Being a professional guitarist I’ve had a lot of teachers over the years. These teachers ranged from my very first music store teacher who showed me the five positions of the blues scale, to renowned guitar educator and performer Roddy Ellias, and everything in between. I’ve been lucky in that each of my teachers was able to push me to the next level of my playing, helping me build the career as a guitarist that I have today.
Yale University’s Classical virtuoso Ben Verdery teams up with UCSC’s Grammy-winning Bill Coulter for exclusive shows in Chicago and Milwaukee July 14-17. They will be working to promote the duo’s second album, Happy Here, an eclectic mix of classical repertoire, Irish folk music and the occasional rock tune.
Brad Richter is a rare bird. He is a classical guitarist, but you will never hear him playing a Bach piece or any Tarrega. Instead he performs solely his own compositions, utilizing techniques few other guitarists use, mostly because he made them up.
Brazil seems to grow great guitarists as easily as it grows the palm trees that line the country’s boulevards and streets. Some of the greatest players to ever live have come from this South American guitar breeding ground, such as Baden Powell, Raphael Rabello and Yamandú Costa just to name three. With such a rich guitar history, it is no wonder that Brazil continues to develop and produce some of the best young guitarists on the planet. With a strong recording catalog already in his library, a series of high-profile concerts and the ability to compose, interpret and improvise at a world-class level, Ouro Preto based guitarist Tabajara Belo is a player that deserves to be counted as one of the country’s finest guitarists.
It takes a special kind of person to make a living in today’s competitive and ever-changing music scene. That person needs to be entrepreneurial, hard-working, multi-talented, internet savvy and above all else a world-class performer. Chicago guitarist Brad Conroy is a musician who possesses all of these qualities and more, which have made him an in demand performer, in multiple genres, and guitar pedagogue throughout the Windy City area and Midwest. His playing is world-class, encompasses a multitude of genres, and his ability to mix classic repertoire with original compositions is exemplary.
Armenian born guitarist Gohar Vardanyan is making waves in the classical music world as she steps out from her successful tenure as a student at some of the world’s most prestigious musical institutions and embarks on what is sure to be a long and successful career. After graduating from the Interlochen Academy of the Arts, Vardanyan went on to study at both the Peabody Conservatory and the Julliard School, where she received her Bachelors and Masters of Music Performance respectively. With a pedigree of this quality it’s no wonder that her playing is drawing attention everywhere she performs.
Very few musicians will be able to accomplish and achieve as much success and acclaim as guitarist Fareed Haque. His career is still in full force with many endeavors yet to come, but so far he’s worked with an incredible number of diverse artists that range from Sting, Paquito D’Rivera, Joe Zawinul, Vieaux Faraka Toure, Dave Holland, Larry Coryell, Kurt Elling, Zakir Hussein, and the list just keeps going and growing.
While classical, jazz and now even rock music have all been “institutionalized” over the past century, working their way into university and college curriculum across the globe, there is as least one form of highly-improvised guitar playing that has, for the most part, shied away from these institutions, Flamenco. Possessing a raw energy and folk-like quality that has inspired some of the best guitarists in the world to immerse themselves in the genre, including Paco de Lucia and Adam del Monte, Flamenco has long been an art form that is handed down aurally from generation to generation, and at least up until now has remained that way, which most Flamenco players seem to prefer.
There are many great guitarists out there that can tear up the toughest classical piece, improvise through the trickiest jazz changes or lay down a Brazilian groove that keeps people dancing all night long, but there are few who can do all of these at a world-class level. Brazilian guitarist Dr. Guilherme Vincens is just such a guitarist, a player who in a single set can weave through Bossa Nova, Spanish classical works and jazz standards, before topping it off with a little Zeppelin for good measure.
Guitar International recently sat down with Smaro Gregoriadou to talk about her latest album, the instruments she’s playing on the record and get her thoughts on the modern, classical guitar scene.
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30 Days to Building Better Guitar Technique: Volume 1 
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