Anderson High School’s guitar program welcomed world class flamenco guitarist, Grisha Goryachev, on Sept. 25 2025. Goryachev gave an amazing performance for Anderson’s 7th period Advanced Guitar class. The education team at Austin Classical Guitar reached out to Mr. Meunier and asked Anderson to host Grisha. Of course, he could not decline.
Anderson has included Classical Guitar in its course catalog for only three years. Meanwhile, other Austin school districts have been teaching for around 20 years, meaning Anderson is still catching up. Anderson was able to get into the guitar program by partnering with Austin Classical Guitar and Guitar Curriculum. During the last concert and competition season, both intermediate and advanced classes took home Professional Sweepstakes, the highest award. Anderson’s guitar program is steadily improving and Austin’s guitar community is noticing.
Mr. Meunier has been teaching guitar classes at Anderson for two years, showing students the proper technique to playing classical guitar. He started playing guitar in 2001 when he was eight years old, first inspired by the Spanish virtuoso classical guitarist, Andres Segovia. Meunier would “marvel when [he] listened to [Segovia’s] recordings” because of how Segovia “managed to bring out so many different tone colors from the guitar.” He also admired Segovia because of “his story of how dedicated he is to guitar.” Mr. Meunier decided to teach guitar as a profession due to the encouraging teachers he had when he was younger, finding quickly that it was something he enjoyed doing.
The beginner guitar classes learn the basics of guitar, such as how to read sheet music, hold the guitar, play basic fingerstyle patterns with the right hand, locate fret notes, play as an ensemble, and embrace the principles of teamwork and musicianship. They also learn melody, harmony, rhythm, tempo, dynamics and tone color.
The curriculum in intermediate classes involves expanding musical elements they learned in the beginner classes and performing special projects such as solo pieces. Intermediate classes will begin to compete at the district level by going to the AISD Concert and Sight Reading at the AISD Performing Arts Center.
Advanced classes are for the most dedicated guitarists at Anderson. They learn to perform music at the highest level, both as an ensemble and on their own. Ensemble groups include highly intricate and musically expressive music, while the solo pieces they learn are made by famous composers. They may even use these pieces to compete at events like UIL Guitar, AISD Solo and Ensemble, as well as summer festivals. This year, students have been trying to find ways to improve the guitar program by maintaining and improving Anderson’s music technology and working on public relations.
Grisha Goryachev performing for Anderson students adds legitimacy to the program and can provide inspiration for the young audience. Goryachev is one of the most well-known guitarists to play for Anderson. In addition to the many accomplishments of guitar students, Goryachev’s performance shows how Anderson is earning its place in the local guitar community.