David Norton was born in Los Angeles, and his early studies on the classical guitar were with Thomas Runyan.
Composed of guitarist Meng Su and Yameng Wang, the Beijing Guitar Duo has performed throughout Europe, Asia, and North America.
Kithara Duo (Olga Amelkina-Vera and Fernand Vera) was formed in 2002, when they were graduate students at the University of North Texas.
Kossler Duo
The multi-award winning Kossler Duo (John and Adam Kossler).
Brothers Adam and John Kossler have established themselves individually as soloists, chamber musicians and educators. As the Kossler Duo John and Adam have performed for concert series including the Auburn Guitar Society Concert Series (Auburn, AL), The Aguado Guitar Series (Washington, DC), Appalachian Guitarfest (Boone, NC), Mid Maryland Guitar Festival (Rockville, MD) East Carolina Guitar Workshop (Greenville, NC) and a number of other venues around the US.
Adam 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. He has been a featured artist with numerous concert series including the John E. Marlow Guitar Series (Bethesda, MD), Isle Newell Concert Series (Appalachicola, FL), and the Seven Hills Guitar Series (Tallahassee, FL) among many others. In 2015, his Marlow Guitar Series performance was aired in it’s entirety on Classical WETA’s weekly program, “Front Row Washington”.
In addition to his performance career, Adam is also in demand as a teacher and clinician. Recent engagements include The Denver Guitar Summit (Denver, CO), Festival Internacional Suzuki (Guatemala City, Guatemala), University of Alaska Guitar Festival (Anchorage, AK) Rantucci Guitar Festival (Buffalo, NY), and in 2015 Kossler was the featured Artist in Residence for Utah Classical Guitar (Salt Lake City, UT).
In 2014, Adam released his first solo recording, Guitar Recital. The album was received with enthusiasm by critics and audiences and was featured Tom Cole’s show, “The G String” on WPFW 89.3 FM in Washington D.C. In 2015 Kossler released his second solo record. Ekloge, an album of 20thcentury music, includes works by Joaquin Rodrigo, Manuel Maria Ponce and Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, as well as his own new transcriptions of music by Jean Sibelius.
Adam began his musical studies with his father William Kossler. He went on to earn his BM degree at East Carolina University with Dr. Elliot Frank, his MM degree at Appalachian State University as a teaching assistant to Dr. Douglas James, and completed a DMA in Guitar Performance at Florida State University where he served as a teaching assistant to Bruce Holzman.
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. During his education at WFU, he performed in Europe in cities that include Milan, Italy and Postojna, Slovenia. He has also won the New York Artists International Competition for 2016. John has just finished his Masters of Musical Arts degree in guitar performance with Ben Verdery. Along with writing and arranging music, he currently teaches and performs throughout the country.
Beijing Guitar Duo
The Beijing Guitar Duo is composed of Meng Su and Yameng Wang.
Composed of guitarist Meng Su and Yameng Wang, the Beijing Guitar Duo has performed throughout Europe, Asia, and North America. This past season took them to countries such as Germany, Russia, Spain, Portugal, Denmark, Poland, China, Panama, and the United States. The duo has toured extensively with their mentor Manuel Barrueco, appearing in such countries as Germany, Finland, Spain, Russia, as well as the United States.
The Beijing Guitar Duo’s performances and recordings have impressed the public with “an ability and artistry that exceeds their years.” Their debut CD Maracaípe, received a Latin-GRAMMY nomination for the titled piece, which was dedicated to them by renowned guitarist/composer Sergio Assad. Their second CD, Bach to Tan Dun, has been widely noted for the world-premiere recording of Tan Dun’s Eight Memories in Watercolor, specially arranged for the duo by Manuel Barrueco. A recording in trio, China West, with Maestro Barrueco was released in May 2014.
Meng Su and Yameng Wang were born in the coastal city of Qingdao, China. They came to the partnership with exceptional credentials, including a string of competition awards. Ms. Su’s honors include victories at the Vienna Youth Guitar Competition and the Christopher Parkening Young Guitarist Competition, while Ms. Wang was the youngest guitarist to win the Tokyo International Guitar Competition at the age of 12, and was invited by Radio France to perform at the prestigious Paris International Guitar Art Week at age 14. Both young artists had given solo recitals in China and abroad, and had made solo recordings before they formed the duo.
In addition to concertizing, the members of the duo share a love for teaching which brings them to major conservatories in the world for master classes and to judge competitions. Since 2011 they have been Artists-in-residence for the San Francisco Performances. This four-year residency program brings them to the Bay Area every year for community outreach, performances, and master classes in public schools as well as for the San Francisco Conservatory.
The Beijing Guitar Duo is proudly supported by the Maryland State Art Council’s Touring Artists Grant program since 2014.
MENG SU
Born in the coastal city of Qingdao, in the province of Shandong, China in 1988, Meng Su demonstrated her artistic gifts as an exceptionally talented guitarist from an early age.
Embarking on an exciting guitar career as one of the most outstanding guitarists of her generation, Meng Su began her training in classical guitar with renowned Professor Chen Zhi at the age of nine, where she quickly began attracting attention as a remarkable young talent. Before graduating from the High School of the Central Conservatory of Music of China in 2006, Ms. Su had already won many awards, including the 5th Vienna Youth Guitar Competition, the 48th Tokyo International Guitar Competition, the Christopher Parkening Young Guitarist Competition, and the 2nd Iserlohn International Guitar Competition in Germany.
As a performing artist, she has performed solo, duo, and quartet concerts across the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Austria, Germany, Holland, Ireland, Finland, Croatia, Korea, Japan, and China, in which she has impressed audiences with an ability and artistry that exceeds her years.
Ms. Su performs regularly in chamber music setting, both with orchestras as a soloist, this past season she performed the Concierto de Aranjuez by Joaquin Rodrigo and Osvaldo Golijov’s Ayre for a chamber music ensemble.
Meng Su obtained her Performer’s Certificate and the Graduate Performer’s Diploma from Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, USA, and is currently continuing her studies with guitar virtuoso Manuel Barrueco in the chamber music program.
Ms. Su’s discography includes a live CD and DVD release of a 2005 guitar concert in Korea as well as a release of “Four Angels.”
YAMENG WANG
Born in Qingdao, China in 1981, Yameng Wang fell in love with the classical guitar at a young age and began studying with the leading guitar professor in China, Professor Chen Zhi, when she was 10 years old.
She became the youngest winner of the Tokyo International Guitar Competition at the age of 12. She went on to win second prize in the “Michele Pittaluga” International Guitar Competition in Italy at the age of 13, and at the age of 14 she was invited by Radio France to perform at the Paris International Guitar Art Week and won second prize in La Infanta Doña Cristina International Guitar Competition in Spain. Classical Guitar magazine noted that at the age of 14, she already played like a seasoned professional.
After graduating from the Central Conservatory of Music of China in 2006, Ms. Wang enrolled in the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, Maryland. There, she finished her Masters of Music degree in 2008 and is currently in the Graduate Performance Diploma program, studying with Maestro Manuel Barrueco.
Ms. Wang has given acclaimed recitals across the US, France, Italy, Holland, Germany, Ireland, Finland, Croatia,, Britain, Austria, Spain, Belgium, Switzerland, Poland, Australia, Japan, and Malaysia both as a soloist and in chamber music setting.
Her first album, “Caprice” was recorded when she was 16 years old. “A Very Special Album” was released in 1999, and in 2003 she contributed GHA’s album, “The Best of Classical Guitar.” In 2005 she released “Classic Guitar – Aquarelle, Un Sueño en la Floresta.”
To reserve a spot in the Beijing Guitar Duo masterclass, please fill out the form below. This masterclass will be held at the Gifted Music School in Salt Lake City, Utah. Dates and location are tentative and subject to change.
150 S 1000 E, Salt Lake City, UT 84102
Community Concert Series
March 7, 2020
4:00p
Glendale Branch Library
1375 Concord St., Salt Lake City
Quinn Shumway is currently a Junior at West High School. He has been studying classical guitar since age 10 with Peter Choles, John Yerby, and now Cindy Spell. In masterclasses hosted by Utah Classical Guitar he has played for Scott Tennant, Elliot Frank, Tengyue Zhang, Grisha Goryachev, Jack Cimo, Isaac Bustos, and the Beijing Guitar Duo.
Quinn also enjoys playing acoustic and electric, playing in bands inside and outside of school. He explores many of his musical interests through his growing vinyl record collection. He plans to pursue business in college.
Born in Celle, Germany, Dr. Jon Paul Yerby has performed across four continents and served on the faculty of five major Universities. Most recently, Yerby and his wife Alexandra accepted positions at Southern Utah University in Cedar City, Utah, starting fall of 2019. Jon’ teachers and mentors include such luminaries as Eliot Fisk, Oscar Ghiglia, John Gibbons, Tom Johnson, Adam Holzman, and Bruce Holzman. Dr. Yerby holds degrees in Classical Guitar Performance from The University of Texas at Austin (B.M.), New England Conservatory (M.M.), and Florida State University (D.M.A). An acclaimed recitalist and chamber musician, Jon has performed with the Park City Beethoven Festival, ICPNA International Guitar Festival in Peru,The Utah Opera, and tours annually throughout the United States and Europe. He has also served as a guest artist at the University of Wittenberg-Halle in Leipzig, Germany.
Jon also collaborates with dance artist Alexandra Bradshaw Yerby as the duo ‘7&1,’ creating original pieces featuring contemporary dance with live guitar. In February, 2017, Yerby was commissioned to perform the Bach Chaconne as part of a solo dance piece with New York’s famed Limón Dance Company. Yerby is currently working on his first documentary film score for the film Love Evolved, a feature length documentary film portraying the scientific quest to understand inner peace, by Dr. Steven Pierce, MD. Yerby most recently joined the faculty at Southern Utah University in Cedar City. "It s a pleasure to write in support of Jon Yerby, a fine guitarist of taste and refinement who possesses one of the world's most beautiful natural guitar sounds. I wish this young artist of the guitar the great continued success he so richly deserves." - Eliot Fisk
Thank you to Mr. David Norton for hosting this zoom masterclass.
This masterclass will be a live stream event through Zoom and will be hosted by Mr. David Norton. Dates and location are tentative and subject to change.
PERFORMERS:
We have four openings for Performers. Please contact our Zoom host David Norton by using the link above. "First come" basis.
Performers will each have 30 minutes of lesson time with Dr. Yerby.
Please email the title and composer of your selection to davinort@yahoo.com by Thursday May 28.
If you are presenting a less-familiar piece, please submit a PDF of the score so that Dr. Yerby has a copy for review during the class. Note: PDFs of copyrighted pieces are permissible under the "Fair Use for Non-Profit Educational Purposes" clause of the U.S. Copyright Protection Act.
PERFORMER HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS:
You will need to have a stable Internet connection and WebCam.
You must be able to position the WebCam so that Dr. Yerby can see your hands during the class.
Using an external condenser microphone is suggested if possible, but not required.
AUDITORS:
Auditors are requested to register as well, so that we can keep accurate participation notes. Please use the link above to register.
After registering, Performers and Auditors will all receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
If you have any questions, please contact our Zoom host at davinort@yahoo.com
