
He says that while the original society focused on classical guitar performances and music, the new revival will be open to all styles of guitar.
“It’s a project for the future, because this type of society is something that will aggregate more and more people around it,” Carvalho said. “I’m hoping…in five or ten years, we’re going to see a larger structure that will support the entire community connected with the guitar.”
Jenkins and Truitt will perform together tonight, Friday, May 2 at 6 p.m. at the Rosetti Foundation for Arts and Culture in Scranton.
Celebrating achievement
While Jenkins looks toward the future of guitar performance in Northeast Pennsylvania, tonight's performance is also a celebration of his recent accomplishment - winning the grand prize at the 2025 Buffalo International Guitar Festival.
“I wasn't expecting anything to come of it,” Jenkins said. “I just went in and did my best, and I ended up winning the grand prize.”
Meeting other classical guitar performers was a highlight of the competition.
“Aside from myself, the only classical guitarists I’ve known are my teacher Dr. Carvalho and the previous guitar teacher, Dr. Truitt,” Jenkins said. “Going to Buffalo, I met probably 50 different classical guitarists.”
When Jenkins first started playing, he says he was mostly interested in the electric guitar. He never imagined winning a classical guitar competition or planning a future performing with a guitar society.
“I thought at best, maybe I would make some music in my bedroom, release it and get three ‘likes’ on SoundCloud or something like that,” he said. “It’s really a blessing and an honor to be where I am now.”
Reviving a Community
Cravalho said the guitar performance community at Marywood is thriving. The Marywood Guitar ensemble invites guitarists throughout campus to showcase “the diversity the instrument brings.”
He hopes the Guitar Society of Northeast Pennsylvania will bring that thriving community beyond the boundaries of Marywood’s campus.
“Marywood University provides opportunities through the Marywood Guitar Ensemble and all of the recitals, but we don’t have that outside of the university,” he said. “I believe there’s a strong potential for that in the city.”
In Truitt’s days, the society not only held performances for its members, it also invited artists from around the world to showcase their talent in the Scranton area. The former Marywood professor hopes reviving the society will bring that culture back to the region.
“We want to make sure that everybody, including people who are not yet guitarists…can connect with potential teachers or even just inspiration to encourage their pursuit of the guitar,” he said. “I think it’s a tremendous opportunity.”
Even though the revived society will welcome other styles of guitar, Jenkins thinks a platform for classical guitar will inspire more classical guitarists in the region.
“I don’t doubt there are classical guitarists in the area, I just haven’t met them yet,” he said. “I would love for this to be a space where all the people can come in and meet each other. I’m sure that many other people, if they knew more about it, could be enriched.
