Boston GuitarFest XVIII Faculty & Staff
Eliot Fisk
Artistic Director
Eliot Fisk
Artistic Director
Guitarist Eliot Fisk is known worldwide as a charismatic performer famed for his adventurous and virtuosic repertoire. He is also celebrated for his willingness to take art music into unusual venues (schools, senior centers, and even logging camps and prisons!). After nearly 50 years before the public he remains as his mentor Andres Segovia once wrote, "at the top line of our artistic world."
In the 2017-18 season Fisk continues to break new ground for the guitar with marathon performances of his transcriptions of all 6 Bach solo cello Suites, duo performances with guitar legend Angel Romero and with a new trio formed with virtuoso guitarists Joaquin Clerch and Aniello Desiderio.
The long awaited release of Robert Beaser’s monumental guitar Concerto (dedicated to Eliot Fisk) on LINN records in 2017 elicited rave reviews online and in print. In the spring of 2017, Eliot Fisk premiered Son Dementes Cuerdas with the famed Arditti String Quartet with performances on two continents culminating in a performance at Wigmore Hall in London in a concert also featuring the Sequenza XI for solo guitar composed for and dedicated to Eliot Fisk by Luciano Berio.
Eliot Fisk has performed as soloist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Houston Symphony, Rochester Symphony, Orchestra of St. Lukes, Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, Pro Arte Orchestra, American Composers Orchestra, Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP) and many others. He returns regularly to major concert series such as Stanford Lively Arts, Spivey Hall (Atlanta), Duke University Performances, Newman Center for the Performing Arts in Denver; Lincoln Center, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the 92nd Street Y in NYC, Da Camera Society of Houston, Da Camera Society of Los Angeles, San Francisco Chamber Music; Segovia Series at Pick-Staiger Hall at Northwestern University; Jordan Hall, Boston; Orange County Performing Arts Center; Brahms, Mozart and Schubert Saal (Vienna); Mozarteum Grosser Saal (Salzburg); Wigmore Hall and Queen Elizabeth Hall (London) and at numerous guitar festivals such as those of Cordoba, Spain; Belgrade, Serbia; and Iserlohn, Bad Aibling and Hersbrueck, Germany.
Eliot Fisk has performed with a dizzying array of chamber music colleagues including flutist,Paula Robison; clarinetist, Richard Stoltzman; cellist Yehuda Hanani; violinists Ruggiero Ricci, Gidon Kremer and Joshua Bell, the Shanghai, Juilliard, Miro, Borromeo and Arditti String Quartets.
He has invented numerous cross over projects with among others Paco Peña (flamenco guitar); Joe Pass and Bill Frisell (jazz guitar) chanteuse, Ute Lemper and Turkish music specialist, Burhan Öçal.
The repertoire of the classical guitar has been transformed through Fisk’s innumerable transcriptions (including works by Bach, Scarlatti, Haydn, Mozart, Paganini, Schubert, Mendelssohn, Granados, Albeniz and many others). In addition, numerous new works have been dedicated to him by composers as varied as Leonardo Balada, Robert Beaser, Luciano Berio, Ralf Gawlick, Nicholas Maw, George Rochberg, Daniel Bernard Roumain and Kurt Schwertsik.
Eliot Fisk remains a prolific recording artist. Recent releases include Ralf Gawlick’s Kollwitz Konnex for soprano and guitar (Musica Omnia) Anthony Paul de Ritis’s Pop Concerto with Gil Rose leading the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, a pair of CDs of new music dedicated to and transcribed by Fisk of works by Beaser, Corigliano, Schwertsik, and Rochberg (Wildner Records) and duo discs with flamenco legend, Paco Peña (on Nimbus Records) and cellist, Yehuda Hanani (Albany Records).
Eliot Fisk was the last direct pupil of Andres Segovia and also studied interpretation with the legendary harpsichordist Ralph Kirkpatrick at Yale University, from which he graduated “summa cum laude” in 1976, and where, directly following his own graduation in 1977, he founded the guitar department at the Yale School of Music.
Described by one New York Times headline as a “Fiery Missionary to the Unconverted”, Eliot Fisk is Professor at the Universität Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria, where he teaches in 5 languages, and in Boston at the New England Conservatory where in 2010 he received the Krasner Award as “Teacher of the Year.”
In June 2006, King Juan Carlos of Spain, awarded Eliot the “Cruz de Isabel la Católica” for his service to the cause of Spanish music. Earlier recipients of this honor have included Andres Segovia and Yehudi Menuhin.
Eliot Fisk is Founder and Artistic Director of Boston GuitarFest (www.bostonguitarfest.org) an annual cross-disciplinary event co- sponsored by the New England Conservatory and Northeastern University and now entering its 13th consecutive year. In 2017 he created and served as Artistic Director of the first ever and immensely successful Salzburg Guitar Fest at the Universität Mozarteum in Salzburg.
In summer of 2014 he toured China performing with his wife, classical guitarist, Zaira Meneses, and the couple’s young daughter, pianist, Raquel Fisk.
Christoph Wolff
Musicologist
Christoph Wolff
Musicologist
Wolff’s primary research interests extend to the music from the 17th to the early 19th centuries, especially to Bach and Mozart studies. Publications include Bach: Essays on His Life and Music (1991), Mozart’s Requiem (1994), The New Bach Reader (1998), Driven into Paradise: The Musical Migration from Nazi Germany to the United States (1999; ed. with R. Brinkmann), Music of My Future. The Schoenberg Quartets and Trio (2001; ed. with R. Brinkmann), The Organs of J. S. Bach: A Handbook (2012; with M. Zepf), and Mozart at the Gateway to His Fortune. Serving the Emperor, 1788–1791(2012). His book Johann Sebastian Bach: The Learned Musician (2000, updated 2013), which has been translated into eleven languages, received the 2001 Otto Kinkeldey Award of the American Musicological Society in recognition of the most distinguished book in musicology published during the previous year. His most recent book is Bach’s Musical Universe: The Composer and His Work (2020).
Professor Wolff taught at the University of Erlangen (1963–68), the University of Toronto (1968-70), Columbia (1970–76) and Princeton Universities (1973 and 1975) before joining the Harvard faculty in 1976. At Harvard he was Chair of the Department of Music (1980–88, 1990–91), Acting Director of the University Library (1991–92), Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (1992–2000), and Curator of the Isham Memorial Library (1976–2012). He was on the Graduate Faculty of the Juilliard School (2010–2018) and served as President and Director of the Bach-Archiv Leipzig (2001–13) and President of the Répertoire International des Sources Musicales (2004–13). An elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, the Saxon Academy of Sciences at Leipzig, and the Akademie für Mozart-Forschung in Salzburg (which he chaired 1996–2006), he holds honorary professorships at the University of Freiburg and the National Music Academy ‘Mykola Lysenko’ in Lviv (Ukraine). A recipient of the Dent Medal of the International Musicological Society (1978) the Humboldt Research Prize (1996), the Bach Prize of the Royal Academy of Music (2006) and the Bach Medal of the City of Leipzig (2021), he holds honorary memberships in the American Musicological Society, the German and American Bach Societies, and the Mozarteum Foundation Salzburg; in 2015 he was elected to the Orden Pour le mérite für Wissenschaften und Künste. He currently serves on the Board of the Packard Humanities Institute, Los Altos, CA.
Dr. Jérôme Mouffe
Academy Program Founder
Dr. Jérôme Mouffe
Academy Program Founder
Is an active concertist, pedagogue, and community builder. Faculty at the New England Conservatory in Boston, Jérôme Mouffe has toured throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Europe as a soloist and chamber musician. Highlight performances include the Celebrity Series of Boston, the OMNI Series in San Francisco, the Austin Classical Guitar International Series, the International Brussels Guitar Festival, the Festival del Noreste in Saltillo, Mexico, and the Newport Music Festival in Rhode Island, among others. Jérôme Mouffe has toured with guitar phenomenon Grisha Goryachev and Pacific Symphony Orchestra principal flute, Benjamin Smolen. Jérôme Mouffe has released two albums: Capriccio, on the VGo Recordings label in 2009, and more recently Bach to Beaser with flautist Benjamin Smolen. Dr. Mouffe holds degrees from the Royal Conservatory in Brussels and the Mozarteum Univertität Salzburg. He was the first classical guitarist to receive a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the New England Conservatory of Music. His principal teachers include Eliot Fisk, Ricardo Gallen, Emmanuel Rossfelder, and Hugues Navez. Jérôme Mouffe is also on Faculty at Bridgewater State University, and serves as an Artistic Advisor to the Boston Classical Guitar Society. To find out more, please visit: www.jeromemouffe.com
Cecilio Perera
Classical Guitarist
Cecilio Perera
Classical Guitarist
Cecilio Perera was born in Mérida, Yucatán, México, in 1983. He began playing the guitar at an early age under the tutelage of his brother Pedro Perera, later on, he studied at the José Jacinto Cuevas school of music in his hometown, under the tutelage of Ricardo Vega, as well as taking some music lessons with pianist Alberto Álvarez.
From 1999 to 2005 he studied at the Faculty of Music of the Universidad Veracruzana in Xalapa, Veracruz, under the tutelage of Alfredo Sánchez and Consuelo Bolio.
Graduated with the highest honours in bachelor and master degree at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg, Austria, under the tutelage of Eliot Fisk and Ricardo Gallén, where he also studied early music with Hans Brüderl and contemporary music with Simone Fontanelli.
He currently teaches guitar as an assistant of Eliot Fisk at the Mozarteum University of Salzburg, Austria and also as a guitar teacher at the School of Music in Freilassing, Germany.
Thatcher Harrison
YGW
Is a guitarist and a composer. As a composer, Thatcher Harrison tries to expand the boundaries of classical guitar repertoire through what he calls “classical fusion” composition: pieces based in classical composition and performance techniques, but with influences from other genres such as jazz music, rock music, fingerstyle guitar music, blues music, pop music, film score music, and world music. As a guitarist, Thatcher Harrison chooses to perform unconventional and daring programs, oftentimes consisting primarily of his own compositions. After winning 20 competition prizes, Thatcher Harrison is currently working to establish his career as an international concert artist, with his 2021-2022 season including concerts for Boston Classical Guitar Society, Pleven Guitar Festival, The 21st Century Guitar Conference, Twents Gitaarfestival, Boston Guitarfest, and Domaine Forget International Music Festival. Thatcher Harrison is currently studying for his Bachelor of Music degree in Classical Guitar Performance at New England Conservatory with Eliot Fisk and Jérôme Mouffe.
Stephan Connor
Resident Luthier
Stephan Connor
Resident Luthier
"I love my work and as a result, I create one-of-a-kind, inspired instruments which allow the player to enjoy a beautiful musical experience and have ample projection for the concert hall. Over the years I have been thrilled to have my guitars in the hands of many extraordinary Maestros & Maestras of this epoch; Eliot Fisk, Sergio and Odair Assad, Scott Tennant, Anabel Montesinos, Marco Tamayo, Angel Romero, Jose Maria Gallardo, David Tannenbaum and many more. (see artist page)
The Art & Craft of building for these virtuosos has been a fascinating journey. I personally select the finest tonewoods from around the globe to bring out the best voice and beauty in each guitar. Most recently, I have acquired some legendary “Bullrun” cedar from the Robert Ruck Collection.
"I have many years of woods stockpiled, which I season in a particular way at my oasis of a workshop, and inspiring location, looking down at a pond by a historic windmill. You’re welcome to set up a time to visit."
Gohar Vardanyan
Guest Artist
Gohar Vardanyan
Guest Artist
Widely admired for her technique, artistry, and passionate performances Armenian-American guitarist Gohar Vardanyan has performed throughout the United States and internationally. She has performed for numerous guitar societies, universities, and arts organizations, including the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, and guitar societies in Seattle, San Francisco, Houston, Miami, and New York City to name a few. She has appeared on National Public Radio in the United States and Radio Nacional in Argentina. Ms. Vardanyan has performed with the Juilliard Opera Center and as a soloist with the Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra and Panama National Symphony Orchestra. She has also been a guest artist at International Guitar Festivals in Sweden, Italy, Panama, Canada, and Mexico. She has been featured on the cover of Classical Guitar Magazine. Guitar International Magazine has described her as “the complete package,” “with a musicality and emotional quality . . . that one would expect from someone much older than the young wunderkind. Not only is she able to draw you into her performances with engaging musical interpretations, but she has the technical facility that is required of any concert level guitarist.” Her playing has been described as “passionate,” “evocative,” and “virtuosic.”
Adam Levin
Executive Director
Adam Levin
Executive Director
is an award-winning classical guitarist that performs worldwide. He has received both national and international prizes in performance. Levin was honored as a Fulbright Scholar, Program for Cultural Cooperation Fellow, and Kate Neal Kinley Fellow to research contemporary Spanish repertoire in Spain. Levin commissioned over 30 solo and chamber guitar works from Spanish composers and has completed three out of four albums for Naxos. Levin’s discography includes nine commercially released recordings.
Levin is on faculty at University of Rhode Island and UMass Boston, a founder of the guitar education non-profit organization Kithara Project, as well as the artistic director of the University of Rhode Island Guitar Festival and Rhode Island Guitar Guild. He is endorsed by Augustine Strings and performs on guitars by Stephan Connor and Dominique Field.
Kostas Tosidis
Classical Guitarist
Kostas Tosidis
Classical Guitarist
Kostas Tosidis is a classical guitarist, performer specialized in contemporary music and a pedagogue in three different institutions (Mozarteum University Salzburg Austria - Assist. of Univ. Prf. Eliot Fisk), Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussels, Belgium, - Chamber Music Coach, Conservatorio Superior de Musica de Extremadura, Spain).
He completed his musical studies at the Agios Pavlos Conservatory in Thessaloniki, in Gianni’s Papakrasas class with the highest grade and first prize.
in 2006 he graduated with distinction and honor from Mozarteum University Salzburg, Austria. During his bachelor degree he was part of Eliot Fisk and Ricardo Gallen’s class. In 2009 Kostas Tosidis obtained his master’s degree with distinction and honor from the same institution, and he became Eliot Fisk’s assistant at the Mozarteum University.
Tosidis won several international prizes with the Miscelanea Guitar Quartet and as soloist. His solo projects include concerts( throught Europe &USA), and he has recorded 5 CDs with solo and chamber music repertory. His latest CD, with all 5 sonatas by Atanas Ourkouzounov, is gonna be released by Naxos Records.
Kostas Tosidis was one of the founding members of the renowned Miscelanea Guitar Quartet. Their aim was to create a unique interpretation of original composition for a guitar quartet.
Since September 2016 Tosidis has been a PhD andidate in the Royal Conservatory of Brussels. His topic of research explores the possibilities of playing arrangements of contemporary pieces for cello, violin and viola on the guitar without loosing the music’s intention or style. Part of that is his arrangement on the monumental work by G.Ligeti ‘cello solo sonata’, published by Schott Edition. His doctoral research includes commissioned works by composers such as Atanas Ourkouzounov, Marios Joannou Elias, Feliu Gasull, Marco Dottlinger, Giannis Papakrasas and Yorgos Nousis.
Kostas Tosidis plays a guitar by Alector Guitars, uses Knobloch strings and a guitar rest by Guitarlift.
Alexander Romanov
YGW
Alexander Romanov is a guitarist and audio engineer from the Washington D.C. area. He is a graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music with a Bachelor of Music degree in Guitar Performance studying with renowned musicians Eliot Fisk and Jerome Mouffe. During 2021, Alexander received accreditation from Berklee College of Music in audio engineering. He is pursuing his Master of Music diploma at the New England Conservatory of Music. Alexander is an active teacher, and maintains a private studio in Boston and online.
Nigel North
Lutenist
Nigel North
Lutenist
British lutenist Nigel North has been sharing music with audiences for nearly 30 years. His quiet and gentle personality goes, literally, "hand in hand" with his choice of instrument; the lute is one of the most gentle, subtle yet technically demanding of "ancient" instruments. Through this medium, as soloist, accompanist and ensemble musician, Nigel has inspired appreciation from concert public and recording listeners with comments such as :
"North's playing has a freedom and expression rivaling the best jazz musicians"
"An amalgam of scholarship, respect, love and high instrumental ability."
"Lute plucked to perfection. . . perhaps he is the greatest performer of this instrument of all time"
"stunning - rich, warm, resonant and utterly musical"
Nigel North has also always adored teaching. Following many years of committed teaching in Europe (in London, Berlin and Den Haag) Nigel has since 1999 been Professor of Lute in the "Early Music Institute" at Indiana University, Bloomington, USA from where he continues his varied life as performer and teacher.
Jorge Caballero
Guest Artist
Jorge Caballero
Guest Artist
Critics from international newspapers and guitar publications have praised Mr. Caballero’s depth of musicality, as well as his technical mastery when tackling the unique difficulties of his concert repertoire. Aside from the standard guitar literature he performs –which spans centuries of music from the Renaissance until the present, Mr. Caballero is notorious for adapting and performing masterworks originally written for piano or orchestra, among which we find Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, Dvorak’s New World Symphony, Debussy’s Children’s Corner Suite and Alban Berg’s Piano Sonata Op. 1 to name a few. One critic in Italy referred to Mr. Caballero as “standing on top of the repertoire’s Mount Everest,” while the New York Times called him “a masterly guitarist” with “chameleonic timbres.” More https://www.jorgecaballeroguitarist.com/bio
Dr. Lautaro Mantilla
Composer / Guitarist
Dr. Lautaro Mantilla
Composer / Guitarist
LAUTARO MANTILLA, DMA is a guitarist, composer, and improviser from Bogota, Colombia. In his performances, he typically combines guitar, extended vocalization techniques, and homebuilt electronics to create music that is both viscerally affecting and conceptually rigorous. Based in Boston, Lautaro is active in the NY and Boston music scenes and is a faculty member of the Contemporary Improvisation department at New England Conservatory.
Lautaro holds a Master's in guitar and improvisation and a Doctorate in Composition both from New England Conservatory in Boston.
Danilo Cabaluz
Classical Guitarist
Danilo Cabaluz
Classical Guitarist
He has obtained his Bachelor degree in the class of Luis Orlandini, in the arts department of Universidad de Chile, master degree and postgraduate in the class of Eliot Fisk in the Universität Mozarteum Salzburg. He was rated both the highest qualification and the maximum recognition. He has taken part of several master classes with Eduardo Isaac, Eduardo Fernández, Marco Socias, Ricardo Gallén and Leo Brouwer.
He has participated in the International Guitar Festival of Santiago “Entre Cuerdas”, Boston Guitar Festival (EEUU), Salzburg Guitar Fest (Austria), IX Seminar of Musical Interpretation (Mar de Plata – Argentina), XV Semanas Musicales de Frutillar (Chile), International Festival of Contemporary Music (Chile), 1er. International Guitar Seminar of Santiago (Chile). Official concert seasons of USACH orchestra (Chile), Guitar Festival of Lausanne (Suiza), Salzburg International Chamber Music (Austria), Passauer Guitar Festival (Germany), between others. He was a member of Barroco Andino und Ensamble de guitarras de Chile. Together with different groups and as a soloist he has performed in the most important concert halls of Chile and other countries such as Colombia, Ecuador, Argentina, Brazil, USA, Holland, Germany, Spain, Italy, Austria and Switzerland.
He has performed several times as a soloist and as a part of the guitar quartet together with the Orchestra of Santiago´s University (USACH). Antofagasta symphony orchestra and Camerata de la Universidad de los Andes by the guidance of Santiago Meza, Aliosha Solovera, Christian Baeza y Eduardo Brown.
His recordings include one compact disc with the Ensamble de Guitarras de Chile (2010), live recording for the Austrian radio ORF with the violinist Florian Willeitner (2014), disc of the Duo CellAr, titled “La vida breve”, with the german cellist Julia Willeitner (2015) and the first solo CD “Ritmos Sudamericanos para Guitarra vol. 1”, with folk music from Southamerica (2018).
Between his recognitions we can count the scholarship “Amigos del Teatro Municipal”, “Beca Chile” (Government scholarship for master study in foreign countries), first prize in the 7th edition of the national guitar competition Liliana Pérez Corey, third place in the VI International guitar competition Compensar 2008 (Bogotá – Colombia) and in the international guitar competition Llerena 2010, Spain.
He currently has an important activity as a concert performer in Chile and Europe.
Céili Connors
Event Coordinator
Céili Connors
Event Coordinator
Is a Boston based performer, teacher, and artistic administrator. She received her Masters degree in classical guitar performance at the New England Conservatory of Music under the primary instruction of Eliot Fisk and Jerome Mouffe and completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Rhode Island. As a Rhode Island native, she holds a faculty position at the Community College of Rhode Island while maintaining a private studio in Boston, as well as the New England Conservatory Preparatory School, EKS Music School, and the Kithara Project.
Xinyi Yang
International Liason
Xinyi Yang
International Liason
Xinyi Yang (杨莘逸) started learning classical guitar in 2017 with Zhenqi Min at the Music Middle School Affiliated to Shanghai Conservatory of Music. In 2022 she got into NEC and studied with Eliot Fisk and Zaira Meneses.
She received awards in Boston GFest Online 2020, International Music Competition Salzburg, Swiss International Music Competition, Danubia Talents International Online Music Competition, etc.
She has performed in Shanghai Spring Festival International Music Festival, Classical Guitar Concerts by Shanghai Conservatory of Music, etc.
Sharon Isbin
Guest Artist
Sharon Isbin
Guest Artist
Acclaimed for her extraordinary lyricism, technique and versatility, multiple GRAMMY Award winner Sharon Isbin was named the 2020 Musical America Worldwide Instrumentalist of the Year, the first guitarist ever to receive the coveted honor in its 59-year award history. Hailed as “the pre-eminent guitarist of our time”, she is the winner of Guitar Player magazine’s Best Classical Guitarist award, Germany’s Echo Klassik, Concert Artists Guild’s Virtuoso Award, the Toronto and Madrid Queen Sofia competitions, and the first guitarist to win the Munich ARD Competition. Isbin has appeared as soloist with over 200 orchestras and has given sold-out performances in many of the world’s finest halls across 40 countries, including New York’s Carnegie and Geffen Halls, Boston’s Symphony Hall, Washington D.C.’s Kennedy Center, Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center, London’s Barbican and Wigmore Halls, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, Paris’ Châtelet, Vienna’s Musikverein, Munich’s Herkulessaal, Argentina’s Teatro Colón, and Madrid’s Teatro Real. She has served as Artistic Director and soloist of festivals she created for Carnegie Hall and the Ordway Music Theatre (St. Paul), New York’s 92NY, and the national radio series Guitarjam. More : https://www.sharonisbin.com/biography.html
Bruce Holzman
Guest Faculty
Bruce Holzman
Guest Faculty
Professor of Guitar at the Florida State University, has been Director of the Guitar Program since 1972. Holzman's students have won many prestigious prizes in competitions worldwide, a partial list includes winners in: Guitar Foundation of America Solo/Duo Competition, Music Teachers National Association Collegiate Artists Competition (12), Alirio Diaz Competition of Caracas, Venezuela, Toronto International Festival Competition, Concours Internationale de Guitare of Paris, France, Incontri Chitarristici de Gargnano, Italy, Columbus State Guitar Symposium, Lachine International Guitar Competition, Montreal, Canada, Boston Guitarfest Competition, and Rantucci International Competition. Many of his students hold teaching positions at prominent Universities, Colleges and High Schools. These include, but not limited to: Stetson University, Kennesaw College, University of New Mexico, University of Memphis, Middle Tennessee State University, University of Texas, Austin, University of Texas, San Antonio, East Carolina University, Columbus State University, Montgomery Alabama Magnet Schools.
Min Zhenqi
Classical Guitarist
Min Zhenqi
Classical Guitarist
Min Zhenqi is guitar faculty of Shanghai Conservatory of Music, director of Shanghai Guitar Professional Committee affiliated to Shanghai Musician Association, executive director of Shanghai Guitar Festival, and contributing editor of Shanghai Music Publishing House.
Mr. Min graduated from Shanghai Conservatory of Music, and studied with guitar virtuoso Eliot Fisk at New England Conservatory where he graduated with Academic Honor and Beneficent Society Scholarship.
In contemporary music, Zhenqi premiered guitar concerto Symphonic Variations • Silk
2 Road, by Xu Mengdong, and performed Vacuité/Consistence by Xu Shuya, Poeme Lyrique II by Chen Qigang, and some other modern pieces.
Regularly, Mr. Min plays with Shanghai Conservatory Sinfonietta, Shanghai Opera House Orchestra, and Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra, and collaborated with Antonio Pirolli, Lawrence Foster, Tim Murray, Shin-ik Hahm, Alessandro Crudele, Zhang Guoyong, Tang Muhai, Lin Yousheng, Ye Cong, Zhang Chengjie, and some other conductors. He featured in many orchestral works such as Winterreise, Das Lied von der Erde, Mysteries of the Macabre, Blue Planet, The Last Mission of Marco Polo, Jazz Suite No.2, Falstaff, and G’schichten aus dem Wienerwald.
Zhenqi is author of The Popular Guitar Music, Melodic Guitar Pieces 111, Classical Guitar Graded Examination Anthology, Acoustic Guitar Graded Examination Anthology, and is translator of Complete Giuliani Studies.
Scott Borg
Classical Guitarist
Scott Borg
Classical Guitarist
With a string of international scholarships and awards under his belt, Augustine Artist Scott Borg has been praised as a daring and innovative artist with “enormous facility on the guitar, a fluent technique, who plays with total confidence and professional expertise, panache and artful spontaneity.” As a winner of Artists International, New York Concert Review described his Carnegie Hall debut as “gracefully presented, and expertly played…each note was purposeful and focused, as was each rest.” He received his D.M.A from New England Conservatory, an Artist Diploma from Yale University, M.M from the Juilliard School, and a BCA from the University of Wollongong. He has collaborated with musicians from the Metropolitan Opera, Brooklyn Rider, FLUX, members of the New York City Ballet and the Silk Road Ensemble, and has performed at venues as varied as the Kennedy Center to the Westminster Kennel Club ‘Best in Show’. He is a member of the breakthrough trio, The Great Necks, whose debut album reached the top 10 on the Billboard Traditional Classical Charts. He plays an 8 string guitar by Jeff Sigurdson and uses Augustine Regals.
Maurice Liu
International Liaison / Event Coordinator
Maurice Liu
International Liaison / Event Coordinator
Maurice (Songyuan) Liu is a classical guitarist and artist who has performed on many stages and venues around the world. Liu premiered Joaquín Rodrigo’s Fantasía para un gentilhombre in China with Xiamen Philharmonic Orchestra in 2016. Liu graduated from New England Conservatory of music with honors and completed his Master’s Degree and Graduate Diploma in guitar performance with Eliot Fisk in 2020. He has been working closely with Boston GuitarFest since 2019, and with Latin American Music Festival since 2021.