Artists

Meet Our Creative Team

Armin Abdihodzic

Armin began playing classical guitar at age 8 which led him to a wide range of solo and chamber performances in Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Brazil, and all through the United States. He finished elementary and high school in Bihać, Bosnia and Herzegovina, graduated Summa cum Laude from William Carey University, received his Master’s degree from the East Carolina University, and completed his Doctorate of Musical Arts degree from the University of North Texas.

Learn More about Armin and view his compositions here

Christopher Alexander

Christopher Alexander has spent several years teaching and performing in the Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Virginia areas. Chris studied jazz and classical guitar with Scott Elliot at Frostburg State University and West Virginia University. He then studied for a brief period with Bruce Holzman. In 2010 he began his doctorate in classical guitar performance at Shenandoah Conservatory. It was at Shenandoah where Chris met his most influential teacher, Glenn Caluda. Chris completed his DMA in 2013 and his dissertation focused on music transcribed for guitar by Francisco Tárrega.

You can learn more about Christopher and view his compositions here

Kerry Alt

Kerry Alt studied Classical Guitar at Loyola University of The South and went on to complete his Masters in Guitar Performance at Arizona State University, and later a Doctorate at New Mexico State University. He has performed extensively as a soloist and in ensemble in the United States and Europe and has been teaching classical guitar since n1977. In December, 2012 he retired from his position at New Mexico State University, where he had taught for 27 years. After moving back to his home of New Orleans, he resumed teaching, holding positions at Loyola University, the University of New Orleans and the New Orleans School for Creative Arts.

You can learn more about composer and view his compositions here

Vasiliy Antipov

Vasily Antipov is a composer, guitarist, lutenist, and music theorist from Moscow, Russia. As
the fifth of twelve siblings, he was introduced to classical music – Mozart, especially – by his
father, who had an extensive record collection. At age twelve, Vasily received his first guitar
(“leningradka”, a solid-top instrument made at the Lunacharsky Music Factory, Leningrad) and joined the local guitar club, where he quickly advanced to earn entry to Valery I, Lysenko’s guitar class at the district music school. Upon completing tenth grade, Vasily was accepted to the Tchaikovsky Academic Music College at the Moscow State Conservatory, where he studied guitar under Natalia N. Dmitrieva, graduating in 2000.

You can learn more about Vasiliy and view his compositions here

John Arnold

John presently teaches guitar at Moravian University and Lebanon Valley College where he teaches private lessons (classical, flamenco, lute, fingerstyle), guitar ensemble, flute & guitar ensemble, guitar literature & guitar pedagogy. Prior to these positions, he taught guitar at Bennington College in Vermont. As a soloist and chamber musician, he has performed with numerous ensembles including the Pennsylvania Sinfonia Orchestra, Allentown Symphony Orchestra, Sage City Symphony, Satori, Two Part Invention, Gabriel Chamber Ensemble, Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, Kennedy Center, Musikfest, Godfrey Daniels, Wall Guitar Festival, Bach-Handel Festival, Philadelphia Classical Guitar Series, Festival of the Human Voice, HCC Guitar Mini-Fest, Hartt International Guitar Festival, and on National Public Radio & Television. Recently, Mr. Arnold was featured on NPR’s “Behind the Guitar” hosted by Craig Thatcher and sponsored by C.F. Martin & Company. You can learn more about composer and view his compositions here

Edwin F. Avril

“Composer, musician and poet Edwin Frank Avril (1920-2018) was born in Queens, NY. He learned drums and piano in elementary school, and began composing around age 12, something he has continued to do throughout his life. He enrolled in Oberlin college in 1942, where he majored in piano and minored in clarinet. There, he met Bela Bartok in a workshop on his new “Mikrokosmos.” Soon thereafter, he was drafted and posted in San Francisco. He played timpani, drums and clarinet in military bands and the Servicemen Symphony in San Francisco, where he played under Pierre Monteux. He played bassoon in the concert inaugurating the United Nations in 1945. He earned his Bachelor’s degree (1948) from San Francisco State, and taught music at a Sonoma high school while pursuing his Masters from Columbia University. While in San Francisco, he played bassoon in the first complete American performance of Stravinsky’s “L’Histoire du Soldat” with Stravinsky’s own manuscript. In 1948 he married teacher and pianist Dorothy Avril and returned to NY to complete his Doctorate in Music Education from Columbia. There, he studied with the renowned Simon Kovar, a bassoonist with the NBC Symphony.

You can learn more about composer and view his compositions here

Garth Baxter

Composer Garth Baxter is noted for his modern traditionalist style of writing. This is a style that combines the traditions of form and clear melodic writing with the use of contemporary approaches to harmonies and other elements.

Baxter was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1946, and moved to California when he was nine years old. He earned music degrees from Pepperdine University and California State University at Northridge. He studied composition with Robert Hall Lewis, Joseph Wagner, and William Thornton. In addition to writing music, Baxter currently teaches and mentors emerging composers.

You can learn more about Garth and view his compositions here

Mike Bethel

“Mike Bethel (1977-) is a musician and teacher from the UK who loves to help people engage with their instruments and fulfil musical potentials. He regularly performs solo and with various groups, mainly in classical, jazz and folk idioms”.

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Scott Borg

Praised as having “enormous facility on the guitar, a fluent technique, who plays with total confidence and professional expertise, panache and artful spontaneity”, Australian classical guitarist and Augustine Artist Scott Borg performs extensively as a soloist and chamber musician, and is known for his colorful, refined, and daring performances.

You can learn more about Scott and view his compositions here

Oleg Boyko

Oleg Boyko was born in 1976 in Ukraine and studied classical guitar in Ukraine as well as abroad. Since 1995, he has performed for international festivals and entered the ‘winners circle’ at international competitions several times. Oleg maintains an active performance schedule in former Soviet countries and Western Europe. His programs include music of multiple genres from Baroque to modern music, including Spanish and Latin-American music to jazz and blues.

You can learn more about composer and view his compositions here

Danny Buckley

Danny Buckley is a composer and arranger based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Danny began playing guitar in 2002 and studied Classical Guitar with Manley Mallard and John Cardoni at Millikin University from 2006-2010, where he completed a Bachelor of Music Business degree. During his time at Millikin University he studied music composition with John Stafford. His compositions and arrangements include works for orchestra, various chamber ensembles, Piano, Guitar, Guitar Ensemble, Choir, Electroacoustic instruments, and Percussion Ensemble. Danny’s interests include Contemporary Classical Composition and arranging various music for Guitar Ensemble from many historical periods.

You can learn more about composer and view hiscompositions here

David Burdick

David Burdick earned his DMA from the University of Texas at Austin. He has taught commercial music, composition, and guitar at Millikin since 1989, and is faculty adviser for the Millikin Songwriters Guild.

You can learn more about David and view his compositions here

Keith Calmes

Keith Calmes earned degrees in Classical Guitar Performance from California State University Northridge, The Juilliard School, and the University of Southern California. His performance credits include a Carnegie Hall recital debut, concerti with the Monmouth Symphony, a performance with Maestro Carlos Barbosa-Lima and a decade of concerts and recordings with flautist Marjorie Koharski.

You can learn more about Kieth and view his compositions here

Glenn Caluda

Glenn Caluda was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, and received a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. From 1970-1973, he served as guitarist and bassist with the Soldiers’ Chorus of the United States Army Field Band in Washington, D.C. After military service, Dr. Caluda earned a Master of Arts degree in Music Education from the University of Maryland and a Ph.D from Louisiana State University.

You can learn more about Glenn and view his compositions here

Brandon Carcamo

Brandon Carcamo is a guitarist, composer and arranger from New Orleans. He completed his Bachelor of Music degree with an emphasis in composition at Loyola University, New Orleans, where he studied under acclaimed classical guitarist Jay Kacherski. Besides being a solo artist, he is currently part of the newly formed New Orleans Guitar Quartet, a classical guitar quartet in nature, but eclectic in style. Before his venture with classical guitar, Brandon had a background in jazz. In his youth he embraced the musical heritage of his hometown and attended notable music institutions in the city such as the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts (NOCCA), where he studied with jazz guitarist Davy Mooney. Brandon has also been involved in multiple music projects in various styles and it is this broad musical experience that has expanded his harmonic palette. He studied composition in college, scoring music for film students.

You can learn more about composer and view his compositions here

John Cardoni

John Cardoni is an Adjunct Instructor of Guitar at Belmont University, where he teaches commercial guitar, guitar class, and performs with the Faculty Jazz Group. He came to Nashville from the Midwest, having been born in Indiana and spending most of his formative years in Central Illinois. He earned his M.M. in Commercial Music with an emphasis in guitar performance from Belmont University in 2013.

You can learn more about John and view his compositions here

Kevin J. Cope

Kevin J. Cope (b. 1981) started as a youthful heavy metal guitarist inspired by the likes of Megadeth and Metallica. His tastes grew into the more intellectual bands such as Symphony X and Dream Theater as well as the more psychedelic progressive rock of YES. Through exposure to the classical greats of the 20th century such as Igor Stravinsky, Alberto Ginastera, Richard Danielpour, and John Corigliano his own composition style became more complex while still maintaining a connection to the rock and metal music that he still loves to this day.

You can learn more about Kevin and view his compositions here

Ruben Delgado

Ruben Delgado is well known for his artful arrangements of Latin music through the Music of Mexico series published by the Mel Bay Company. He earned a Master’s Degree in guitar performance from CSU, Fresno and has recently retired from a full-time teaching career to pursue his love of composition.

You can learn more about Ruben and view his compositions here

Octávio Deluchi

“One of the biggest names in the Brazilian instrumental music”, as stated by Adriano Vianini (Mais Vertentes, 2020), Octávio Deluchi is an award-wining guitarist in Brazil and in the United States: Deluchi currently holds a Graduate Teaching Assistant position at Radford University, where he is a candidate for the degree Master’s degree in guitar, under Dr. Robert Trent’s supervision.

You can learn more about Octávio and view his compositions here

Vin Downes

Vin Downes is a composer and classical/finger-style guitarist from New Jersey. He earned his degrees in Classical Guitar Performance and Music Education at William Paterson University.

Vin has released seven studio albums of original solo guitar music, five of which were produced by Grammy Award-winning guitarist and producer, Will Ackerman and award winning engineer/producer, Tom Eaton.

You can learn more about composer and view his compositions here

Tom Febonio

Tom Febonio was born in Salem, Massachusetts in 1950 and began his career in music at the age of sixteen playing the electric bass in a rock and roll band. This kept him occupied for about a decade, during which time he took up songwriting and recording, traditional music and jazz. As an adult he studied piano with Edith M. Mehaffey, and the viola, theory and conducting with Joseph A. Leary. Tom’s compositions to date are mostly tonal and structured along classical or romantic lines, and include solo and chamber pieces for piano, guitar, mandolin, strings and winds.

You can learn more about composer and view his compositions here

Erik Gibelyou

Erik Gibelyou is a teaching and performing artist based in Rochester, New York. His classical guitar group, Trio Ghidorah, enjoys frequent concert engagements performing original arrangements alongside works written for three guitars.

Erik earned his Doctor of Musical Arts and Performer’s Certificate at the Eastman School of Music, where he studied guitar with Nicholas Goluses and lute with Paul O’Dette. Erik studied guitar (under Javier Calderon) and music theory at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and he studied with Brad DeRoche as an undergraduate at Saginaw Valley State University. For more information visit www.erikgibelyou.com

You can learn more about composer and view his compositions here

José Emilio Gobbo Jr.

Jose Gobbo is a Brazilian jazz guitarist. He moved to Iowa City in 2011 to pursue his master’s degree in Jazz Performance and became highly immersed in the city’s musical scene. His debut album as a leader was released in 2013, titled “Zé”, and features Brazilian legendary multi-instrumentalist Roberto Sion. Other activities during that time include: performance at the Iowa City Jazz Festival; International clarinet convention with Dr. Maurita Marx; John Rapson’s recording of “The Night Sky and Turquoise Sea”.

In 2020 Jose earned the title of Doctor of Musical Arts through the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. While pursuing the degree he maintained a busy a performance schedule, appearing regularly with the Brad Wheeler Quartet and the Chip Stephens Organ Trio, which opened for Steely Dan in 2019. Jose also performs with members of UIUC jazz faculty Chip McNeill, Tito Carrillo, Larry Gray, and in Springfield with Frank Parker, Johnnie Owens, Julie Brown, and Virgil Rhodes. Jose founded The House Trio in December of 2020, and since then they performed nearly 40 livestreams on YouTube, recorded the album “Live From Home”, and opened a show for Tito Puente Jr.

You can learn more about composer and view his compositions here

Julie Goldberg

Named Guitarist of the year by Classical Guitar Alive, an internationally-broadcast radio program, Julie Goldberg is a dynamic performer whose concerts win critical acclaim throughout the U.S. She is the first guitarist to receive a Doctorate in Music Performance from Northwestern University and holds degrees from the Chicago Musical College of Roosevelt University and College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati.

You can learn more about Julie and view her compositions here

Phil Goldenberg

After studying with Joseph Mayes and graduating from Rowan University with a Bachelor of Music in guitar performance, Mr. Goldenberg went on to receive a Master of Music degree in guitar performance with honors from the Cleveland Institute of Music, studying with Grammy Award winner Jason Vieaux. Phil then completed a Professional Studies Diploma at the Mannes School of Music, studying as a scholarship student with international performing artist Michael Newman.

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Warren Gramm

Dr. Warren Gramm is the Director of Music Education and Assistant Professor of Music at Lebanon Valley College as well as the journal administrator for The Journal of Popular Music Education. Warren taught middle school general music in NJ and serves as a guest clinician for various modern band events in the state of Pennsylvania. He completed his doctorate in music education at Boston University with a focus on peer mentoring within popular music ensembles. Dr. Gramm’s research and publication interests include peer mentoring, modern band, popular music education, and authentic approaches to learning.

his compositions here

Stephen Guerra

Son of an Italian jazz musician, Stephen Guerra (b.1983) started teaching himself Spanish classical and flamenco guitar in his early twenties as an amateur interest. His life would change forever once he heard a solo guitar recording of Baden Powell’s “Berimbau.” He went to get a formal education, studying classical guitar with Allen Krantz and composition with Richard Brodhead and Jan Krzywicki in Philadelphia. He spent years in Rio de Janeiro studying choro, samba, and Brazilian guitar with Rogério Souza and earned his doctorate in music from Yale University.

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Joe Hagedorn

Joseph Hagedorn teaches Applied Guitar, Class Guitar and directs the Guitar Ensemble at UW-River Falls. Since his career was launched by winning the 1990 Guitar Foundation of America solo competition, Joseph has maintained an active performing career as a soloist and chamber musician. Praised for his passionate performances and flawless technique as well as his varied programs — on guitar and Renaissance lute — Joseph’s solo and concerto appearances have taken him to more than 25 American cities and to Canada.

You can learn more about Joe and view his compositions here

Romana Hartmetz

Romana Hartmetz holds a Master of Music in Classical Guitar Performance from the Conservatory of Music, University of Missouri, Kansas City where she studied with performing artist Douglas Niedt, and a Bachelor of Music from the University of North Texas, Denton Texas.

You can learn more about Romana and view her compositions here

Philip Hemmo

Philip Hemmo is known throughout the Unites States as a teacher and performer of the classical guitar. As a faculty member at the Universityof Arizona, Pima Communtiy College, the University of Illinois, Springfield, and his new post at Notre Dame Preparatory High School in Scottsdale, AZ, he continues to foster the next generation of classical guitarist.

You can learn more about Phil and view his compositions here

Lindsay Higgs

Lindsay Higgs is a teacher and performer who lives near Oxford, England.

He studied guitar with Bruce Seattle, John Taylor and Paul Wisby and composition with Michael Coe and Brendan Beale.

As a performer he has recorded with the Welsh groups Super Furry Animals and Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci. He has also performed in the large scale ‘An Angel Moves Too Fast To See’ for over a hundred electric guitars by Rhys Chatham

You can learn more about composer and view his compositions here

Wes Hixson

As a solo guitarist, chamber musician and composer, Wes Hixson writes accessible classical music for guitar, paying homage to his early influences of classical, prog-rock, metal, jazz, and folk music from around the world. While much of his music draws inspiration from nature, psychology and film, he often borrows form and harmony techniques from classical, jazz and pop as a foundation for his compositions.

You can learn more about Wes and view his compositions here

Anna Inozemceva

Anna Inozemceva began playing guitar at the age of 6 under the guidance of her father, Russian Vladimir Kolosov, a well-known teacher and arranger. Later, she studied at the P. Jurgenson Music School. In 1994, Anna entered Music College of Moscow, Tchaikovsky State Conservatory, where she studied with N. Dmitrieva. From 1998-2003, she studied at Moscow State Classical Academy with professor E. Finkelshtein. Since 1996, Anna has been a teacher at P. Jurgenson Music School. Her pupils have been laureates of numerous competitions, some of them awarded with scholarships.

You can learn more about Anna and view her compositions here

Nate Jackson

A native of Martinsville, Illinois, Nate Jackson has been a member of the Lincoln-Way District #210 music faculty since 2001, where he teaches all levels of guitar. Nate earned degrees in guitar performance from Millikin University and Northern Illinois University, as well as obtaining education certification through NIU. Mr. Jackson’s Guitar Studio Ensemble has been an annual participant of the Mid-America Guitar Ensemble Festival.

You can learn more about Nate and view his compositions here

Andy Jurik

Guitarist, arranger, and educator Andy Jurik specializes in the intersection of the classical and popular worlds. His debut album strive features works from Mark Summer, Ernesto Nazareth, Ivan Trevino, Nicholas Walker, the Beatles, Radiohead, and others. Jurik has lectured and performed at the Dublin Guitar Symposium, the Guitar Foundation of America Convention, the Southern Exposure concert series, the Wired Music series and the Southern Guitar Festival. He earned his DMA from the University of South Carolina in 2016; his dissertation focused on the classical/jazz hybrid of third stream music.

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Jay Kacherski

“Virtuosismo” and “technical dominance” are the words used by the press to describe American guitarist, Jay Kacherski. A native of New York, Kacherski has performed around the world as a soloist and member of the Grammy nominated Texas Guitar Quartet. He has performed at distinguished music festivals and venues such as the Festival International de Guitarra de Taxco, Mexico, the Florida Guitar Foundation, the Brevard Music Center, Round Top, the New Orleans International Guitar Festival, the Austin Classical Guitar Society, the GuitUNAM guitar festival in Mexico City, Casa Sors in Barcelona, Spain, and the International Guitar Art Festival in Shenzhen, China. He has also collaborated with Grammy-winners and nominees such as the chamber choir Conspirare, Chilean flutist Viviana Guzman, the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet and renowned American composer Libby Larsen.

Jay Kacherski is currently Assistant Professor of Music at Del Mar College in Corpus Christi, Texas and was formerly on the guitar faculty at Loyola University of New Orleans, the University of New Orleans, and McNeese State University, as well as NOCCA, the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts. He has presented at music conventions and festivals throughout the U.S. and abroad and is often invited to adjudicate at national and international competitions. As a teacher, his students have been finalists and winners of international solo and chamber music competitions and recipients of scholarships for continued study.

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Randall Kohl

Randall Charles Kohl holds a BA in Music from the University of California at Santa Cruz (UCSC), an MA in Ethnomusicology from the University of Hawaii at Manoa (UHM) and a Doctorate in History and Regional Studies from the Universidad Veracruzana (UV) in Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico. His published texts include: Ecos de “La Bamba”: una historia etnomusicológica sobre el son jarocho de Veracruz, 1946-1959 (IVEC, 2007); Estudios étnicos para la guitarra clásica (UV, 2009); Escritos de un náufrago habitual: ensayos sobre el son jarocho y otros temas etnomusicológicos (UV, 2010); Octaviano Yáñez. Antología de arreglos y composiciones para guitarra (GLM Studios, 2010); Declaraciones del Son. El requinto jarocho en la creación del conocimiento socio-musical (Gobierno del Estado de Veracruz, 2013); ¿Músico pagado toca mal son? Unas miradas al mercado laboral del son jarocho (IVEC, 2018); La música imaginada. Un análisis iconográfico del son jarocho y otras música, (UV, 2021/2022); and Reflections on the Veracruz son jarocho: Images, Politics and Selected Themes of a Mexican Music and Dance Tradition (Peter Lang, 2023).

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Adam Kossler

Kossler is a top prizewinner in a number of national and 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. Kossler’s international performance career has taken him throughout the US, Canada and Central America.

You can learn more about Adam and view his compositions here

John Kossler

John Kossler started his guitar studies through the Suzuki Method with his father, William Kossler, at the age of four years old. He eventually attended the North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston Salem, North Carolina, studying under Joseph Pecoraro. Placing in competitions such as the ECU Guitar Festival in Greenville, North Carolina, the Young Arts Festival in Miami, Florida, and the Music Academy in Greensboro, North Carolina, John then attended Wake Forest University, studying under Patricia Dixon.

You can learn more about John and view his compositions here

Larry Lipkis

Dr. Larry Lipkis is Composer-in-Residence and Bertha Mae Starner ‘27 and Jay F. Starner Professor of Music at Moravian College. He has composed over 100 compositions for a variety of vocal and instrumental ensembles, including several concertos which have been performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Houston Symphony, and Lehigh Valley Chamber Orchestra. His works are published by E.C. Schirmer and J. W. Pepper and have been recorded on the Koch and Music and Arts label.

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Ken Luk

Born and raised in Hong Kong, Ken Luk frequently appears as a soloist and with the Janus Guitar Duo, Trio Ghidorah, and fivebyfive. He performs with Rosa Boemia, Forró Estrelas do Norte, Mosaic Foundation, the Eastman Gamelan Ensemble, and the Rochester Mandolin Orchestra. Performance highlights include Experiencing Villa-Lobos Festival, Live from Hochstein, Rochester Fringe Festival, The Great Blue Heron Festival, and Grassroots Festival of Music and Dance, among others. Co-founder of Rochester Classical Guitar and the Rochester Mandolin Orchestra, Ken is also an avid arranger, and was a finalist in the 2017 Roland Dyens Arranging International Competition. He also serves on the board of the Classical Mandolin Society of America.

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Shaun Mahoney

Originally from New Jersey, Shaun Mahoney joined the University of Texas at El Paso faculty in 2011. He is a lecturer of jazz/commercial guitar, and commercial music studies. In 2005 Mr. Mahoney earned a B.M. with jazz guitar concentration at UNCW, and in 2010, he earned a M.M. degree in jazz studies from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia.

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Manley Mallard

Manley Mallard has completed twenty nine years of teaching at Millikin University in Decatur, IL. He earned his undergraduate degree at Shenandoah Conservatory in Winchester, Virginia, studying with Glenn Caluda. He completed his graduate studies at Kent State University in Ohio and Webster University, St. Louis, MO. He has taught both classical and jazz guitar since 1981. In 1991, he initiated and hosted the first Mid-America Guitar Ensemble Festival at Millikin University and subsequently hosted it again in 1995, 2001 and again in 2014. At the 20^th Mid-America Festival on March 25, 2012, he was honored by MAGEF and received an award for outstanding Leadership, Dedication and Service to the Guitar Community.

You can learn more about Manley and view his compositions here

William Mallard

William graduated from Berklee College of Music in Fall 2019 with a degree in Jazz Studies with a Trumpet major. He currently completing his masters in Valincia, Spain. William is an active performer and composer. He has composed several works for Guitar Quartet and Guitar Trio which feature a strong Jazz influence. Currently he completing an Jazz Etude book for guitar.

You can learn more about William and view his compositions here

Jonathan Marshall

Jonathan Marshall is a Michigan born Classical Guitarist/Composer, and he currently teaches at Grand Rapids Community College and Cornerstone University. Mr. Marshall also owns and operates Jonathan Marshall Guitars (Concert Classical Guitar Dealer), and runs Grand Rapids Community College’s International Guitar Series.

You can learn more about Jonathan and view his compositions here

Joseph Mayes

Joseph Mayes was self-taught until 1963 when he began his studies with Mr. Peter Colona at the Settlement Music School in Philadelphia. In 1968, Mr. Mayes was awarded an invitational scholarship by the government of Spain to study with the internationally renowned concert guitarist Andres Segovia. Mayes holds degrees in guitar from Thomas Edison College and Shenandoah University.

You can learn more about Joseph and view his compositions here

Kathleen Mayes

Ms. Mayes is a well-known South Jersey performer and teacher of Classical Guitar and Renaissance Lute. She holds degrees from Rowan University and Drexel University. She currently teaches in the South Jersey/Philadelphia area and is Adjunct Professor at Rowan University. She has recorded one solo CD, “Music from the Bistro”

You can learn more about Kathleen and view her compositions here

Kareem McCullough

A California native, Kareem McCullough began studying guitar at the age of 15 within the Loudoun County Public Schools system, which had begun to make a name for itself as a powerhouse in classroom guitar. He quickly fell in love with the instrument and decided to continue his studies at Radford University under the instruction of Dr. Robert Trent, earning a B.M. in music education. In 2012, after gaining some experience as a teacher at Roanoke city schools, Kareem was granted a teaching assistantship at Marshall University, where he pursued his M.A. under the direction of Julio Alves. During this time, Kareem also maintained a private studio of students, ages 5-55. From 2014-2016, Kareem served as adjunct faculty at the University of Rio Grande, teaching both private guitar lessons and string techniques classes. After earning his masters, Kareem briefly taught in Cabell County Public Schools before accepting a position back in his own high school county at Loudoun County High School, where he directed the guitar and orchestra departments.

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Ronn McFarlane

GRAMMY-nominated lutenist, Ronn McFarlane brings the lute – the most popular instrument of the Renaissance – into today’s musical mainstream making it accessible to a wider audience.

Since taking up the lute in 1978, Ronn has made his mark in music as the founder of Ayreheart, a founding member of the Baltimore Consort, touring 49 of the 50 United States, Canada, England, Scotland, Netherlands, Germany and Austria, and as a guest artist with Apollo’s Fire, The Bach Sinfonia, The Catacoustic Consort, The Folger Consort, Houston Grand Opera, The Oregon Symphony, The Portland Baroque Orchestra, and The Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra.

Born in West Virginia, Ronn grew up in Maryland. At thirteen, upon hearing “Wipeout” by the Surfaris, he fell madly in love with music and taught himself to play on a “cranky sixteen-dollar steel string guitar.” Ronn kept at it, playing blues and rock music on the electric guitar while studying classical guitar. He graduated with honors from Shenandoah Conservatory and continued guitar studies at Peabody Conservatory before turning his full attention and energy to the lute in 1978.

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Owen Middleton

Owen Middleton is prize- and award-winning composer, whose work is the subject of two doctoral dissertations, An American Original: Guitar Music of Owen Middleton, by Dr. Gregory Newton at UCLA and another by Dr. Barton Moreau at Arizona State University, Selected Works for Piano by Owen Middleton with recording. Mr. Middleton specializes in innovative guitar compositions, as well as virtuoso piano music, choral, orchestral, and chamber music. His guitar works can be heard around the world, including a recent performance at the International Guitar Festival in Poland, at Wigmore Hall in London and Carnegie Hall in New York. A professor of music, music theory, composition, piano, and guitar performance, he has lectured across the United States including Florida, New York, Pennsylvania, California, North Carolina, Kentucky and Alabama. As a performance artist, he has performed guitar concerts at colleges, universities, on radio and television.

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Liz Monument

Liz Monument writes and arranges music for solo instruments and small ensembles, often for plucked
strings. Based on the Surf Coast in Australia, Liz is a Licentiate of Trinity College London, a Licentiate of the London College of Music, holds a diploma of The Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, and is a Fellow of The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. Liz has a passion for traditional Northern European folksong, which she often incorporates into her music.

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Brian Morris

Brian Morris has been performing, teaching, and writing music for over five decades. His love of music is infectious and many of his students have gone on to have successful careers as teachers, performers, composers, and recording artists. Brian is currently in his thirtieth year as a member of the Grand Rapids Community College Music Faculty and has also been a faculty member at Grand Valley State University and for the Interlochen Summer Guitar Workshops. He has released four CD’s, and holds music degrees from Grand Rapids Community College, Montana State University, and Florida State University. His past teachers include the renowned guitarist Christopher Parkening and the celebrated teacher Bruce Holzman.

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Candice Mowbray

Candice Mowbray earned the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in classical guitar performance from Shenandoah University in Virginia. She has enjoyed a multifaceted career as a performer, recording artist, researcher, lecturer and teacher. She has performed with Washington National Opera at the Kennedy Center, Wolf Trap Opera, Maryland Symphony Orchestra and Satori Chamber Ensemble, and has been a featured artist for festivals and organizations including the Guitar Foundation of America, Marlow Guitar International, Philadelphia Classical Guitar Society, Toronto Guitar Society, International Guitar Competition Ida Presti and Boulanger Initiative. Her acclaimed CD, Reverie, featuring a program of French music thoughtfully intertwined by homage, was called “a revelation!” by Blair Jackson of Classical Guitar Magazine.

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Vincente Paschoal

In addition to his well-known work as an interpreter, in concert music, Vicente Paschoal has been showing, in recent years, a keen talent for composition. Devoting himself not only to instrumental music, but also to the popular universe of Brazilian songwriters, he seeks a delicate and reflective repertoire, on aspects of musical poetics, and challenges the ways of guitar technique. Through that, Paschoal reveals the guitar in all its potential and expression. Vicente Paschoal is Brazilian, born in Rio de Janeiro. At the age of 18, he already had a significant work with songs, some of which are played, nowadays, by different interpreters of Brazilian Popular Music. Guided by Carlos Alberto de Carvalho, a classical guitar pedagogue from Rio, he worked on a vast repertoire, and performed as a soloist in the main concert halls in Brazil, accumulating some prizes in National guitar competitions, such as the Souza Lima and the Musicalis – the two most important and traditional prizes in the country, in the time, directed by the late Henrique Pinto and by Gilson Antunes.

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Carlos Pavan

Described with “Striking music and great originality” from renowned “Classical Guitar Magazine” Carlos Pavan (born in Argentina and living in New York since 2000) is a new wave of modern classical guitar composers combining tango/folklore rhythms with jazz harmonies and classical technique/forms. He is a former student of maestro Jorge Morel, Dave Smey (Brooklyn Conservatory) and Pablo Ziegler (A. Piazzolla’s pianist). Carlos has performed internationally in France, Canada, Portugal, Ireland, Japan and recorded three albums with his compositions including special guest contemporary string quartet PUBLIQuartet (Carnegie Hall debut 2015).

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Ronald pearl

Composer Ronald Pearl works have been performed, recorded, and broadcast throughout North and South America, Europe, and Asia. He has had the privilege of composing for the Alturas Duo, Triobio, Duo Vitare, Encuerdas, the Atlantic Guitar Quartet, Quartetto Exsacorde, the ADAA Trio, Zane Forshee and others. His works have been presented at the Saigon Guitar Festival, Guimaraes International Guitar Festival (Portugal), Festival Forfest of the Czech Republic, Peabody Summer Intensive, Long Island Guitar Festival, Evolution Contemporary Music Series, and LiveWire6 Music Festival. In 2019, Celestial Navigation – for guitar orchestra – was premiered at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, and was commissioned by Peabody to celebrate the 10^th anniversary of Fretfest.

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James Piorkowski

James Piorkowski is a Distinguished Professor at the Fredonia School of Music, State University of New York, serving as head of the guitar program since 1983.

Piorkowski’s compositions and recordings include many works for guitar, both in solo and ensemble settings, and his live performances have been heard across Europe, North and South America, Russia and in the Caribbean. From 1982-2000, Piorkowski was a member of the world-renowned Buffalo Guitar Quartet.

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Randy Pobanz

Randy Pobanz has been on the faculties of Augustana College, Rock Island and Knox College, Galesburg, Illinois for over 30 years. Throughout his career he has taught classical guitar, guitar ensemble, guitar history and harmony for guitar. Performance activity includes solo and ensemble settings with other guitarists, flute, strings and other instruments. He holds Bachelor of Arts and Master of Music degrees from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. While at S.I.U. he studied guitar with Joseph Breznikar.

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Maja Radovanlija

Maja Radovanlija was born in Belgrade, Serbia. As a child, she won several awards in music school festivals and competitions in former Yugoslavia. During her high school period, she won second prize at the Petar Konjevic International Competition in Belgrade, performed her first solo recital and took part in a classical music show for National Television of Serbia.

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David Rogers

David has recorded for Dorian, Callisto and Focus Recordings. He teaches master classes throughout North America: San Francisco Conservatory, University of Southern California and The Interlochen National Arts Camp. Similarly, he performed with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival for 18 years and directed classical/jazz guitar studies at Southern Oregon University for 13 years.

David has studied historical Plucked Strings with Hopkinson Smith and Eugen Dombois at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in Basel, Switzerland, with Thomas Binkley at Indiana University and with Lyle Nordstrom at Oakland University. He studied classical guitar with Joseph Fava at Wayne State University.

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Guido Sanchez-Portuguez

Guido began his musical studies at the University of Costa Rica’s School of Music where he graduated with honors in 2001 under the guidance of Mario Solera. In 2004, he began his Master’s at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music with the distinguished professor and internationally acclaimed guitarist Ernesto Bitetti. Guido continued on to the prestigious Doctoral Program at the Jacobs School of Music, graduating in May 2012 as Doctor of Music in Guitar with minors in Music Theory and Composition where he studied with composers Luis Diego Herra, Sven-David Sandstrom, Per Martensson, Gabriela Ortiz, and Don Freund.

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William Slate

William is a career journalist now retired from his longtime position on the editorial staff of Newsweek magazine in New York. Mostly self-taught as a classical guitarist, he has been an avid player his entire adult life, beginning in the 1960’s while an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin. To hone his skills and pursue his passion for the instrument, as a young man William lived in London for a year studying the guitar with famed composer/arranger John W. Duarte.

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Kevin Smyth

Kevin Smyth is a guitarist and Lutenist from Sewell, New Jersey. He is a private teacher, arranger, composer, and performer in the South Jersey area, currently working to complete his degree in Guitar Performance at Rowan University with Joseph Mayes. He has performed in masterclasses with Christopher Ladd, Nigel North, Berta Rojas, Pepe and Lito Romero, and Bokyung Byun, among others.

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Philip Snyder

Philip Snyder is a classical guitarist and cellist. He is a founding member of two critically acclaimed chamber music ensembles, the Georgia Guitar Quartet and Revien and has toured the nation with both groups. Equally at home on guitar and cello, Snyder’s rare ability to perform at an exceptional level on both instruments is often showcased in a single concert, as he is capable of switching between them onstage. He studied with guitar pedagogue John Sutherland and cellist David Starkweather and holds a Doctorate in Guitar Performance and a Master’s in Cello Performance from the University of Georgia.

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Rodney Stucky

Rodney Stucky is head of classical guitar studies in the Preparatory Department of the College-Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati (CCM) and a co-director of the Early Music Lab in CCM’s collegiate division. He received his Master of Music degree at Southern Methodist University and studied further at the Peabody Conservatory. He performed throughout the United States, Central America, and South America as classical guitarist, baroque guitarist, lutenist and vihuelist and is married to the mezzo-soprano Mary Henderson Stucky, Professor Emerita in Voice at CCM.

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Anita Thomas

Multi-instrumentalist Anita Thomas delights audiences with her energy, exceptional skill and sincerity. Equally adept at playing clarinet, saxophone and acoustic bass, Anita can be heard performing in jazz as well as classical ensembles. From New Orleans and Dixieland to bebop and contemporary styles, Anita’s accomplishments and experience as a jazz musician are considerable, and her contributions as an arranger, composer, teacher and classical chamber musician are additionally substantive.

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Mark Tonelli

Mark Tonelli has enjoyed a diverse career performing with artists such as Clay Aiken, Jon Faddis, Rita Moreno, Carol Channing, Lynn Seaton, Denis DeBlasio, Greg Bissonette, Ed Soph, Andrea McArdle, Al Martino, Bobby Rydell, The Coasters, and The Platters. He has been seen on FOX News and is featured in the Emmy-nominated PBS musical special Marina At West Point. He has had residencies in three major music hubs— New York City, Dallas, and Kansas City— performing at renowned clubs, including NYC’s 55 Bar, Dallas’s Sambuca, and Kansas City’s Green Lady Lounge.

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Tom Torrisi

Tom Torrisi is a classical guitarist based in Buffalo, NY whose playing has been described as “expressive and full of beautiful details around every corner.” He has a DMA from the Eastman School of Music where he studied under Dr. Nicholas Goluses. He is an active performer as a soloist and as a member of Janus Guitar Duo with guitarist Ken Luk and Duo Purla with violinist Shannon Reilly.

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Robert Trent

Dr. Robert Trent is Full Professor of Music (Guitar/Lute) at Radford University where he is also director of Radford University’s Annual International Guitar Festival. He holds the D.M.A. (Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins), M.A. (Trenton State College), and B.M. (Phila. College of the Performing Arts).

Appearing regularly on the concert stage in North and South America, Europe, and in Asia. He has taken his students on professional concert tours to South America and Asia. Many of his students are performers, educators and administrators at all levels in the U.S., and in Asia.

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Ryan Trommer

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Thomas Tudek

Thomas Tudek received his Bachelor’s degree from Carnegie Mellon University with James Ferla, his Masters from Illinois State University under the tutelage of Dr. Angelo Favis and a Doctorate of Music from Indiana University with guidance from maestro Ernesto Bitetti. He has participated in numerous lessons and master classes with leading guitar educators.

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Sergey Uryupin

Born in Elets (Russia), Sergey Uryupin began studying guitar at the age of 9. He graduated from the Voronezh Arts Academy where he studied with professor Sergei Kordenko and then continued his studies with Professor Nikolay Komolyatov at the Gnessin Music Academy (postgraduate). He is the winner of 8 international guitar competitions such as Krinica guitar Competition (Poland, 1999), GuitarArt (Serbia, 2000), Guitar in Russia (Russia, 2002), Krakow guitar competition, (Poland, 2003), Ile de Re guitar competition (France, 2003), Kyiv guitar competition (Ukraine, 2009).

Sergey has performed solo programs in Russia, France, Germany, Hungary, Serbia, Poland, Ukraine, Belarus and Venezuela. In addition, he has collaborated and performed with symphonic orchestras and ensembles. Similarly, Sergey has taught at Elets College of Arts 2002-2007;;Voronezh College of Music 2007-2008; Voronezh State Academy of Arts 2007-2008; State and private music schools in Moscow 2008-2022 Moscow College of Arts in Khimki 2021-2022 and International boarding school Letovo, Arts Department 2018-2022

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Steve Vazquez

Chicago guitarist Steve Vazquez began his love for the guitar at the age of eleven. Self-taught and playing in rock bands throughout his teen years, Steve began his classical guitar studies under Steve Suvada at William Rainey Harper College. He went on for further study with Mark Maxwell at DePaul University (B.M.’91), and Anne Waller at Northwestern University (M.M.’94). He has played in Master classes for Sergio and Odair Assad, Oscar Ghiglia, Stepan Rak, Paul O’Dette, David Starobin, Dusan Bogdanovic and more. Steve was a 1996 Chicago Artists International Program award recipient. This allowed him to study with the groundbreaking, great Czech guitarist-composer Stepan Rak in Prague and Chicago.

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Kevin Vigil

Kevin Vigil holds performance degrees from Shenandoah University (DMA), Yale University (MM) and the University of Memphis (BM). His interest in composition was sparked by a seminar class called, “Composition for Performers”, that was taught by Martin Bresnick at the Yale School of Music (1988).

Performance highlights include performances at Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the Department of Agriculture. He has performed as a soloist, with choirs, orchestras, chamber groups and as a member of Duo Con Brio with flutist Barbara Vigil.

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Curt Warren

Curt Warren is an active jazz guitarist, known primarily in the southwest, who is quickly making a name for himself on the national scene. The El Paso Conservatory of Music welcomed Curt to its guitar faculty in the spring of 2011. 1963: Curt began his professional career playing the Frankie Laine show in Las Vegas.1968-1970: Curt played shows in Hawaii including Teresa Brewer, Tony Martin and a televised appearance with the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra. 1970-1972: Curt was the leader of the El Paso Sheraton house band where he worked with Della Reese, Billy Eckstein, Fran Jefferies, Jerry Van Dyke, Joanne Summers, etc. 1974-1978: Performed with the United States Navy Band, “The Commodores” (the official Navy jazz ensemble) in Washington, DC.

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Luke Villavicencio

Luke Villavicencio is a new music researcher, composer, performer, and teacher based out of Long Island, New York. He began studying guitar privately at the age of 7, studying with Long Island based folk musician, Courtney Gerard Fleming, and then eventually James Piorkowski of the Buffalo Guitar Quartet. Luke began composing in high school in his free time, later writing a short piece for his senior year concert band titled “Journey of the Sword.” He went on to study composition with Dr. Rob Deemer, Dr Andrew Martin Smith, and Dr. Caroline Mallonee at SUNY Fredonia.

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William Ghezzi

Guitarist William Ghezzi has performed extensively as soloist, with orchestras, chamber ensembles, choruses, dance companies, in theater and opera, and for films, radio and television. He has performed with the Montpelier Chamber Orchestra, the Harry Partch Ensemble, the Philadelphia Guitar Ensemble, and in many other chamber music settings. He has commissioned numerous solo and chamber music compositions including works by Robert Maggio, Laurie MacGregor, Kile Smith, Robert Capanna, Paul A. Epstein, and Jan Krzywicki. Mr. Ghezzi can be heard on SoundCloud, YouTube, Vimeo, Instagram, and all major streaming services. Ghezzi holds a music degree from Temple University, College of Music where he studied with Peter Segal and Anna Kotsarenko. He studied privately with Phillip de Fremery, Eliot Fisk and Vladimir Mikulka. He has been on the music faculties of Temple University, Chestnut Hill College, and Settlement Music School in Philadelphia. Mr. Ghezzi lives in West Lebanon, New Hampshire where he gives private instruction in his home.

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Brian Torosian

Brian Torosian is an active soloist and chamber musician best known for his work relating to 19th-century guitarist and composer J. K. Mertz. In addition to standard six-string guitar, he plays baroque guitar, mandolin, Terz guitar, and 10-string guitar replicas, the latter two including those made for him by R. E. Bruné after 19th-century Viennese instruments. Brian is the President of the Chicago Classical Guitar Society and directs the guitar program of Northeastern Illinois University where he is a multiple recipient of the Instructor Excellence Award and Vice Chair of the Faculty Senate. He received bachelor, masters, and doctoral degrees from Northwestern University as a student of Anne Waller, and studied with Oscar Ghiglia in Italy at the Accademia Musicale Chigiana where he received the Diploma of Merit.

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