11.18.22

Bokyung Byun

Bokyung Byun
Winner of the 2021 Guitar Foundation of America's Solo Artist Competition 

Bokyung Byun’s Concert Program

Date: Friday, November 18, 2022

Time: 7:30pm

Location: Regent Street Black Box Theater at the Eccles

144 South Regent Street, Salt Lake City, UT 84111

Masterclass: Info here

Praised by Classical Guitar Magazine as “confident and quite extraordinary,” Korean guitarist, Bokyung Byun​ enjoys a reputation as one of the most sought-after guitarists of her generation. Byun holds the distinction of being the first female winner of the prestigious JoAnn Falletta International Guitar Concerto Competition, where Falletta herself described  Byun’s performance as "stunning, showcasing her gorgeous tone, immaculate technique, and sophisticated musicianship.” This win is among many wherein Byun excelled in the competitive circuit, including winning the grand prize at the Guitar Foundation of America International Concert Artist Competition, known as the most prestigious guitar competition in the world.

A bevy of orchestras, festivals, workshops, and guitar societies look to Byun for solo performances and masterclasses. In recent seasons, Byun has performed as a soloist with orchestras, including the Buffalo Philharmonic, the Utah Symphony, West Los Angeles Symphony, New Juilliard Ensemble, the Aspen Music Festival Orchestra, among others. Her solo recital highlights include performances at the Kumho Young Artist Series, Philadelphia Guitar Festival, Aspen-Salida Concert Series, Toronto Guitar Weekend, Guitar Montréal, Ellnora | The Guitar Festival, and San Diego Guitar Festival. She was acclaimed for performing “eloquently through a diverse and challenging program,” by Michelle Fratus, president of the board of the Knoxville Guitar Society, and having “confidence, passion, excellent projection and great dynamic contrast” by Heather Morand Clark, president of the Guitar Society of Toronto.

Committed to expanding the role of a 21st-century musician, Byun’s concert program often features contemporary music alongside traditional repertoire. As Byun herself says, “it’s vital and exciting to audiences for concerts to join the new with the old. For guitar music to continue to grow, I believe that new works must actively be cultivated in programming, and it is my hope that audiences leave my performances with new experiences.” This skill at navigating both classic repertoire and fresh work has led her to co-found Sounding Board: The New Music Initiative for Guitarists and Composers. The project focuses on promoting collaborative relationships between composers and performers to create new works for guitar, and its inaugural festival in Besançon, France in 2019 has been praised as “extraordinary, in the strict sense of the word,” by La Presse de Gray in France. 

Byun’s debut recording in 2020 has been praised by Soundboard Magazine as “a very beautiful disc. From the first notes of the “Gallarda” from Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s Escarraman, we are treated to extraordinary musicianship, technical assurance, and beauty of sound.” American Record Guide says “Byun’s interpretation enlivens them with creative phrasings, articulations, spacing, and dynamics, which take the listener beyond most performances I have heard.”

Born in Seoul, Korea, Byun began playing guitar at the age of six. At eleven, she took the stage for her first solo recital, leading to an early start in her teen years performing numerous concert tours around Korea, to enthusiastic response, including millions of views on YouTube. By her teen years, she had gained national attention for first-prize finishes in three renowned competitions: the Korea Guitar Association, the Music Association of Korea, and the Guitar Foundation of America International Youth Competition.

Byun soon moved to the United States, where she briefly studied in Los Angeles before moving to New York City, where she entered The Juilliard School at the age of sixteen. She holds Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from The Juilliard School and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Southern California. She is grateful to the masterful instruction of her pedagogues, who include Scott Tennant, William Kanengiser, Chen Zhi, Tae-soo Kim, and Sharon Isbin. 

In 2020, Byun co-founded Guitarlab which has provided an innovative online learning platform offering cutting-edge classes designed for young professionals around the world. Byun is currently on the guitar faculty of California State University Fullerton. She is sponsored by Augustine Strings and plays a guitar by Dieter Mueller (2019). Please visit www.bokyungbyun.com for more information.​ 

11.18.22

Bokyung Byun

Bokyung Byun
Winner of the 2021 Guitar Foundation of America's Solo Artist Competition 

Date: Friday, November 18, 2022

Time: 7:30pm

Location: Regent Street Black Box Theater at the Eccles

144 South Regent Street, Salt Lake City, UT 84111

Masterclass: Info here

03.31.23

Javier de los Santos

Javier de los Santos

Date: Friday, March 31, 2023

Time: 7:30pm

Location: Arlette Day Cultural Arts Center

4914 S. State Street, Murray, UT 84107

Masterclass: Info here

03.31.23

Javier de los Santos

Javier de los Santos

Date: Friday, March 31, 2023

Time: 7:30pm

Location: Arlette Day Cultural Arts Center

4914 S. State Street, Murray, UT 84107

Masterclass: Info here

Classical guitarist Javier de los Santos began his formal music studies in 1998 in guitar performance under Francisco Javier Muro Guevara at the Unidad Académica de Música de la Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas (UAMUAZ) in the State of Zacatecas, México. In 2006, under the guidance of Mr. Eric vanDiver Nohe, Javier earned his Bachelor of Arts in Guitar Performance at Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction, Colorado. Javier holds a Master of Music in Guitar Performance from the University of Denver's Lamont School of Music and studied with the renowned Maestro Ricardo Iznaola.

De los Santos has performed extensively in México, U.S., Spain and Brazil. His recent performances include at the Sherbino Theater in Ridway, Colorado; the Aspen Music Festival in Aspen, Colorado; a solo concert at the Blue Sage Center for the Arts in Paonia, Colorado; and the Apollo Chamber Players from Houston, Texas at the GJSO Chamber Concert Series. He has performed with Pepe Romero and the Romeros Guitar Quartet at the Celedonio Romero Guitar Institute in Oklahoma City; with the Grand Junction Symphony Orchestra performing Antonio Vivaldi’s Guitar Concertos in D major and A major and the 'Fantasia para un gentil hombre' and the 'Concierto de Aranjuez' for guitar and orchestra by Spanish composer Joaquin Rodrigo. He held a recital at Brigham Young University in Utah, and has performed various recitals and performances in Europe and in Mexico.

From the Fall 2015 till 2018, de los Santos was a guitar instructor for the Lead Guitar-Aspen Music Festival and School Guitar Programs in the Roaring Fork Valley. He is also the president and artistic director of the Western Colorado Guitar Society based in Grand Junction, Colorado. De los Santos lives in Grand Junction and enjoys teaching guitar privately and teaches Music Theory, Mariachi and Guitar at Colorado Mesa University.

He is also a guitar instructor at Independence Academy Charter School, music director at St. Joseph Catholic Church and founder and artistic director of Mariachi San Jose based in Grand Junction, Colorado. De los Santos was the first-place winner of the 2009 Denver Classical Guitar Society Solo Debut Competition and semifinalist at the 2010 Texas Annual Guitar Competition and Festival.

05.05.23

Alfredo Sánchez

Alfredo Sánchez
Coming….

Date: Friday, May 5, 2023

Time: 7:30pm

Location: Regent Street Black Box Theater at the Eccles

144 South Regent Street, Salt Lake City, UT 84111

Masterclass: Info here

05.05.23

Jason Vieaux

Jason Vieaux
Grammy-winner Jason Vieaux, “among the elite of today’s classical guitarists” (Gramophone), is described by NPR as “perhaps the most precise and soulful classical guitarist of his generation”.

Opening Youth Artist: Matthew Baker

Age 16, began playing the classical guitar when he was four years old.……Read More →

Date: Friday, May 5, 2023

Time: 7:30pm

Location: Regent Street Black Box Theater at the Eccles

144 South Regent Street, Salt Lake City, UT 84111

Masterclass: Info here

Grammy-winner Jason Vieaux, “among the elite of today’s classical guitarists” (Gramophone), is described by NPR as “perhaps the most precise and soulful classical guitarist of his generation”.

Jason’s multiple appearances for San Francisco Performances, Caramoor Festival, Ravinia Festival, PCMS, 92nd Street Y, Domaine-Forget, and many others, have helped to cement his reputation as one of the world’s leading guitarists. Other overseas performance venues include Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, Seoul Arts Center, Shanghai Concert Hall, Sala Sao Paolo, and Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires. Jason Vieaux has performed as soloist with over 100 orchestras, including Cleveland, Toronto, Houston, Nashville, and Orchestra of St. Luke’s, working with renowned conductors such as Giancarlo Guererro, Jahja Ling, Gerard Schwarz, and Michael Stern. 

Vieaux has a strong presence on radio and streaming services. In 2022, his long-awaited “Bach Volume 2: Works for Violin” was released in April on Azica Records to critical acclaim. “Shining Night”, a CD from Avie Records featuring his duo with violinist Anne Akiko Meyers, was released in May.  His Sony Classical recording of Michael Fine’s “Concierto del Luna” for flute and guitar (with flutist Alexa Still) is yet another Spring release. Vieaux recently recorded Pat Metheny’s “Four Paths of Light”, a solo work dedicated to him by Pat for Metheny’s 2021 album “Road To The Sun”. 

Jason’s passion for new music has also fostered premieres from Jeff Beal, Avner Dorman, Vivian Fung, Pierre Jalbert, Jonathan Leshnoff, David Ludwig, Mark Mancina, Dan Visconti, and many more. Of his Grammy-winning 2014 solo album Play, The Huffington Post declared that Play is “part of the revitalized interest in the classical guitar.” 

Vieaux’s multiple appearances over the years with Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Music@Menlo, Eastern Music Festival, PCMS, etc., have forged his reputation as an in-demand chamber musician. Regular collaborators include the Escher String Quartet, Grammy-winning mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke, violinist Anne Akiko Meyers, Grammy-winning harpist Yolanda Kondonassis, and accordion/bandoneon virtuoso Julien Labro. 

As a teacher, Vieaux co-founded the guitar department at the Curtis Institute of Music in 2011 (with David Starobin), and has taught at the Cleveland Institute of Music for 25 years. Jason’s online Guitar School for Artistworks Inc. has hundreds of subscribers from all over the world. He plays a guitar by Gernot Wagner, 2013, made in Frankfurt.

For more information, visit www.jasonvieaux.com.

04.14.23

Raphaël Feuillâtre

Raphaël Feuillâtre
Winner of the 2018 Guitar Foundation of America's Solo Artist Competition 

Date: Friday, April 14, 2023

Time: 7:30pm

Location: Regent Street Black Box Theater at the Eccles

144 South Regent Street, Salt Lake City, UT 84111

Masterclass: Info here

Admired by audiences for his world class virtuosity, Raphaël Feuillâtre brings fresh, inspired interpretations to the classical guitar. Born in 1996, Raphaël Feuillâtre began classical guitar lessons at the age of nine with Hacène Addadi at Cholet Conservatory. In 2012, he entered Michel Grizard’s class at the Conservatory of Nantes and, three years later, he was accepted to Paris National Superior Conservatory of Music and Dance (CNSMDP) into the class of Roland Dyens where he obtained his Bachelor of Performing Arts degree in 2017 with highest honors. Raphaël completed his Master’s in Classical Guitar Performance with Tristan Manoukian in 2019, again with highest honors. Raphaël is also mentored by internationally renowned guitarist and pedagogue Judicaël Perroy, who played a very important role in his artistic development.

As a result of his 2018 win of classical guitar’s most prestigious competition, Guitar Foundation of America (GFA), Raphaël completed the recording of his second opus for the Naxos Label in 2019 (Barrios, Granados, Llobet, Rachmaninoff, Rameau, Ramirez, Scriabin, Villa-Lobos). He was a featured soloist at the 2019 GFA conference in Miami, and has embarked on his North American tour, which will last from September 2019 through April 2020. He will present solo concerts, conduct masterclasses and outreach activities in over 50 cities across the United States and Canada.

Prior to winning the 2018 GFA, Raphaël Feuillâtre participated in various other international guitar competitions, obtaining several major awards. In 2017, he won 1st prize in the International Guitar Competition Jose Tomas – Villa Petrer (Spain), which awarded him the opportunity to record his first album with JSM Guitar Records in 2018 (Bach, Granados, Tansman, Assad, Dyens). In 2015, Raphaël won 1st prize in the Concours & Festival de guitare de Fontenay sous Bois (France). He is also a laureate of the Festival International de Guitarra Ciudad de Coria in Coria (Spain) (2nd prize, 2014); Festival Internacional de Musica da Primavera de Viseu in Viseu (Portugal) (3rd prize, 2016); and the International Guitar Festival of Kutna Hora (Czech Republic) (3rd prize, 2017).

Raphaël Feuillâtre has appeared at several other classical guitar festivals and venues across the world, including the International Guitar Festival, Budapest ( Hungary) ; Festival of Guitar, Ciutat d’Elx (Spain) ; Guitar Art Festival, Subotica (Serbia) ; Guitarras del Mundo Festival (Argentina) where he toured across the country performing concerts; Changsha International Guitar Festival, Changsha (China) ; a seven-concert tour across Brazil (Brazil) as well as festivals and venues in Denmark, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Holland, and Montenegro. In France, he has been invited to perform chamber music at the Folle Journée de Nantes Festival, and the concerto d’Aranjuez on a five concert tour with the Orchestral Ensemble of Pau (France) . He has held residencies at 6 Cordes au Fil de l’Allier Festival and Guitare en France, and, as a soloist, he performed in the Paris International Guitar Festival, Sul Tasto Festival, Festival de Baume-les-Messieurs and Guitars in Picardy Festival.

Raphael is an endorsee of Savarez guitar strings, one of the world’s leading string manufacturers (founded in 1770).

Raphaël divides his time between performing and teaching. He is regularly invited to give masterclasses during his numerous engagements and holds a permanent teaching position at the Music School of Villeneuve-la-Garenne in Paris region.

04.14.23

Raphaël Feuillâtre

Raphaël Feuillâtre

Winner of the 2018 Guitar Foundation of America's Solo Artist Competition 

Date: Friday, April 14, 2023

Time: 7:30pm

Location: Regent Street Black Box Theater at the Eccles

144 South Regent Street, Salt Lake City, UT 84111

Masterclass: Info here

06.20.23

Ben Lougheed

Ben Lougheed

Date: Tuesday, June 20, 2023

Time: 7:30pm

Location: Arlette Day Cultural Arts Center

4914 S. State Street, Murray, UT 84107

Described as creating "music of dramatic power and lyric beauty," Dr. Ben Lougheed knows how to draw in audiences and give them “another dimension in which to enjoy [his] performances." A performer, entrepreneur, and pedagogue in his multifaceted career, Ben's diverse professional experiences include over ten years of performances, community engagement, music entrepreneurship, and teaching. Audiences, colleagues, and critics have repeatedly referred to Ben as "an emerging force in the classical guitar world," with "beautiful" and "extremely precise" playing.

A central thread to all of Ben's work is his focus on education and outreach. His desire to engage audiences and communities through vivid and captivating musical performances is only strengthened by his love of connecting with his audience through informative exchanges. These lively audience-performer interactions serve to strengthen each person’s experience with the music and have been enthusiastically received by concertgoers around the country, including recent performances for the Treasure Coast Guitar Society, Kerrytown Concert House, and the Dale Mabry Guitar Series. 

Ben is also a highly sought-after and accomplished teacher who has built one of the largest Suzuki guitar studios in the Southeastern United States. As the only guitarist in the world with a doctorate and all nine Suzuki book certifications, Ben is in demand as a guest instructor at events across the country. His students have been selected for the All-State and All-National ensembles and won prizes at multiple guitar competitions. 

Ben's creative fingerprints can be seen all around his community via his numerous projects and collaborations. As the founder and director of the Florida Guitar Festival, Ben has raised over $65,000 to bring together hundreds of burgeoning musicians and students for educational activities, concerts, and competitions. Additionally, Ben's work with the festival included a collaboration with GRAMMY-winner Bill Kanengiser on the first recorded performance of Sergio Assad’s piece, “The Walls.” Furthermore, Ben's community engagement includes being a Founder and Director of the Tallahassee Chapter of Classical Revolution, a classical music outreach organization that produced dozens of classical music concerts in non-traditional venues.

Ben’s debut album, Baroque Legacies, showcases music by influential and celebrated Baroque composers parallel with contemporary pieces inspired by these historic paragons of the music world. Described as "emotionally delicious from start to finish" and "technically perfect," this recording provides a glimpse into how lyrical beauty is pervasive through time.

06.20.23

Ben Lougheed

Ben Lougheed

Date: Tuesday, June 20, 2023

Time: 7:30pm

Location: Arlette Day Cultural Arts Center

4914 S. State Street, Murray, UT 84107