T H E E I G H T H YA L E
GUITARa
z n a g a v a r t x E
T R A D I T I O N + I N N O VAT I O N
Robert Blocker, Dean
T H E E I G H T H YA L E
GUITARa
Extravaganz
T R A D I T I O N + I N N O V AT I O N Saturday, February 22, 2014 • Benjamin Verdery, Artistic Director
9:00 am
Registration Main Lobby in Sprague Hall (470 College Street)
10:00 – 11:30 am Concert
Music for Young Guitar Ensembles Morse Recital Hall in Sprague Hall hartt school suzuki guitar ensemble David Madsen, director lake braddock guitar ensembles John Graham, director tuscarora high school Matthew Dunlap, director heritage guitar ensemble Kevin Vigil, director
11:45 am – 12:45 pm Panel Discussion
Teaching High School Students the Guitar Room 208 in W. L. Harkness Hall Kevin Vigil and John Graham, authors of Classroom Guitar Method 1, will discuss developing high school guitar programs, joined by Matthew Dunlap and renowned Suzuki guitar teacher David Madsen.
11:45 am – 12:45 pm Master Class
Master Class with René Izquierdo Sudler Recital Hall in W. L. Harkness Hall
11:45 am – 12:45 pm Master Class
Master Class with Elina Chekan Room 106 in Stoeckel Hall
1:00 – 2:00 pm Master Class
Master Class with Benjamin Verdery Sudler Recital Hall in W. L. Harkness Hall
Schedule of Events
1:00 – 4:00 pm Museum Hours
Yale Collection of Musical Instruments 15 Hillhouse Avenue The Collection is open and welcomes visitors.
2:00 – 3:00 pm Concert
Van Stiefel, composer/guitarist with Sergio Sorrentino, electric guitar Morse Recital Hall in Sprague Hall
3:00 – 3:15 pm Demonstration
Buzz finding, noise troubleshooting, and remediation Main Lobby in Sprague Hall Nathan Richardson, Richardson Fretted Instrument Repairs
3:15 – 4:00 pm Hands-On Workshop
Historical Guitars Yale Collection of Musical Instruments, 15 Hillhouse Ave with Grant Herreid and Arash Noori
3:15 – 4:00 pm Workshop
Van Stiefel: Composing for Electric Guitar Sudler Recital Hall in W. L. Harkness Hall Composer/guitarist Van Stiefel will discuss his approach to composing for the electric guitar and why it occupies such a vital role in new music.
4:00 – 5:15 pm Panel Discussion
Interpreting the Guitar Music of Living Composers Sudler Recital Hall in W. L. Harkness Hall What freedoms can a performer take with the given score? Is the published score considered the Urtext edition? Ingram Marshall, Jack Vees, Van Stiefel, Brendon Randall-Myers, Ronald Smith, panelists; Benjamin Verdery, moderator
5:30 – 6:30 pm Concert
René Izquierdo and Elina Chekan, guitars Morse Recital Hall in Sprague Hall
8:00 pm Concert
David Tanenbaum, guitar Morse Recital Hall in Sprague Hall
Made possible in part by a grant from the D'Addario Music Foundation with support from D'Addario and Company, Inc.
Guitar Extravaganza
M U S IC F O R YOUN G G UITA R ENSE MBLE S Saturday, February 22, 2014 • 10:00 am • Morse Recital Hall hartt suzuki guitar orchestra David Madsen, director Jim Rickevicius, coordinator Bartolomé Calatayud 1882–1973
Waltz Lily Brunjes
Tielman Susato 1500–1561
Allemande Corbett Dilulio, Aaron Ding, Sara Reid, Michael Daly, Juan Pablo Montoya
Enrique Granados 1867–1916 Phillip Salathé b. 1976
Danza Espanola No. 4, "Villanesca" Movement III from Islands Lang Le, Holden Speed, Abigail Heller, Willa Kulnych-Griffith, Matthew Reid, Emre Budak, Katie Howley, Seth Heye-Smith, Carlos Ernest, Emmett Moberly-LaChance, Samuel Montoya, Rob Avena Karstian Lang, and Elliott Morberly-LaChance
lake braddock secondary school John Graham, director Thierry Tisserand b. 1956
Habanera Boheme Concert Ensemble
Richard Lenz b. 1972
Festive Fizz Concert Ensemble
Traditional arr. Bryan Johanson
St. James Infirmary Advanced Ensemble
As a courtesy to the performers and audience, silence all electronic devices. Please do not leave the hall during selections. Photography or recording of any kind is prohibited.
Music for Young Guitar Ensembles
Paulo Bellinati b. 1950
A Furiosa Advanced Ensemble Olufemi Aboderin, Sabrina Adleson, Jack Brashier, Michael Buontempo, Michaela Caparas, Georgia Cotter, Ryley Crow, Sean Donley, John Farrell, Sarah Ficadenti, Ryan Ford, Emily Gondar-Besser, Ian Harmon, Toni Hinskton, Derrick Horton, Kevin Jones, David Keller, Talha Khurshid, Hyesoo Kim, Jordan Koontz, Amber Kreiensieck, Ben Levitt, Yan Li, Sam Mackin, Jackson Man, Lucas McGee, Sameer Mengale, Sam Mitchell, Alessandra MuĂąoz, Bonnie Nordstrom, Jocelyn Ormsby, Nico Ortiz De Zarate, Gina Pham, Bao-Thu Phan-Vu, Amelia Rafle, Matt Sandfry, Liam Schenking, Drew Sherbondy, Joseph Spitek, Eun-Jung Sung, Maria Turmel, Katherine Watson, Ye Ram Yoon, Tristan Young, Alex Yun
tuscarora high school Matthew Dunlap, director Roland Dyens b. 1955 W. A. Mozart 1756–1791 Leo Brouwer b. 1939 Leo Welch b. 1932
Austin Tango Serenade from Eine Kleine Nachtmusik Toccata Middle Fork Kevin Avalo, Benjamin Coleman, Anthony Corso, Olivia Corso, Ranya Daliagon, Ethan Ditthardt, Ethan Dunn, Nabeen Haq, Jared McGee, Ritsushi Miyamoto, Cristian Ocampo, Bradley Ong, Katelyn Parcelli, Emanuel Payson, Kieran Pellicano, Evan Robohm, Charles Shotton, Michael Tolerico, Kyle Torrance, Ryan Torrance (continued)
Music for Young Guitar Ensembles
heritage guitar ensemble Kevin Vigil, director Jeffrey Tanner b. 1965 Darin Au b. 1971 Miroslav Loncar b. 1964
Tower Rising
Dieter Kreidler b. 1943
Rumba Flamenca
Chasing Dragons Three Latin Dances I. Lambada II. Bolero III. Merengue with Koh Kazama, percussion
Elena Andreas, Oscar Brousset Olivarria, Hejran Darya, Dorothy Griffin, Abigail Hagberg, Brian Henriquez, Dylan Hyde, William Marin, Oscar Mendieta Bravo, Christopher Meyer, Dounia Ouaritini, Eli Paynter, Nathan Schick, Kristine Thao Tran, Laura Schneider, Alex Whitehouse, Sarah Williams
Guitar Extravaganza
MASTER CLASSES Saturday, February 22, 2014
master class with René Izquierdo Sudler Recital Hall in W. L. Harkness Hall J. S. Bach 1685–1750 arr. Ray Zhou Leo Brouwer b. 1939
Prelude from Cello Suite No. 6 in D major, BWV 1012 Ray Zhou ’14mm Tres Apuntes Lillit Mardiyan ’15mm
master class with Elina Chekan Room 106 in Stoeckel Hall Bartolomé Calatayud 1882–1973
Waltz Lily Brunjes · Hartt Suzuki Guitar program
Fernando Sor 1778–1839
Rondo, Op. 48, No. 6 Rob Avena · Hartt Suzuki Guitar program
Heitor Villa-Lobos 1887–1959
Prelude No. 1 Brian Henriquez · Heritage High School
master class with Benjamin Verdery Sudler Recital Hall in W. L. Harkness Hall Thierry Tisserand b. 1956
Romanza Hejran Darya · Heritage High School
Augustín Barrios Mangore
Julia Florida Katelyn Parcelli · Tuscarora High School
Isaac Albéniz 1860–1909
Asturias (Leyenda) Ben Levitt · Lake Braddock Secondary School
Guitar Extravaganza
V A N S T I E F E L • composer/guitarist Saturday, February 22, 2014 • 2:00 pm • Morse Recital Hall
Van Stiefel b. 1965
Splitting (2014), world premiere for electric guitar and video projection Sergio Sorrentino, electric guitar
Smoke and Mirrors Nathan Lesser, violin Trevor Babb, electric guitar
Cinema Castaneda I. What the Train Remembered... II. Brujo III. Chuck to Now IV. ‘Strange Days’ V. Seeping Borders I VI. Apologies VII. Dying Cowboy VIII. Seeping Borders II IX. Con Dios X. Second Coming (I'm Waiting for my Man) Koh Kazama, Katrin Endrikat, Ray Zhou, Ian Tuski, guitars
Van Stiefel · Notes on the Program
Splitting is the second of two “portrait pieces” in which a solo instrumentalist performs with a video projection of an earlier performance. The first, Afterland (for piano) was premiered earlier this month. Afterland is an attempt to remember a lost friend whose presence is preserved for me on the world wide web—that mortuary of our future and present day. Performance documents are also so important to musicians these days—I think we should make present music with them. In the score for Splitting, I quote Freud: “In dreams the personality may be split— when, for instance, the dreamer’s own knowledge is divided between two persons and when, in the dream, the extraneous ego corrects the actual one...the dreamer too hears his own thoughts pronounced by extraneous voices.” – Sigmund Freud, The Interpretation of Dreams Smoke and Mirrors recalls something of the cyclical narrative scale of 19th-century violin sonatas. I’ve wondered why historically there were so few large-form pieces written for violin and guitar. Was there really no taste for it? Was the voice of the guitar inappropriately light? Did the existing musical language for such forms “not fit” the instrument? Smoke and Mirrors occupies a space suggested by such questions. I continue to wonder about the illusion of storytelling through instrumental music, especially when—as is so often the case—there is no real story but the form of music itself. And what is musical form anyway: a seeming plot, a matter of persuasion, an art of smoke and mirrors?
The process of composing Cinema Castaneda began as a retracing of Copland’s steps through John Lomax’s 1918 collection of cowboy songs. Strumming on my guitar, I imagined these tunes set for guitar quartet--four guitarists gathered like ranchers around a campfire after a day traversing vast spaces, crossing borders, horsetrading, etc. I was jolted from this storybook nostalgia by news of the day: angst about the Mexican border, the legal and illegal passage of people and goods, news of trade both fair and unfair. On one hand there is a positive desire for commerce, self-actualization, and betterment, on the other: violence, self-destruction, and exploitation. Once these timeless and conflicting themes took hold in my imagination, the composing process became a dizzying journey through frontier ballads, rancheros music, and narco corridos, as well as music by Chuck Berry, the Doors, the Velvet Underground, and Kurt Cobain. The guitar as an instrument of the road crosses boundaries both real and imagined: boundaries of time, place, culture, language, memory, and states of mind. Patterns idiomatic to an incredible variety of music are shaped by the lay of the hands on the instrument. Cinema Castaneda explores (and blurs distinctions between) various American voices that map naturally to its grid of open and fretted strings. The titled sections of the one continuous movement give some hint of the morphing voices of cowboys, wanderers, and traffickers—seekers of escape, comfort, or ecstasy.
Guitar Extravaganza
RENÉ IZQUIERDO & ELINA CHEKAN Saturday, February 22, 2014 • 5:30 pm • Morse Recital Hall
Domenico Scarlatti 1685–1757
Sonata in D major, K. 213, “The Lover”
J.S. Bach 1685–1750
Suite Francese No. 2 in C minor, BWV 813a I. Allemande II. Courante III. Sarabande IV. Air V. Menuet VI. Menuet – Trio VII. Gigue
Johannes Brahms 1833–1897
Theme and Variations from Sextet No. 1 in B-flat major, Op. 18
Fernando Sor 1778–1839
Fantasy, Op. 54
Claude Debussy 1862–1918
The Girl with the Flaxen Hair, from Preludes
Arabesque No. 1 arr. Izquierdo
Eduardo Martin b. 1956
Hasta Alicia Baila with Ransom Wilson, flute
Guitar Extravaganza
D A V I D TA N E N B A U M Saturday, February 22, 2014 • 8:00 pm • Morse Recital Hall
Ronald Bruce Smith b. 1961
Five Pieces for guitar and live electronics (2007) Echoes Lachrymal Brunete Saudade Stèle
Steve Reich b. 1936
Electric Counterpoint (1987)
intermission
Mario Davidovsky b. 1934
Synchronisms No. 10 (1992)
Aaron Jay Kernis b. 1960
100 Greatest Dance Hits (1993) I. Introduction to the Dance Party II. Salsa Pasada III. MOR Easy Listening Slow Dance Ballad IV. Dance Party on the Disco Motorboat Nathan Lesser, Jessica Oddie, violins Lucy Caplan, viola Elisa Rodríguez Sadaba, cello
About the Artistic Director
Artistic director of 92nd Street Y’s Art of the Guitar series 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 in Amsterdam, the International Guitar Festival at Havana, Wigmore Hall in London, and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and Metropolitan Opera in New York. His tours regularly take him throughout the U.S., 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. Ben Verdery has released more than fifteen albums, the most recent being Happy Here, with William Coulter; and Branches, featuring works of Bach, Strauss, Jimi Hendrix, and Mozart along with the traditional Amazing Grace, both for Mushkatweek. His CD Start Now, also for Mushkatweek, won the 2005 Classical Recording Foundation Award. Other recordings of note include Some Towns & Cities and his collaborations with John Williams (John Williams Plays Vivaldi) and Andy Summers (First You Build A Cloud). Many of the leading composers of our time have created music for Ben, including Ezra Laderman, Martin Bresnick, John Anthony Lennon, Anthony Newman, Roberto Sierra, Van Stiefel and Jack Vees. Of particular note was the commission by the Yale University Music Library of a work by Ingram Marshall for classical and electric guitars. Ben Verdery and Andy Summers premiered the work, Dark Florescence, at Carnegie Hall with the American Composers Orchestra. Last December, the two guitarists appeared at the annual Amsterdam Electric Guitar Heaven. Benjamin Verdery is also a prolific published composer in his own right, with many of his
compositions having been performed, recorded, and published over the years. In 2012, he was commissioned to compose two works: Penzacola Belongs To All, commissioned by the Pensacola Guitar Orchestra in celebration of their 30th anniversary (premiered in Pensacola October 2012) and Stand in Your Own Light for guitar and koto, commissioned by the Kyo-Shin-An Arts with funding from the New York State Council for the Arts (premiered in New York City November 2012). In 2010, the Assad Duo premiered Ben’s work What He Said. Commissioned by the 92nd St Y, the work is dedicated to the late luthier Thomas Humphrey. Other recent works have included Now and Ever (for David Russell, Telarc), Peace, Love and Guitars (for John Williams and John Etheridge, SONY Classical), Capitola (John Williams, SONY Classical), and Give (for eight guitars). This last was composed specifically for Thomas Offermann and the guitar ensemble of the Hochschule for Music and Theatre (Rostock, Germany) and dedicated to the memory of U.S. Senator Edward Kennedy. Ben’s Scenes from Ellis Island for guitar orchestra has been extensively broadcast and performed at festivals and universities in the United States, Canada, New Zealand, and Europe, and the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet included it on their CD Air and Ground (Sony Classical). Doberman-Yppan (Canada) is currently publishing Verdery’s solo and duo works for guitar, and Workshop Arts (distributed by Alfred Music) has published the solo pieces from Some Towns & Cities as well as instructional books and video. Many other compositions are available through his website. In addition to his performances, tours and recording, since 1985, Benjamin Verdery has been chair of the guitar department at the Yale
About the Performers
University School of Music and artistic director of the biannual Yale Guitar Extravaganza. He was appointed an honorary board member of the Suzuki Association of the Americas in 2007. Each summer Ben holds his Annual International Master Class on the Island of Maui (HA). Âť benjaminverdery.com
hartt suzuki guitar ensemble David Madsen, director Jim Rickevicius, coordinator (West Hartford, Connecticut) The Hartt Suzuki Guitar program, led by David Madsen and Jim Rickevicius, is presenting students from all levels of the program. Along with the private lesson and group class, children in Book 2 and up also receive a reading/ensemble class. The students you will hear today represent most of those ensemble classes. David Madsen founded what is now the Hartt Suzuki Guitar Program in 1990. He is the Chair of the Guitar and Harp Department of the Community Division at the Hartt School of Music in West Hartford, Connecticut. David graduated with a BM in guitar performance from the University of Connecticut and has since studied with David Leisner and Pepe Romero. He became a registered Teacher Trainer with the Suzuki Association of the Americas in 2000, and has conducted courses throughout North America and in Singapore, Peru, Argentina, and Puerto Rico. Mr. Madsen is a member of the SAA Guitar Committee. Jim Rickevicius has been an active member of the Suzuki community since 1996. Jim received a BA in music and BS in Elementary Education from Central Connecticut State University and a MM in guitar performance from the Hartt
School. He has taken Suzuki training with Frank Longay, Bill Kossler, and David Madsen. He enjoys working with students and families to make music a rewarding part of their lives.
lake braddock concert ensemble and advanced ensemble John Graham, director (Burke, Virginia) John Graham, a native of Rhode Island, has been teaching guitar at Lake Braddock Secondary School in Fairfax County, Virginia since 1990. His program serves over 200 students annually in multiple levels of guitar. He has received many honors, including Teacher of the Year in 2005 and 2014, and is a co-author of the Program of Studies for Guitar in Fairfax County. In 1993, Mr. Graham founded the Mid-Atlantic Guitar Ensemble Festival, an annual event for high school guitar ensembles to perform and receive professional coaching. He is the co-author of the Guitar 101 classroom textbook with Kevin Vigil, and his guitar ensemble compositions are published by Seconda Prattica and Les Productions D’OZ. In addition to performing at several past Yale Guitar Extravaganzas, the Lake Braddock Guitar Ensembles have also performed for the Millennium Stage concert series at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and in master classes with Benjamin Verdery, William Kanengiser, David Leisner, Michael Nicolella, Jeffrey McFadden, and members of the Canadian Guitar Quartet.
About the Performers
tuscarora high school Dr. Matthew Dunlap, director (Leesburg, Virginia) Dr. Matthew Dunlap has been teaching class guitar for ten years with experience in various levels ranging from elementary to collegiate. He is currently the guitar teacher, music theory teacher, and fine arts department chair at Tuscarora High School in Leesburg, VA. Dr. Dunlap’s students have participated in workshops and masterclasses with the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, Canadian Guitar Quartet, Ana Vidivic, Marco Tamayo, Julian Gray, Leo Welch, and Jason Vieaux. They perform regularly for school and community events throughout the D.C. metro area, including the Peabody Preparatory Fret Festival. Dr. Dunlap completed his DMA in guitar performance at Florida State University, MM in guitar performance at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, and BM in guitar performance at Kennesaw State University. During the summers of 2004 and 2005 he studied at the Accademia Musicale Chigiana with world-renowned guitar pedagogue Oscar Ghiglia.
heritage guitar ensemble Dr. Kevin Vigil, director (Leesburg, Virginia) Kevin Vigil holds degrees from Shenandoah University (DMA), Yale University (MM), and the University of Memphis (BM). His interest in secondary school guitar programs began when he met John Graham (Lake Braddock) in 1991. Over the years he performed for, coached, and traveled with John’s students. He joined the faculty of Heritage High School in 2005 and
has coordinated several important events for Loudoun County Public Schools. Today marks the fourth performance of the Heritage Guitar Ensemble for the Yale Guitar Extravaganza. The 2009 Extravaganza brought international attention to this group in a review published in Classical Guitar Magazine (UK). Heritage students along with their counterparts in LCPS have continued to break new ground in guitar education with the world-premieres of Shiki: Seasons of Japan by Shingo Fujii and Cascade by Omid Zoufonoun. Please watch, enjoy, and share these short documentaries: » vimeo.com/40965900 » vimeo.com/63195971
Composer/guitarist Van Stiefel continues to chase a “subversive lyricism” in original music he composes for often unusual instrumental combinations: electric guitar ensembles, laptop orchestras, turntables, as well as more conventional ensembles. Trained as a classical guitarist from age six, his music for classical guitar has been performed or recorded by some the nation’s leading classical guitarists, including Benjamin Verdery, Eliot Fisk, and Daniel Lippel. Stiefel was recently commissioned by the American Composers Forum to compose Wyeth Songs for electric guitar and children’s chorus. The Minneapolis Guitar Quartet, with support from the Augustine Foundation, commissioned Cinema Castaneda, a kind of mural for four guitars blending cowboy songs with rock music, rancheros music, and narco-corridos. A CD including the work will be released on Innova in March 2013. In 2012, his quartet for laptops, Jargo’s Table, was featured at the first International Symposium for Laptop Orchestras and Ensembles at LSU.
About the Artists
Stiefel has been a featured speaker at TEDx Phoenixville and a visiting artist with PLOrk (Princeton Laptop Orchestra). The Philadelphia Museum of Art presented already seen, an interactive music and dance collaboration with the Miller-Rothlein Company of Philadelphia. An all-Stiefel CD, Solaris, was released in 2011 on New Focus Recordings and is distributed by Naxos. Stiefel has received grants and commissions from the Georgia Council for the Arts, Mid-Atlantic Arts Fellowship, Art in Odd Places (Atlanta Olympic Festival), Met-Life Composer Connections, and the American Composers’ Forum. His music has been featured on various festivals including the Arts Festival of Atlanta, New York Guitar Festival, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, and the Filament Festival. Stiefel holds a BA/MM from Yale University and a PhD in music composition from Princeton. He has been on the faculties of Princeton and McGill Universities and is presently Associate Professor at West Chester University of Pennsylvania. »www.vanstiefel.com
Sergio Sorrentino is considered by critics to be “one of the most important new Italian contemporary guitarists” (Radio Rai Tre). As a performer he promotes the classical and electric guitar contemporary repertory. As a composer and improviser, his music is based on sonic research and combines elements of contemporary classical music, minimalism, avant-garde, ambient, and experimental music. After obtaining his Guitar Diploma at the Avellino Conservatory, he studied with Mario Dell’Ara, Leo Brouwer, Maurizio Grandinetti, Angelo Gilardino, and Mark White (Berklee College of Music Summer Course). In 2010 he obtained
the Academic Guitar Diploma with Honors at the Novara Conservatory, with a thesis on Italian avant-garde guitar music. Sorrentino started his concert career very early and has held solo concerts and master classes at the Dal Verme Theater of Milan, Sala Biala of the Wilanow Museum (Warsaw, Poland), Italian Society of Contemporary Music, Performance Room of Luxembourg, Filharmonia Gorzowska Concert Hall, Music Society of La Scala Theater of Milan, Lagonegro International Guitar Festival, Società del Quartetto of Vercelli, SpazioMusica Festival of Cagliari, Germi Music Festival in Rome, Contemporary Music Festival of Udine, and others. In 2012 he performed, with the Gorzowska Philharmonic Orchestra, Joaquin Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez for guitar and orchestra (with Cecilia Rodrigo, the composer's daughter, as a special guest). Sorrentino has recorded for Rai Trade, VDM records, Silta Records, Carish, Curci, Sinfonica, Aton Records, Fratto9, Setola di Maiale, and has worked with composers and musicians including Azio Corghi, Alda Caiello, Joe Morris, Carlo Actis Dato, Machinefabriek, Fabio Cifariello Ciardi, and Maurizio Pisati. He has debuted many new guitar solo compositions, and many composers including Luca Lombardi, Giorgio Colombo Taccani, Riccardo Nova, Cesare Saldicco, Andrew McKenna Lee, Van Stiefel, David Coll, Mark Delpriora have written pieces for him. His CD release A Day with the Guitar (works by Sorrentino, Brouwer, Sauguet), published with the magazine GuitArt and now available on iTunes and Amazon, has earned great success. GuitArt magazine dedicated a large article and interview to this release.
About the Artists
Sergio is a member of the Sorrentino-TelandroSigurtà Trio, a special project based on electroacoustic free improvisation. As a composer, he won the First Edition of the International Competition of Guitar Composition “Goffredo Petrassi” of the Santa Cecilia Conservatory in Rome, with the piece De Citharae Natura for solo guitar. His composition Mosaico for guitar orchestra was commissioned by the International Guitar Festival of Milan. The Contemporary Ensemble gave the first performance of the piece in December 2011 at the International Guitar Festival of Milan. Sorrentino also works with actors and theatre directors, including Federico Grassi and Paolo Bignamini, writing incidental music and soundtracks. Casa Ricordi and Universal have published his transcriptions of Azio Corghi’s compositions Tang’ Jok (Guitar) and Nocturnus Visus. He has also written several chapters of the Guitar History Handbook by Bèrben Editions, a study of twentieth-century Italian guitar composers (Mucchi Editions), and several ethnomusicological writings. He currently writes a column for Italian guitar magazines GuitArt, Dotguitar, and Il Fronimo. He graduated from the University of Salerno with a degree in Foreign Languages and Literature. He holds a professorship in classical and electric guitar at the Music Institute F.A. Vallotti of Vercelli, Italy. Sergio Sorrentino plays a Gioachino Giussani classical guitar and a Fender Artist Series Stratocaster. »www.sergiosorrentino.com
Rene Izquierdo, a native of Cuba, graduated from the Guillermo Tomas, Amadeo Roldan Conservatory and Superior Institute of Art in Havana. In the United States, Mr. Izquierdo earned Master of Music and Artist Diploma degrees from the Yale University School of
Music, where he studied with Benjamin Verdery. While at Yale he represented the university in an exchange program with the Conservatoire National de Musique et de Danse du Paris and worked with guitarists Olivie Chassain and Roland Dyens. Rene has appeared as a guest soloist and in chamber music concerts throughout the United States, Cuba, and Europe. He has shared the stage with prestigious guitarists including Eliot Fisk, Benjamin Verdery, and Jorge Morel, as well as flutist Ransom Wilson, soprano Lucy Shelton, David Jolley, and Paquito d’Rivera. Renowned composers such as Jorge Morel and Carlos R. Rivera have dedicated works to him. The recipient of numerous awards, Mr. Izquierdo is a winner of the JoAnn Falletta International Guitar Competition in 2004, Extremadura International Guitar Competition, Schadt String Competition, and the Stotsenberg International Guitar Competition, among others. He is currently a professor of classical guitar at Wisconsin State University in Milwaukee and an active solo performer and chamber musician. Rene has studied with Leo Brouwer, David Russell, Shin-Ichi Fukuda, Eli Kastner, Pepe Romero, Angel Romero, Carlos Barbosa-Lima, David Starobin, Eduardo Fernandez, Jorge Morel, Robert Beaser, and Anthony Newman, among others. »www.reneizquierdoguitar.com
Elina Chekan (Ella) is currently teaching classical guitar at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee where she also directs the Suzuki and Pre-College Guitar Program. A native of Minsk, Belarus, Ella began studying guitar at the age of 13 with Valeriy Gromov. She graduated from Minsk Music College in 1994, and the Belarus Academy of Music in 1999 under Eugene Gridiushko with a degree in classical guitar performance,
About the Artists
orchestral conducting, and guitar pedagogy. In 2000 Ella entered the Yale School of Music, where she studied with Professor Benjamin Verdery, received the Louis and Anne Rosoff Award, and graduated with a degree in classical guitar performance. Combining active careers in performance and teaching, Ella has appeared as a soloist and chamber musician throughout the United States and abroad. Some of this year’s appearances include Chamber Music Milwaukee Series, Brussels Royal Museum of Musical Instrument in Belgium, Tucson Classical Guitar Society, and Mannes College Guitar Festival in New York. In her teaching, Ella believes in the individualized approach to every student with tailored instruction based on student needs. Mrs. Chekan has extensive knowledge of guitar pedagogy and repertoire, and has experienced first-hand different guitar schools of thought. Ella is also a certified Suzuki instructor registered with the Suzuki Association of Americas. All this experience allows her to find unique approaches and repertoire for each of her students, giving them a solid foundation in technique and musicianship at an early stage. Along with conducting Ella has arranged a wide variety of music for solo and chamber music. Since 2005, Ella has been a member of the faculty at Usdan Center for the Performing Arts in Long Island, NY. In addition to teaching and performing at Usdan, she conducts the guitar orchestra with up to sixty performers. In her quest for present-day student repertoire, Ella commissioned composer Jorge Morel to write a series of student repertoire solo and ensemble pieces that is published by Mel Bay. With her belief that young players are our future, Ella is working with musicians and composers encouraging them to write appealing and
musically interesting pieces for the young generation of guitarists. Renowned Argentinean composer Jorge Morel dedicated his composition Campañas, published by Mel Bay in The Magnificent Guitar of Jorge Morel to Ms. Chekan. Ella Chekan performs on a John Price guitar and uses Savarez strings.
Born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Ransom Wilson graduated from the Juilliard School in 1973, and spent a year in Paris as a private student of Jean-Pierre Rampal. An exclusive recording contract with Angel/EMI followed soon thereafter, along with extensive performances all over the world. As flute soloist, he has appeared in concert with some of the greatest orchestras of our time, including the Chicago Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, and London Symphony. He is turning increasingly to a career in orchestral and operatic conducting, and has recently been named Conductor and teacher of conducting at SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Music. Since 2006 he has been a member of the musical staff at the Metropolitan Opera. Additionally, he is founder of a new ensemble in New York, LE TRAIN BLEU. He has appeared as guest conductor with the London Symphony Orchestra and Hallé Orchestra, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Houston Symphony, Denver Symphony, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (with Sir James Galway), and Orchestra of St. Luke’s, among many others. Ransom Wilson is an Artist of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Conductor at SUNY Purchase, Assistant Conductor at the
About the Artists
Metropolitan Opera, Artistic Director of LE TRAIN BLEU, and Music Director of the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company.
David Tanenbaum is one of the most admired classical guitarists of his generation. He is recognized internationally as an outstanding performing and recording artist, a charismatic educator, and a transcriber and editor of both taste and intelligence. He has performed throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, Australia, the former Soviet Union, and Asia, and in 1988 he became the first American guitarist to be invited to perform in China by the Chinese government. He has been soloist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, and the London Sinfonietta, among others, with such conductors as Esa-Pekka Salonen, Kent Nagano, and John Adams. Tanenbaum has been a featured soloist at many international festivals, including those of Bath, Luzern, Frankfurt, Barcelona, and Vienna as well as numerous guitar festivals.
recording as soloist with the L.A. Philharmonic in John Adam’s Naive and Sentimental Music was nominated for a Grammy as the Best New Composition. His many editions of guitar music include the David Tanenbaum Concert Series for Guitar Solo Publications. He has also written a series of three books, The Essential Studies, and his chapter on the Revival of the Classical Guitar in the Twentieth Century appears in the Cambridge Companion to the Guitar. David Tanenbaum is currently Chair of the Guitar Department at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where he received the 1995 Oustanding Professor Award. He has been Artist-In-Residence at the Manhattan School of Music and is in demand for master classes worldwide. Tanenbaum studied guitar with Aaron Shearer, Rolando Valdez-Blain, and Michael Lorimer, attending the San Francisco Conservatory and Peabody Conservatory. »www.davidtanenbaum.com
special thanks David Tanenbaum is recognized as one of today’s most eloquent proponents of new guitar repertoire. Composers who have written works for him include Hans Werner Henze, Terry Riley, Aaron Jay Kernis, Roberto Sierra, and Lou Harrison. He has toured extensively with Steve Reich and Musicians and has had a long association with Ensemble Modern. As a chamber musician he has collaborated with, among others, the Kronos, Shanghai, Alexander, and Chester String Quartets, dancer Tandy Beal, and guitarist Manuel Barrueco. David Tanenbaum’s three dozen recordings, which reflect his broad repertoire interests, can be found on New Albion, EMI, Nonesuch, Albany, Bridge, and many other labels. His 2002
Yale Collection of Musical Instruments One of the foremost institutions of its kind, the Collection acquires, preserves, and exhibits musical instruments from antiquity to the present. The Collection holds regular public visiting hours and presents an annual concert series as well as lectures and other events. » www.yale.edu/musicalinstruments
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About the Vendors
Garrett Lee has enjoyed careers in both biochemistry and lutherie. In 1999, he began building classical guitars as a hobby and later transitioned to full-time lutherie. His guitars take inspiration from the past and present, blending traditional design with contemporary features such as double-top soundboards, elevated fingerboards, and adjustable-action necks. Gary custom-builds ten instruments a year in Wayne, New Jersey. 禄 www.LeeGuitarWorks.com
Nathan Richardson, Fretted Instrument Repairs Nathan Richardson offers the only complete fretted instrument repair service with pick-up and delivery to the Yale School of Music. Mr. Richardson has been working happily with Yale since 2009. He currently serves the greater New Haven area and north to Middletown. He will be on hand at the Guitar Extravaganza to answer questions on guitar care and repair, and will be performing minor repairs throughout the day. 禄 www.frettedrepairs.com 路 203 654-1585
Concert Programs & Box Office: Krista Johnson, Carol Jackson Communications: Dana Astmann, Monica Ong Reed, Austin Kase Operations: Tara Deming, Chris Melillo Piano Curators: Brian Daley, William Harold Recording Studio: Eugene Kimball Technology: Jack Vees P.O. Box 208246, New Haven, CT 路 203 432-4158
music.yale.edu Robert Blocker, Dean