Maarten Stragier

Belgian guitarist Maarten Stragier’s refreshing take on concert programming and a passion for contemporary music take his performances from the original to the unusual. His musical sensitivity and innovative spirit have brought him to European and American audiences, on such stages as BOZAR in Brussels; Jordan Hall, the Gardner Museum, the ICA in Boston; the Kennedy Center in Washington DC; Merkin Hall in New York; and the Palazzo Chigi in Siena. He has appeared in festivals such as Tanglewood, Ars Musica, Boston GuitarFest, the Summer Institute for Contemporary Performance Practice, Composit, and Klara in het Paleis.

Committed to invigorating musical conversation, Maarten frequently collaborates with composers. He has worked with Tristan Murail, Salvatore Sciarrino, Philippe Leroux, Chaya Czernowin, Davide Ianni, Roger Reynolds, and Christian Wolff on the interpretation of their music. More recently, Stragier embarked on a commissioning project for young composers with accordion player Luca Piovesan.

In addition to his solo career, Maarten has played with the Ictus ensemble (Brussels), the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, the Callithumpian consort (Boston), Sound Icon (Boston), the Radius Ensemble (Boston), the East Coast Contemporary Ensemble, the KOA guitar quartet, Opera Boston and the Mimesis ensemble (New York). He has recorded for Dorian Records, BMOP/sound and Collectief Debonair.

Ever-informing his performances is Maarten’s work as a musical scholar. He is currently a doctor of musical arts candidate in the studio of Eliot Fisk at the New England Conservatory, specializing in the oeuvre and aesthetic theories of spectralist composition.

Before arriving at the New England Conservatory, Maarten studied at the Tienen Music Academy, from which he graduated maxima cum laude in 2003; at the Royal conservatory of Ghent, under Yves Storms; and later under Antigoni Goni at the Royal conservatory of Brussels, where he concluded the masters program in guitar performance magna cum laude. Additionally, he won first prizes in the Axion Classics Competition and the Hasselt Competition for Musical Youth in 2003, and received the 2010 Köberle award for extraordinary musical achievement.