They are an unlikely band of brothers — and sisters — who have gathered together to strike a common chord. From a 74-year-old calligrapher to a 7-year-old Jacksonville boy, they share an enthusiasm for the classical guitar.

The Jefferson Classical Guitar Society, which started less than two years ago, gathers monthly to provide a venue for amateurs and professionals to pluck their strings in a non-intimidating setting.

"It’s not a competition," said Margaret Gelatt, 74, of Ashland. "We all love the guitar, and we all have goodwill toward the people who play the guitar."

A beginner, Gelatt, who admits to having tiny hands for a guitarist, joined the society about a year and a half ago, when she began taking lessons.

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"I do admire the guitar," she said. "It has a very human scale to me."

Maurya Murphey, an Ashland resident and the society’s treasurer, said, "It helps us get ready to perform for an audience in front of a very friendly group of people."

A player since she was 12, the 27-year-old music major also has tried her hand at bagpipes. "Once I started having babies, bagpipes and babies didn’t go together well," she noted.

Ten-year-old Skye Trafton gave his first public performance at a recent guitar society meeting. "The first time I played, I didn’t do too well until I was about halfway through the duet," said the Ashland boy. "Then I started to feel comfortable."

Seven-year-old Nathan Hoyt showed off his skills with a rendition of the modern classic, "Come on Baby Light My Fire," arranged as a duet and played with his teacher, Joseph Thompson.

The Jacksonville youth played for the first time his own composition, titled "Beware of the King."

Despite his youth, 15-year-old Jaxon Williams dazzled audiences with a complicated Bach piece, plucked on a guitar purchased from Pistol River resident Les Stansell.

Stansell, a classical guitar builder, wowed audience members with examples of his instruments, which look like objets d’art.

He works in the style of the great Spanish guitar builders, who developed techniques that separate a good guitar from a great guitar.

"A lot of it is by intuition, and experience, of course," he said. "It’s more what you do with the wood and the wood itself. The beauty, of course, is the bonus."

Society president Grant Ruiz continues to be amazed at the variety of people who share the same passion.

"It’s kind of cool to see how many have come out of the woodworks," he said. "We have a core group of people and that seems to be growing."

While official membership stands at 23, almost 50 people showed up at a recent meeting to watch three hours of music, while sipping on wine at Paschal Winery.

Ruiz, a computer scientist who telecommutes for the software giant Adobe Systems, is a flamenco guitarist who will be strumming some tunes at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival this summer.

He remembers when the guitar society first started and there was intense discussion about its direction. Should it be open to all guitar players? Should jazz and blues be allowed? Should it be about performing or just hanging out?

What came out of these discussions was a group dedicated to the classical guitar, but with many exceptions and much flexibility.

At a recent meeting, one jazz guitarist entertained with a handmade ukulele, while a rabbi and professional guitarist plucked out Elizabethan tunes on a vilhuela, the precursor of the modern guitar.

The latest development at the society is the formation of the Dark Rose Guitar Trio, made up of professionals Ruiz, Thompson and Steve Berman, who play everything from new compositions to classic pieces.

Ruiz said everybody has agreed the society needs to keep a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere. "People by and large are just more interested in hanging out, drinking wine and playing each month," he said. "They all just share an enthusiasm for the classical guitar."

Thompson, a professional classical guitarist and teacher, remembers when Victor Salkowitz of Mount Shasta first came up with the idea.

He knew it wouldn’t survive in his community, so he began putting up posters throughout Ashland.

The guitar society took root, sometimes with only a few members showing up at first, but Salkowitz moved away.

"He was a sort of Johnny Appleseed character who left the area and the guitar society just bloomed," remembered Thompson.

Guitar Society holds tasting
The Jefferson Classical Guitar Society meets from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. (or later) the first Tuesday of every month at Paschal Winery, 1122 Suncrest Road, Talent.

The society will hold a "Guitar Tasting" from 7 to 9 p.m. Saturday, May 17, at Paschal. Joseph Thompson will discuss the sounds of the classical guitar, featuring instruments made from Pacific Northwest woods by Pistol River resident Les Stansell.

A tasting fee of $25 also includes wine, appetizers and a guitar concert. The fee will be $30 at the door.

Call Paschal Winery for more information: 535-7957, or www.paschalwinery.com.

For more information on the society, see www.jeffersonguitar.org on the Web.

Reach reporter Damian Mann at 776-4476, or e-mail dmann@mailtribune.com