Meet Chris Funke. HeOs not your typical musician. HeOs a senior music performance major that has worked diligently to successfully mold himself into one of UBOs top guitarists.
Unlike the typical Led Zeppellin way of rocking out, FunkeOs main focus is in classical guitar.
Growing up in Amherst, Funke grew up with the suburban equivalent of the Jackson Five. A musically inclined family, his mother played piano while his siblings pursued a variety of musical endeavors.
OMy parents understood the importance of music which was the most important thing,O Funke said. OThere was always music in the house; it was a good atmosphere.O
FunkeOs interest in music originally came from his early years participating in chorus and playing the baritone horn. The guitar didnOt come along until high school.
OAt first all I played was Metallica and Dave Matthews-type music but then I started really getting into jazz music,O Funke said. OFrom there I started getting interested in classical guitar.O
Funke described the main difference between classical guitar and the guitar most people are familiar with, lying within the strings. The strings are made up nylon therefore making them much softer and more sensitive to the touch. Classical guitarists need to grow out their fingernails just a little bit because they donOt use picks to play.
On classical guitar, there is a wide range of music that Funke plays. This past Saturday, he performed a solo recital in front of an audience containing 150 people. Some of the music played ranged anywhere from contemporary Bach to Spanish music to tango songs.
According to Funke, his influences are always changing but his main inspiration comes from jazz performers Wes Montgomery and Buffalo native Jason Vieaux.
ORock is something IOve never really related to. I knew who the Beatles were but in high school I was just exposed to different frequencies of music,O Funke said.
Music is not just something that Funke is attending school for. It plays a huge role in his life. In his spare time, Funke works at a music store called MattOs Music. There he is currently teaching about 20 students to play the guitar. Funke also teaches private lessons in his spare time.
During the summers, Funke and his friend started up something called a Orock clinic.O Parents bring their kids here and they are broken up into small rock bands, much in a OSchool of RockO type of affair.
At UB, Funke is also a part of a guitar trio that performs occasionally and a musical ensemble that includes a violinist. He also plays at weddings, parties and anything else where a skilled guitarist might be needed. Funke plans on getting his masterOs degree in music performance in either New York City or Cleveland.
OI love playing in ensembles but also like teaching. ItOs important to pass the music along to others,O Funke said. OThe future could hold a lot of different things for me but I know what I love and eventually it will lead me somewhere good.O
Music is a very competitive field and Funke described his goal to create something original and different in order to appeal to the audience because ultimately a musician wants to market themselves.
OI would like to encourage everyone to start taking interest in whatOs going on in the music department at UB,O Funke said. OMake a point to out and see something different and maybe youOll end up really enjoying yourself.O
