Jeffry Steele performs “Suite de las Horas”: An original work for eight-string guitar with electronic enhancements

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, July 23, 2025

Submitted by Jeffry Steele.

Wednesday, July 30 at noon, Emmanuel Episcopal Church, 242 Main St., Eastsound. Part of the Music at Emmanuel series. Free-will donation to benefit the Emmanuel Music Scholarship Fund.

Jeffry Steele holds a master’s in music composition from New England Conservatory in Boston, Massachusetts, and a master’s in counseling psychology from St Martin’s University in Lacey, Washington. Forty years ago, he was described as “a splendid musician” (Boston Globe) who “plays a mean guitar” (Boston Phoenix). Since that time, he has explored diverse combinations of music and social activism — producing “Voices of Latin America” concerts with readings by poet Denise Levertov, artist brigades to Nicaragua, a touring show titled “50 Ways to Play Guitar,” dance-dramas for the Gloucester Legends program and music ministry.

Eight years ago, he transitioned from six-string to eight-string classical guitar, and has since arranged all of Bach’s unaccompanied violin, cello and lautenwerk music for that instrument (sold at sheetmusicdirect.com). This recital will open with a single Bach Prelude. Videos of Steele playing may be viewed at youtube.com/jeffrysteele, and studio recordings may be heard at jeffrysteele.bandcamp.com.

“Suite de las Horas” (Suite of the Hours) is an assemblage of pieces originally written on a six-string guitar, later adapted and enhanced for an eight-string. The movements represent passing hours of the day, which simultaneously reflect successive life stages — a-day-in-the-life that is also a-life-in-the-day, so to speak. The Suite fits the genre of “program music,” as the movements are intended to dramatize certain events and feeling states. The performer will read a brief original poem before each piece to set the scene. The audio effects and score are rendered by an iPad utilizing a combination of apps.

In addition to concertizing, Steele’s “day job” evolved from guitar teacher to school general music teacher to chemical dependency professional to psychotherapist. He and his wife, Monica, have been full-time on Orcas for seven years — having moved from Gloucester, Massachusetts via Tacoma.