Los Angeles Guitar Quartet

For three decades on the concert stage, the members of the Grammy® Award-winning Los Angeles Guitar Quartet(LAGQ) have continually set the standard for expression and virtuosity among guitar ensembles, while perennially redefining themselves in their musical explorations. As one of the most charismatic groups performing today, the LAGQ’s critically acclaimed transcriptions of concert masterworks provide a fresh look at the music of the past, while their interpretations of works from the contemporary and world-music realms continually break new ground. Recent recordings include “Interchange”, a CD featuring concertos by Rodrigo and Assad, and a DVD of “The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote: Words and Music from the Time of Cervantes” with guest actor, Phil Proctor.

For more information about the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, visit their website at www.lagq.com.

 

Paul Reed Smith

Paul Reed Smith – guitar maker, musician and the Founder and Managing General Partner of Paul Reed Smith Guitars, was born in Bethesda, Maryland. He made his first playable guitar for extra credit at St. Mary’s College. In 1985 with the help of many others, he turned that positive experience into Paul Reed Smith Guitars. Today PRS Guitars generates about 45 million dollars a year in revenue. It is the third largest electric guitar manufacturer in America. Their list of artist endorsers reads like a who’s-who list of contemporary musicians. In addition to their award-winning reputation for instruments of outstanding quality, beauty and tone, PRS Guitars has also established a tradition of philanthropy, generously supporting many worthwhile organizations and causes, both locally and globally most notably Johns Hopkins Oncology.

In 2002, Smith was awarded the “Small Business Person of the Year Award” for Maryland. He has been honored with a resolution on the floor of the Maryland House of Delegates for his contributions to the State, and was twice a finalist for Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

Smith has also been prolific in the areas of patents and trademarks, with almost 100 registered and pending trademarks, several copyrights, and nearly two dozen patents.

Paul Reed Smith still presides over research and development of new PRS products, serves as a mentor through motivational lectures to Maryland high school students, cherishes his role as husband and parent and is an accomplished guitarist who, despite his very busy schedule, has played with Carlos Santana, Mark Tremonti, Chuck Brown and a host of other notable artists and continues to write, perform and record music with The Paul Reed Smith Band.

 

 

Klasinc & Lončar Duo

…precise ensemble… high degree of
technical mastery… stunning.

― Soundboard

One of the highly experianced guitar duos, the Klasinc & Lončar Guitar Duo has been concertizing for over twenty years. This husband-and-wife duo has performed at numerous music festivals and concert series across the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, and Europe. Their performances have been described as “eye-opening”, “outstanding”, “one of the best”, a “moving musical experience”, “enlightening”, “sparkling”, and “performed with uncommon virtuosity and musicality of the highest order” by concert presenters and music critics on both continents. 

Klasinc & Lončar’s concert programs blend baroque, classical and romantic compositions with Lončar’s original works, transcriptions, and arrangements of Croatian and other Mediterranean folk styles and music of the Viennese tradition.

Recent performances include the University of Ottawa, the University of Puerto Rico, the Marlow Guitar Series and the Croatian Embassy in Washington, DC, the Guitar Foundation of America Conference in Los Angeles, the Tuscan Guitar Society, the San Francisco Guitar Society, the European Guitar Teachers Association, the Appalachian GuitarFest, Tennessee Guitar Festival, the Vicksburg International Chamber Music Festival, and the Classical Guitar Ensemble Week in New Orleans. The duo has performed with the Gaudeamus Chamber Orchestra, the Karlovac Chamber Orchestra, and the Split Opera Chamber Orchestra in Croatia; with the Camerata Academica in Austria; and with the Metropolitan Chamber Orchestra in the U.S.

Klasinc and Lončar formed their duo at the University of Graz, Austria, where they both studied the classic guitar with Marga Bäuml and Martin Mysliveček. They received their doctor of musical arts degrees from the University of Southern Mississippi. Klasinc & Lončar are winners of the Best Guitar Duo prize at the International Guitar Competition Toyoko Yamashita in Berlin.

In addition to performing, and teaching, Miroslav Lončar is also active as a composer. A grant from the Music Teachers National Association allowed him to study composition with Dušan Bogdanović in San Francisco. Lončar was recently commissioned to write the feature composition for the Loudoun County Public School All-County Middle School Guitar Festival. He is a member of the Education Committee for the Guitar Foundation of America.

Nataša Klasinc won numerous prizes at a number of national competitions in Croatia, including the Competition for Music Artists of Yugoslavia. While a student in Graz, she was a recipient of the Austrian National Scholarship. Nataša was also a winner of the University of Southern Mississippi Symphony Concerto Competition.

Klasinc & Lončar have released two recordings: Images, featuring music for two guitars, and Con Spirito, which consists mostly of Lončar’s transcriptions for two guitars and cello. Miroslav’s solo album, From Foreign Lands, features some of the most famous works for solo guitar. 

 

 

Rafael Scarfullery 

Rafael Scarfullery is a Dominican classical guitarist, composer, orchestral/choral conductor, organist and therapeutic musician. He has performed at guitar festivals, universities, TV/Radio Stations and churches 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 in the Dominican Republic. Rafael has a BM, MM and DMA in guitar performance, a MM in orchestral conducting, and four of the five professional certifications that the American Guild of Organists awards. He teaches guitar at Sweet Briar College and Randolph College, is the music director and organist at the Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Charlottesville, and is a musician-in-residence at the UVA Hospital. Rafael’s Youtube Channel (scarfulleryguitar) has hundreds of his guitar compositions. He has 4 guitar CD’s available and his website is: www.RafaelScarfullery.com.

 

 

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), and “a truly accomplished and refined musician” (Cleveland Classical). An active performer, winner of numerous guitar competitions, and author of The Virtuoso Guitarist method, Matt Palmer is gaining 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. Self-taught as a youth, he began his formal studies at age 20 with William Yelverton at Middle Tennessee State University, and later received his M.M. at Appalachian State University, where he studied with Douglas James. In demand as a performer, Matt’s recent concert engagements have taken him to numerous universities, guitar societies, and dozens of international guitar festivals throughout the world. Matt Palmer is a Strings By Mail sponsored artist and uses D’Addario strings.

 

 

Quartet 122 

Quartet 122 – Zack Stachowski (violin), Ian Wardenski (guitar)Dan Shomper (cello), Marty Knepp (vibes) – is a new and innovative ensemble that includes four multifaceted musicians.  Their diverse backgrounds create a seamless blend of classical, jazz, Latin, and popular music.  Quartet 122 simultaneously combines the esthetics of a classical chamber group with the freedom, spontaneity, and improvisation of a small jazz combo—all these elements are captured in the ensemble’s compositions, arrangements, and transcriptions.  Quartet 122’s eclectic nature gives them the opportunity to deliver a unique, innovative, and highly charged concert experience.

 

 

Danielle Cumming

Classical guitarist Danielle Cumming is well known as a performer, teacher and presenter. Her performances have been broadcast in the United States and in Canada on national television and radio. In addition to giving recitals in North America and Europe, Danielle has served on international guitar competition juries and is in high demand as a master class teacher.

Danielle was recently appointed to be the new Artistic Director of the Marlow Guitar Series in Washington DC. She is also the founder and director of the SU Guitar Festival and the Guitar in the Gallery concert series at Salisbury University where she Associate Professor and head of guitar studies.

After a year of study in Spain, Danielle released her solo CD, postcards, a recording of 20th century repertoire with world music influences. She is currently recording her next CD (to be released in 2015), which focuses on music Danielle commissioned over the past few years.

Danielle holds a Doctorate in Performance from McGill University and a Masters in Performance from the University of Toronto, where she studied with the renowned guitarist, Norbert Kraft. Danielle is also a certified yoga instructor, and has created and taught yoga programs to help musicians prevent injuries and handle performance anxiety.

Danielle is endorsed by D’Addario strings.

 

 

João Paulo Figueiroa 

It was Assad’s ‘Aquarelle,’ though, that really stole the show. It’s a tour-de-force for guitar with an improvisational, almost whimsical feel, full of quicksilver twists and turns and delicate shades of color. Figueirôa gave it a lively and imaginative reading, and it was clear he was in his element. As an ambassador of Brazilian music, this is a guitarist worth hearing.

–Stephen Brookes, The Washington Post

Praised for his poetic musical narrative, João Paulo Figueirôa is recognized today as one of the most influential classical guitar players from Brazil. João Paulo has performed throughout the United States and South America, including appearances at at the Kennedy Center and Sala do Coro do Teatro Castro Alves. An enthusiast of contemporary music, he has premiered new works by composers such as Paulo Costa Lima and Leonardo Boccia. In demand as a guest artist, João Paulo has been a featured performer in guitar festivals, master classes, television and radio broadcasts, and with several orchestras. João Paulo has participated in many international guitar competitions, and his awards include first prize at the Fourth Annual Musicalis National Competition in 2000, winner of the 2nd Orquestra Sinfonica da Bahia Young Soloists Competition in 2003, national first prize winner at the Music Teacher’s National Association Collegiate Artist Competition (MTNA) in 2004, and first prize winner at the Columbus State Guitar Symposium in 2007.

In addition to his performing career, João Paulo is also in demand as a teacher. From 1998-2002, he was a faculty member at Escola de Música da Universidade Federal da Bahia in Brazil, and from 2003-2008, he was a teaching assistant at The Florida State University. Currently, he serves as professor of guitar studies at Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. João Paulo also contributes to many cultural projects with the Embassy of Brazil, and serves as Education and Outreach Coordinator for the Marlow Guitar Series. João Paulo earned his master and doctoral degrees in music from The Florida State University. Prior to his studies in the United States, João Paulo studied at The Universidade Federal da Bahia where he earned a bachelor degree and pre- college artist diploma in music. João Paulo performs on guitars made by Brazilian guitar maker Samuel Carvalho.