The Lone Guitarist

In this final episode of Season 3 of the The Lone Guitarist Podcast Ben Tint Interviews Jeffery McFadden, a Canadian Guitarist. Watch to learn more!

This interview was one of my favorites to record. Mike and I met in the early 2000's and have had numerous run in's in different capacities. Mike is a huge part of the Connecticut music scene, as a performer and teacher. Mike and I talk about what it takes to be a performer, teacher and some random stuff like birds. You definitely need to check out his recordings! Little Ugly's Bandcamp https://littleugly.bandcamp.com/ Among the Acres https://www.amongtheacres.com/

I met Jim several years ago at a guitar festival in Boston. Jim plays and teaches all over the tri-state area. Because of the quarantine he's currently doing all of his college level teaching online. Jim and I talk about his education, studying with Jerome Mouffe (and of course Elliot Fisk), and his focus on French and Spanish impressionism. Jim SCHOOLS me on repertoire. That's good though, the more you learn the better you are.

Guitarist Benjamin Tint visits the 7th annual guitar festival at the University of Rhode Island.

Benjamin Tint interviews musician Daniel Hartington. Follow Dan on Instagram @danhartingtonguitar

Guitarist Benjamin Tint interviews John César. For The Classical Guitarist is an online media page that creates and produces modernized content centered around more about the classical guitar

Benjamin Tint interviews Ben Bishop.

Praised for his “visceral and imaginative performances” by the Washington Post, prize winning and Billboard top-charting classical guitarist and recording artist Adam Levin has performed on four continents across the globe.  Levin has performed extensively across the United States at renowned venues such as Chicago’s Pick Staiger, Nichols, and Mayne Stage concert halls as well as at the prestigious Art Institute of Chicago; Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts, and Jordan Hall; Spivey Hall in Atlanta; repeat appearances at Le Poisson Rouge in New York City; and the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. In Europe, Levin has performed in some of the finest venues across Spain, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Israel, China, Brazil, and Columbia.  Adam Levin’s live performances have been featured nationally numerous times on NPR’s Performance Today, the nationally syndicated Classical Guitar Alive, and studio performances on top radio stations including WFMT Chicago, WCRB Boston, and RIPR Rhode Island.

Prior to and during pandemic in the 2019-21 season, Levin toured across the US including appearances at Guitar Foundation of America, Austin Classical Guitar, Philadelphia Classical Guitar Society, Old First Church in San Francisco, Boston Classical Guitar Society, Berklee College of Music, The National Gallery in Washington D.C, and Miami New Music Festival, and Austin Chamber Music.  During the 2021-22 concert season Adam will tour his Israeli, Italian and Argentinean program with mandolinist Jacob Reuven (as Duo Mantar), as well as premiere works by Clarice Assad and João Luiz with violinist William Knuth (as Duo Sonidos), perform as soloist with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, and make solo appearances in Boston, Portland, Los Angeles, and, for the first time, in Hawaii. His guitar trio, The Great Necks, will perform an all-Spanish program in Virginia and Naples, FL and later in Albuquerque, NM.

The recipient of numerous top prizes, Adam Levin has been recognized by the Society of American Musicians, the Lake Forest Concerto Competition, Minnesota’s Schubert Competition, Boston GuitarFest, Concurso Internacional de les Corts para Jóvenes Intérpretes in Barcelona, Concurso Internazionale Di Gargnano, and Certamen Internacional Luys Milan de Guitarra in Valencia. For his promotion, interpretation and performance of Spanish music, he was nominated for the 2011 Trujamán Prize, in which only three guitarists worldwide are selected annually. In 2020, the Community of Valencia, Spain nominated Levin as the Ambassador of Music, to represent the culture and music of that region.

A native of Chicago’s North Shore, Adam holds bachelor’s degrees from Northwestern University in Music Performance, Psychology, and Pre-Med. Levin completed his master’s degree in guitar performance at New England Conservatory in Boston. His esteemed teachers have included Eliot Fisk, Oscar Ghiglia, Gabriel Estarellas, Anne Waller, Mark Maxwell, and Paul Henry. Adam is a director of Young Guitarists’ Workshop (www.ygwboston.org) at Boston Guitarfest.  Levin is a professor of guitar at the University of Rhode Island and also teaches at the University of Massachusetts, Boston.  Levin also serves as artistic director of the annual University of Rhode Island Guitar Festival (www.uriguitarfestival.org) and the newly created Rhode Island Guitar Guild.

“Soulful and virtually flawless,” hails the Portland Oregonian and the Boston Globe

writes, “In warm, round tones, the notes of Bach cascaded from the guitar, every note correct and played without hesitation.” Classical guitarist, pedagogue and educator Dr. Isaac Bustos, enjoys an extensive performing career that has taken him to Canada, Central America, Europe, China, and all over the US. Bustos has made several Radio and Television appearances and is in demand as clinician and master class teacher invited to perform in some of the most prestigious festivals around the globe including the Guitar Foundation of America Annual Convention, Panama Guitar Festival, Festival Internacional de Guitarra Monterrey and Festival del Noreste in Mexico. Isaac has appeared as soloist with the Orchestra of New Spain, The Baytown Symphony Orchestra, The Nicaraguan National Symphony Orchestra and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Maestro JoAnn Falletta.

Dr. Bustos has acquired an impressive number of top prizes in over 12 major international competitions, 7 of which are first prizes. Additionally, Isaac has premiered new guitar works by composers Nico Muhly, Blas Atehortúa, Samuel Zyman, Frank Wallace, Mark Cruz and Joe Williams II. In the Spring of 2019, he premiered a new concerto for guitar and orchestra, commissioned and dedicated to him, by American composer Peter Lieuwen under the baton of maestro Franz Anton Krager and the University of Houston Symphony Orchestra. In 2016, Isaac also released the world-premiere of Peter Lieuwen’s Sonata for Guitar on MSR Classics, and a collection of Latin American works titled Canciones a mi Madre for Vgo Recordings.

Chamber music collaborations have included performances with the Grammy award-winning ensembles Los Angeles Guitar Quartet and Conspirare Choir, the Turtle Creek Chorale and legendary Mexican cellist Carlos Prieto. Bustos is also a founding member of the award-winning Texas Guitar Quartet and has released two critically acclaimed discs with the group. Highlights of the 2019-20 season include performances with the East Texas Symphony, Corpus Christi Symphony, and Rapide Symphony Orchestra.

Isaac holds a Bachelor of Music degree in guitar performance from the University of New Hampshire, where he was the only guitarist to ever hold a full scholarship, a Master of Music degree and Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Texas at Austin, where he worked under the guidance of renowned American guitarist Adam Holzman.

As an educator, his commitment to teaching is reflected in the success of his students whose prize-winning performances have included victories in the Eastfield Guitar Festival and competition, Brownsville Guitar Ensemble Competition, “Classical Minds” Guitar Competition, Houston Young Artist, East Carolina University Competition, Rosario Competition, Appalachian State Competition, Boston Guitar Fest International Competition and Guitar Foundation of America International Youth Competition. Dr. Bustos has been on faculty at Texas A&M University and was artistic director of the prestigious Texas A&M Guitar Symposium and competition. Isaac now currently serves on the faculty at the University of Texas – San Antonio Department of Music where he is head of guitar studies.

*Dr. Bustos is an Augustine Strings Sponsored Artist and plays on a 2013 Martin Blackwell Double-top spruce guitar*

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.”

In addition to her performing career, Ms. Vardanyan is an avid teacher. She maintains a private studio in New York City and frequently teaches master classes and guitar technique workshops during her concert travels.  Ms. Vardanyan is an author of four books from Mel Bay Publication and has an extensive list of instructional guitar videos on both her own and the Strings by Mail channels on YouTube. 

Ms. Vardanyan began studying the guitar in her native Armenia at the age of five under the careful guidance of her father, Vardan Vardanyan. At the age of eight, she gave her first public performance and also appeared on Armenian National Television. She was the first prize winner in the Armenian National Music Contest “Amadeus” and was accepted into the prestigious group, “New Names,” for talented young musicians. She performed in numerous concert venues in Armenia, including Komitas Chamber Music Hall and the Small Philharmonic Hall. She went on to study with Antigoni Goni at the Pre-College Division of the Juilliard School. In 2001, Ms. Vardanyan studied with John Wunsch at the Interlochen Arts Academy. She was awarded the Young Artist’s Certificate from Interlochen Center for the Arts and the Harold Randolph Prize in performance from the Peabody Conservatory.

Ms. Vardanyan holds a Master of Music Degree from The Juilliard School where she studied with Sharon Isbin and a Bachelor of Music degree from the Peabody Conservatory of Music where she studied with Manuel Barrueco. She is also an alumna of the Aspen Music Festival and School.

Gohar Vardanyan is sponsored by Strings by Mail and plays on Royal Classics Recital strings. 

Guitar: 2012 Jean Rompré

French guitar phenomenon Dr. Thomas Viloteau is widely considered one of the most gifted classical guitarists today. His first concert was in his home country of France only a year after he began playing, in front of an audience of 200 people. Since that concert, Thomas has played in some of the best venues throughout the United States of America, Canada, Mexico, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Norway, Sweden, Great Britain, Taiwan and Puerto Rico.

Born into a family of fine arts enthusiasts, Dr. Viloteau took his first lesson at the age of twelve. Eight years later he won first prize at the Guitar Foundation of America Competition and subsequently spent a year concertizing in the United States. Other first prizes include the Francisco Tárrega competition in Spain, Mottola competition in Italy, Sernancelhe competition in Portugal, Ville d’Antony competition in France, and Segovia competition in Spain. Dr. Viloteau is the only guitarist to ever win the Arthur Foote Award from the Harvard Musical Association.

His book on guitar technique, ‘In the Black Box, Technique(s) of the Classical Guitar,’ has sold more than a thousand copies worldwide. He has been the Artist-in-Residence at the radio show Performance Today, broadcasting his playing performances to more than a million people across the USA. Dr. Viloteau has released recordings with Naxos, MelBay and La Ma de Guido. His two latest albums, ‘Dances Through the Centuries’ and ‘A Song and Dance’ released on Tigado, contain world premiere recordings of the Suite Brasileira 3, which was commissioned and dedicated to Dr. Thomas Viloteau, and of the Suite Brasileira 4, both by Sergio Assad.

Dr. Viloteau has lived in Barcelona, Paris, San Francisco, London, Arizona, Montréal and Rochester, NY. In 2019, he joined the guitar faculty at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD.

Praised for, “Virtuosity and deep musical interpretation”, Samuel Hines is an award-winning guitarist from Southern California. World-renowned Cuban guitarist, René Izquierdo has described his pupil as, “A profound musician, his artistry will touch many!” An Augustine Strings Artist, Hines is also a prize-winner in over 35 competition, with recent first prizes including the 2020 Texas International Guitar Competition, the 2020 Schubert Club Competition the 2019 Houston Guitar Festival, the 2019 Gohar and Ovanes Andriassian Competition at Cal State LA, the 2019 New Orleans International Guitar Festival, and the 2019 Appalachian Guitarfest, 2017 Florida Guitar Festival, and 2017 East Carolina University Solo Guitar Competition, among others. Hines was selected as one of 15 competitors from around the world at the 2012, 2015 and 2019 of the Parkening International Guitar Competition. He has also recently been awarded the 2020 Mid-Career Artist Grant from the East Central Regional Arts Council, through the McKnight Foundation.  Hines is a Doctoral candidate at the University of Minnesota as well as teaching assistant to Maja Radovanlija. Hines plays a 2014 Antonio Marin Montero on Augustine Regal Blue Strings."

This was a fun interview to do. David has a lot of information, wisdom and a good sense of humor. Wearing many different hats, he brings serious knowledge to the podcast.   Playing with Ease, can be found on Amazon or at many guitar retailers or on the Oxford University Press website,   https://global.oup.com/academic/produ...   Registration for the Memphis guitar festival can be found here. https://secure.touchnet.com/C20227_us... From David Leisner's official bio:  DAVID LEISNER is an extraordinarily versatile musician with a multi-faceted career as an electrifying performing artist, a distinguished composer, and a master teacher. “Among the finest guitarists of all time”, according to American Record Guide, Leisner is a featured recording artist for the Azica label, with 9 highly acclaimed recordings, including the most recent, Arpeggione with cellist Zuill Bailey and Facts of Life, with the music of Del Tredici, Golijov and Bach. Other recordings are on the Naxos, Telarc and Koch labels, with a concert DVD published by Mel Bay. David Leisner's recent seasons have taken him throughout the US, Canada and Mexico, Asia, Australasia and Europe. Celebrated for expanding the guitar repertoire, David Leisner has premiered works by many important composers, including David Del Tredici, Virgil Thomson, Ned Rorem, Philip Glass, Richard Rodney Bennett, Peter Sculthorpe and Osvaldo Golijov. He was also a pioneer in the rediscovery of 19th-century guitar composers, Johann Kaspar Mertz and Wenzeslaus Matiegka. A frequent visitor to important chamber music festivals, he is also the Artistic Director of Guitar Plus, an innovative series in New York devoted to chamber music with the guitar.  His own compositions, noted for their emotional and dramatic power, are performed, recorded and published worldwide. Fanfare magazine described his music as “rich in invention and melody, emotionally direct, and beautiful”. An extensive discography includes the much-praised Cedille CD, Acrobats, performed by the Cavatina Duo, while his compositions are published mostly by Theodore Presser Co. A distinguished teacher as well, Leisner is currently Chair of the Guitar Department at the Manhattan School of Music. Oxford University Press has published his book, “Playing with Ease: a healthy approach to guitar technique”.  www.davidleisner.com

This was a fun one. I spent my masters program sitting in a different kind of chair opposite to Dick. This was a great interview. We talked about all sorts of topics but ultimately I think you'll take away the massive amount of knowledge he has. As a musician he has toured the world, studied with Segovia, Ghiglia and others. as a teacher he founded the oldest guitar program in the country and as a man he has lived a full life of music and art. Get comfortable, grab a notebook and absorb as much of this as you can!