Los Angeles Electric 8 is a chamber octet in which eight guitarists reclaim classical music for the electric guitar. The effect is an exploration of a greater potential for the electric guitar with both intentional and accidental nods to the rock characteristics of the instrument.

The octet’s repertoire spans the late Renaissance to the present day, ranging from the polychoral music of Giovanni Gabrieli to Igor Stravinsky’s Octet for Wind Instruments. Their latest program, Interlocking Textures, juxtaposes Indonesian gamelan with American minimalism, highlighting the work of ethnomusicologist Mantle Hood and pianist Charles T. Griffes. Beyond re-imagining the traditional, the Electric 8 is devoted to playing new music. The group has premiered new works by Frank J. Oteri, Phil Kline, and Peter Yates and continues to actively collaborate with living composers from around the world. Both their debut album Los Angeles Electric 8 plays Shostakovich, Mendelssohn, Braddock, Siegel, and Kohl, and their latest release Imagined Overtures, illustrate how the group balances adapting the old and advancing the new.

Los Angeles Electric 8 has performed in a variety of national festivals including the Strathmore Guitar Festival, REDCAT’s 2010 Summer Studio, the 2009 Santa Barbara Guitar Festival, the 2008 World Festival of Sacred Music, and 2008 MicroFest. Aside from performing, the octet is committed to outreach, teaching classical guitar throughout Los Angeles and presenting lecture/demonstrations at universities, community schools, and state prisons.

In 2008, the group was the subject of the documentary Electric Requiem – a featured short film project funded by the James Irvine Foundation. Most recently, they were approved for the Los Angeles County Arts Commission's Musician's Roster for 2011-2013. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.