Archive of 2015 Artists
Benjamin Verdery
Professor of Guitar at the Yale University School of Music and artistic director of the bi-annual Yale Guitar Extravaganza since 1985, and Artistic Director of 92Y’s Art of the Guitar series (NYC) since 2006, Benjamin Verdery is hailed for his innovative and eclectic musical career.
Since 1980 he has performed worldwide in theaters and at festivals, including Theatre Carré (Amsterdam), Maverick Concerts (NY), the International Guitar Festival in Havana, Wigmore Hall (London), Festival Internacional de Guitarra de Taxco (Mexico), the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and Metropolitan Opera in New York. His tours regularly take him throughout the US, Canada, Europe and Asia. He has recorded and performed with such diverse artists as Andy Summers, Frederic Hand, William Coulter, Leo Kottke, Anthony Newman, Jessye Norman, Paco Peña, Hermann Prey and John Williams.
As a recording artist, Verdery has released over 15 CDs. His latest include Happy Here (2011), with William Coulter, First You Build A Cloud (2007), a collaboration with Andy Summers of The Police, and Branches (2007), a solo album featuring arrangements of Bach, Mozart, Strauss and Hendrix. His recording, Start Now won the 2005 Classical Recording Foundation Award. Future recordings include one featuring Yale composers and one featuring his classical guitar arrangements: Randy Newman, Neil Young, Prince, Hendrix, John Lennon, Eddy Vedder, The National, Cream, Elvis and others yet to be arranged.
In 2007 Ben was appointed an honorary board member of the Suzuki Association of the Americas, and the summer of 2015 marks the 16th anniversary of his annual Maui Master Class on the island of Maui, Hawaii.
Loudoun Youth Guitars
Loudoun Youth Guitars is a performing group made up of select guitar students from Loudoun County, or students by Loudoun teachers. LYG performs throughout Loudoun County and the Metropolitan Area. They have given performances at the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, the Croatian Embassy, the National Institute of Health, the Composer Society of Montgomery County, Loudoun County Public Libraries, Salisbury University, and other venues. Dr. Miroslav Lončar conducts the orchestra and Dr. Nataša Klasinc-Lončar is the assistant director.
Duo de Vista
Duo de Vista has enjoyed performing on local and national classical music stages. Formed in 2011, this adventurous duo has risen from a collaboration project between two artists to an exciting performing act. The duo combines the virtuosity and precision of a chamber music ensemble with the passionate expression of soloists. Duo De Vista’s performs classical music rooted in tradition and folklore with a sound that is exciting and colorful. The founding members, Marina Alexandra and Teri Forscher-Milter are accomplished classical musicians recognized nationally and internationally for their playing, achievements, and contribution to music education.
Teri Forscher-Milter is a highly accomplished flutist, expressive performer and winner of 1994 Presidential Scholar in the Arts. A recipient of the first prize at the prestigious Arts Recognition and Talent Search Competition in Miami, Florida, Teri was subsequently named Presidential Scholar by the National Foundation for the Arts. She was honored by President Clinton for her playing in a ceremony held at the White House following her performance at the Kennedy Center for the Arts. Teri studied at the Cleveland Institute of Music with Joshua Smith from 1994-1999, and during this time, spent two summers at the Blossom Music Festival. She received the Maurice Sharp Flute Award at the Blossom Music Festival in 1996. In Cleveland, she founded the Juniper Wind Quintet and won prizes at Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. At the young age of nineteen, Teri was named second flutist of the American Sinfonietta and played with orchestra for six years, including a European tour in 2001. Teri was named principal flutist of the Knoxville Symphony and toured as soloist with the orchestra in 2000. She has performed with the Cleveland Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony, Charleston Symphony, Columbus Symphony, Alabama Symphony, Augusta Symphony, and the South Carolina Philharmonic. Forscher-Milter is also an active advocate in education for young musicians in the area of injury prevention in professional musicians. In 2002, Teri was diagnosed with focal dystonia, a neurological condition affecting two fingers on her left hand. As this condition changed the course of her musical journey, Teri finds importance in sharing this story with others and particularly the triumph of her return to playing with her modified flute. She continues to play with eight functioning fingers.
Marina Alexandra as established herself as a dynamic performer with a powerful stage presence. Finger Style Guitar Magazine described her as an “amazing player that commands the guitar with world-class technique and musicianship that is uncommon.” She has received awards in several guitar competitions including the Music Teachers National Association State and Regional Competitions and semifinalist in the 6th annual Edwin H. and Leigh W. Schadt National String Competition for classical guitar. Marina has a concert career spanning the last fifteen years, taking her to Piccolo Spoleto Festival, National Public Radio, Allentown Radio, and hundreds of venues including colleges and museums throughout USA. She has released two albums including; Timeless Enchantment (Baroque, Classical, Modern, and Latin-American music) and A Moment of Magic (modern music by Russian composer, Nikita Koshkin). Her last CD received high praises from such prestigious music magazines as Soundboard, Classical Guitar (UK) and American Record Guide. Marina Alexandra was born in the Ukraine, where she began her guitar studies at the age of six. In 1996 she immigrated with her family to the United States, and in 1998 she was awarded an assistantship to earn her Master of Music degree at the University of South Carolina. She has served on the faculties of Furman University, University of South Carolina- Aiken, SC, Wingate University, and Columbia College. Marina is both founder and director of the Guitar Muse Society and the Southern Guitar Festival and Competitions. Her foundations have given opportunities for young guitarists to learn and compete in the southeast and around the entire United States.
Matt Palmer
Guitarist Matt Palmer has appeared as a soloist throughout the United States, Europe, Mexico, Canada, South America, and the Caribbean. A recent recipient of the “Up and Coming Guitarist of the Year” award by Guitar International Magazine, Matt has been described by critics as “a young artist about to make a real dent in the world of classical guitar” (Premier Guitar Magazine), “highly expressive and technically virtuosic” (Modern Guitars Magazine), “a truly accomplished and refined musician” (Cleveland Classical), and “one of the world’s best guitar players” (The Royal Gazette). An active performer, winner of numerous guitar competitions, and author of The Virtuoso Guitarist method, Matt Palmer has gained worldwide recognition as a virtuosic and soulful concert artist.
His debut CD, Un tiempo fue Itálica famosa, has been applauded by Guitar International Magazine as “an album of the highest quality…with flawless technique, deep levels of personal expression, and an artistic integrity that seems far too rare these days.” Classical Voice of North Carolina proclaims Matt’s “positively nuclear” debut displays “stunning precision and unwavering accuracy enclosed in a huge dynamic envelope.” In addition, Matt’s pioneering guitar method, The Virtuoso Guitarist, has been recognized as a valuable addition to guitar pedagogy, and “indispensable for any advanced guitarist or teacher to include in their library” (Classical Guitar Review).
Matt Palmer holds the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from The University of Arizona, where he studied with Thomas Patterson and Artists-in-Residence David Russell, Sergio Assad, and Odair Assad. In demand as a performer, Matt’s recent concert engagements have taken him to venues such as Carnegie Hall, Shakespeare Theatre, The Guitar Foundation of America International Convention, numerous universities, guitar societies, and dozens of international guitar festivals throughout the world. Matt is the Director of Guitar Studies at Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland, and Coordinator of the Eastern Shore Guitar Festival and Workshop. Matt Palmer is a Strings By Mail sponsored artist and plays D’Addario strings.
Rafael Scarfullery
Rafael Scarfullery is a classical guitarist, composer, orchestral/choral conductor, and organist. He has performed in the USA and abroad, including solo recitals at Carnegie Hall in NY and El Teatro Nacional in Santo Domingo. He was the recipient to the most important classical music award in the Dominican Republic and has organized seven international guitar festivals there. Rafael has a BM, MM and DMA in guitar performance and a MM in orchestral conducting. He has four professional certifications from the American Guild of Organists and is the music director at the Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Charlottesville. Rafael’s Youtube Channel (scarfulleryguitar) features 100’s of his guitar compositions. He has his guitar music scores and CD’s available for purchase and his website is: www.RafaelScarfullery.com.
Adam Kossler
Dr. Adam Kossler began his musical studies with his father William Kossler and continued his musical training through college with Dr. Elliot Frank receiving his BM degree at East Carolina University. He then earned a MM degree at Appalachian State University as a teaching assistant to Dr. Douglas James. Most recently, he completed a DMA degree at Florida State University where he served as a teaching assistant to Bruce Holzman. As a performer, Adam Kossler has been a top prizewinner in a number of international guitar competitions including the Boston Guitarfest, Columbus Guitar Symposium, East Carolina Guitar Competition, MANC guitar competition, Texas International Guitar Competition, Music Teacher National Association Competition, and the Appalachian Guitarfest Competition. Dr. Kossler performs regularly as a solo artist, as a member of the NOVA Guitar Quartet, and with the Kossler Guitar Trio alongside his father Bill and brother John. He has been featured on many prestigious concert series including the John E. Marlow Guitar Series (Bethesda, MD), Isle Newell Concert Series (Appalachicola, FL), and the Seven Hills Guitar Series (Tallahassee, FL).
“an accomplished musician, showing considerable elegance and artistry…. effortless playing”
-Online Arts Journal in North Carolina
”..world-class guitar playing..”
-Tallahassee Democrat
”.. a lovely recording.”
Tom Cole, WPFW 89.3 FM & NPR
Scott Borg
With a string of international scholarships and awards under his belt, Australian guitarist Scott Borg has been praised as a daring and innovative artist with “enormous facility on the guitar, a fluent technique, who plays with total confidence and professional expertise, panache and artful spontaneity.” As a winner of Artists International, New York Concert Review described his Carnegie Hall Debut as “gracefully presented, and expertly played…each note was purposeful and focused, as was each rest.” His previous engagements have included performances at the Festival Internacional de Guitarra Mérida (Mexico), ICPNA Guitar Festival (Peru), the Shell Darwin International Festival (Australia), New York’s Apollo Theatre and Alice Tully Hall in the Lincoln Center, Ateneo de Madrid, the Kennedy Center, and performed for the Westminster Kennel Club. His performances have been broadcasted on Australian and American public radio stations, and in 2006 performed at the internationally televised address of President Hu Jintao (People’s Republic of China) to the United States. Currently a candidate in the doctoral program at New England Conservatory, Borg previously received degrees from Yale University, the Juilliard School, and the University of Wollongong graduating valedictorian with first class honors. He is currently director and conductor of the Boston Guitar Orchestra and the BCGS Orchestra, and is on faculty at Montgomery College. His debut CD will be re-released on the Odradek Label in 2015. Scott Borg is an Augustine Artist and plays Augustine Regal strings. www.borgguitar.com