Artist Profiles






















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PROFILE: Judical Perroy

The 1997 GFA Winner on tour. Every year, the winner of the largest guitar competition in North America is awarded a 50-city concert tour. Want to know how good someone has to be to come out on top? Hear this young champion in his victory tour.




















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PROFILE: Keigo Fujii

The classical guitar is extremely popular in Japan, and one of the best players from Japan is coming to San Jose.  Don't miss this opportunity to connect with the Far East when Keigo Fujii makes his first visit to the Bay Area.






















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PROFILE: Falla Trio

The top classical guitar trio in the world visited San Jose and the South Bay Guitar Society. Their rousing performances of the widest variety of chamber music, jazz and  arrangements of popular music have kept audiences demanding more.






















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PROFILE: David Burgess

"His performance was hauntingly beautiful, tastefully phrased with exquisite nuance and yet with an aristocratic understatement that held his audience spellbound." Greenwich Time

First prize winner in the Andres Segovia Fellowship Competition

Praised by musicians and critics worldwide, David Burgess is recognized as one of today's outstanding guitarists. His international appearances as soloist and chamber musician have taken him to concert halls throughout North and South America, Europe and the Far East. Highlights of recent seasons include a seven city concert tour of Europe, recitals in New York, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Baltimore, Boston, Seattle, Houston and Nashville, along with numerous appearances as an orchestral soloist, including featured performances with the Philharmonia Virtuosi of New York and the American Chamber Orchestra at the Kennedy Center.

First prize winner in the Andres Segovia Fellowship Competition in New York City, he also won top honors in the Ponce International Competition in Mexico City, the Guitar '81 Competition in Toronto and the 31st International Music Competition in Munich.

Mr. Burgess began studying guitar at the Estudio de Arte Guitarristico in Mexico City with the renowned Argentine guitarist, Manuel Lopez Ramos. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in music at the University of Washington, and later earned a Diploma di Merito, while on full scholarship at the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena, Italy, where he studied with Oscar Ghiglia. From 1984 to1987 he periodically received classes from the great Spanish maestro, Andres Segovia.

Contact Information

David Burgess
141 Smith Street Brooklyn NY 11201
Phone: (718) 935-1837 






















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PROFILE: James Kline

Classical Music
Performed on the 11-String Arch Guitar

"..The Bach Chaconne. I don t believe I have ever enjoyed it so much on the guitar; as If Segovia had never recorded it. This was baroque music!" Classical Guitar Magazine

Winner of 3 International Guitar Competitions

James Kline has won numerous international prizes and awards for his performances including the first prize in the Guitarra Ramirez Competition of Santiago de Compostela, Spain, and the Tarrega Prize of Benicasim, Spain. He holds an A.R.C.M. Diploma in guitar performance from the Royal College of Music, London. He has been praised by the press for his sensitive and stylistic performances throughout Eastern and Western Europe as well as the United States. Although his repertoire spans all ages and styles, His first love is early music.

James Kline was first introduced to the arch guitar by the instruments innovator Peter Blanchette. Seduced by its sweetness of sound and wide range of possibilities, he was immediately "converted". James has added some ideas of his own; luthier Gary Southwell has added some more ideas along with excellent craftsmanship. The result is a combination of Renaissance and Baroque lutes, 19th century guitar, and contemporary design--in short, an instrument ideally suited to the performance of a diverse cross-section of early music.

Contact Information

Available for Concerts and Occasions
Tel (415)-389-1307






















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PROFILE: Susan McDonald

"Susan McDonald greeted the full house that turned out for her Weill Hall debut with tile confident air of a performer who knows exactly what she is about, as well as a genuine joy in being on stage. .Ms. McDonald, who hails from Houston, is more that a virtuoso guitarist with a technique that knows no difficulties. She is already a mature artist whose playing abounds with clarity insight, communicative warmth, unfailing musicality, and taste.. The music flowed so naturally from her hands that it seemed to play itself. In sum, a memorable evening that did this versatile guitarist and generous performer proud." New York Concert Review

Exciting Talent on the International Music Scene

Rapidly becoming recognized as one of the most exciting new talents on the international music scene, Susan McDonald has given concerts in a wide variety of venues, from community colleges to Carnegie Hall Her audiences have ranged from the elderly residents of a Viennese nursing home to the President of the United States, and her music has been enthusiastically received in concert halls, outdoor festivals, universities, libraries, museum, and numerous other venues.

A native of Texas, Miss McDonald began playing the guitar at the age of seven. As a teenager she became the student of Pepe Romero, with whom she studied intensively in the United States and in Europe. Public appearances soon followed with concerts in Texas, Florida, California and New York. She has played concerts in South America, Europe, throughout the United States and in Canada, where in 1992 she did a residency at the Banff Centre for the Arts. She has played for radio and television broadcasts in the United States, Germany, Austria and Ecuador.

Her recording of the Carmen Miranda standard "Tico-Tico" was chosen by the German newspaper Welt am sonntag as one of the "Classical Top-Ten of the Week." Susan McDonald has premiered works by many contemporary composers, including Edgar Cortes, Hampton Burt, Rodrigo Rodrigues, Myron McDonald, Paul Clancy and John King. Her second CD, The Cathedral, received three preliminary Grammy nominations.

Recordings

The Dream of Christopher Columbus
MQTv Records, 1993
20th Century works by Piazzolla, Brouwer, King,
Rodrigo and Morel

Beauty
Capstone Records, 1994
guest artist works by Paul English, with Kirk Whalum, John Patitucci, Will Kennedy, and Paul
Eliglish

The Cathedral 
Mayfly Records, 1995
works by Pagainini, Barrios, and
Bach

Tico-Tico
Mayfly Records, 1996
Latin American Favorites

Contact Information

for booking information:
MAYFLY ARTISTS
4751 Aftonshire #3
Houston, Texas 77027
(713) 961-4401






















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PROFILE: Scott Nygaard

"Scott's got just about the singingest guitar sound going these days. You can tell you're listening to Scott by his unpredictable melodic pathways, and the supremacy of melody in his solos, by the half-concealed harmonic sophistication, the big wide tone, by his clarity of execution at any speed and the clarity of the musical ideas." Jody Stecher

"One of the better technical guitarists to surface in a long time." Option

"No Hurry is a veritable smorgasbord of what can be done with six strings and a flat pick. Equal parts tradition and original tunes, this all-instrumental recording combines influences as far reaching as old-time fiddle music, bluegrass, swing and bebop into an intriguing, infectious mix." Acoustic Guitar

"Guitarist Scott Nygaard was a case study in acoustic guitar playing, supporting the singers with thoughtful accompaniment and eliciting appreciative applause for each brief solo." Louisville Courier

"Scott Nygaard paints his sound on everything he plays. He can play in any idiom, but you always know it's him. You can hear his brain working. That's why I love his guitar playing." Tim O'Brien

Premier Bluegrass Guitarist

Scott Nygaard is one of the premier guitarists on the bluegrass/acoustic music scene today. He is in great demand among the cream of the crop of modern bluegrass artists, as a quick glance at his recording credits will attest. His solos, a seamless amalgam of bluegrass, folk and jazz influences, shift easily from breathtaking virtuosity to soulful melodic musings and his accompaniment is always intriguing, supportive and propulsive. He has been the guitarist with Tim O'Brien's band, The O'Boys, since 1992, a plum position that followed three years with Laurie Lewis's band Grant Street. Initially influenced by Doc Watson, Clarence White, Django Reinhardt and Riley Puckett, Nygaard spent many years wandering the sea of American music which includes bluegrass, jazz, Cajun, western swing and rock and roll. This diverse musical education, which primarily took place in the fertile Pacific Northwest, helped form a style which can truly be called Nygaard's own. His long awaited second album 'Dreamer's Waltz', an intriguing mix of original and traditional tunes, was recently released on Rounder Records.

Recordings

Scott Nygaard 'No Hurry' - Rounder Records 1990

Scott Nygaard 'Dreamer's Waltz' - Rounder Records 19%

Jerry Douglas 'Slide Rule' - Sugar Hill 1992, Won IBMA Instrumental Album of the Year and
IBMA Recorded Event of the Year, Nominated for Grammy for Bluegrass Album of the Year and
'Ride the Wild Turkey' for Country Instrumental of the Year

Tim O'Brien and the O'Boys 'Oh Boy O'Boy '- Sugar Hill 1993, 'When I Paint My Masterpiece'
Nominated for IBMA Recorded Event of the Year

Tim and Mollie O'Brien 'Way Out On the Mountain' - Sugar Hill 1994 'Wichita' nominated for
IBMA Song of the Year

Tim O'Brien 'Rock In My Shoe' - Sugar Hill 1995, Spent 5 weeks at #1 on Gavin Report
"Americana"chart

Mollie O'Brien 'Tell it True' - Sugar Hill 19%

Tim O'Brien 'Red on Blonde' - Sugar Hill 19%

Laurie Lewis and Grant Street 'Singing My Troubles Away' - Flying Fish Records
1990-Nominated for IBMA Album of the Year

Sally Van Meter 'All in Good Time' - Sugar Hill 1992, Nominated for IBMA Instrumental Album of
the Year

Linda Waterfall and Scott Nygaard 'Everything Looks Different' - Trout Records 1983

John Reischman 'North of the Border' - Rounder 1993

Kathy Kallick 'Matters of the Heart' - Sugar Hill 1993

Barbara Lamb 'Fiddle Fatale' - Sugar Hill 1993

Tammy Fassaert 'Just Passin' Through' - Stridly Country 1994- producer

Chris Thile 'Leading Off' - Sugar Hill 1994

Todd Phillips 'In The Pines' - Gourd 1995

David Grisman and Daniel Kobialka - 'Common Ground' - Cymekob 1995

Selected Venues

Telluride Bluegrass Festival (CO), The Birchmere (Alexandria, VA), The Bottom Line (NY, NY), Cambridge Folk Festival (UK), Strawberry Music Festival (CA), The Ark (Ann Arbor, MI), Merle Fest (NC), McCabe's (Santa Monica, CA), T'oogenblik (Brussels), Winterhawk Bluegrass Festival (NY), Escoheag and Bluegrass Festival (RI), Grand Ol' Opry (Nashville, TN), Frutigen Country Festival (Switzerland), Kentucky C enter for the Arts,(Louisville Ky) Vancouver Folk Festival (Canada), Freight and Salvage (Berkeley, CA), Mountain Stage (WV), Walnut Valley Festival (Winfield, KS), Philadel ph ia Folk Festival (PA), Wolftrap (Vienna,VA), Great American Music Hall (SF, CA), Bumbershoot (Seattle, WA), Edmonton Folk Festival (Canada), Shrine Auditorium (LA, CA), Tivoli Gardens (Copenhagen)

Contact Information

1188 Noe St. San Francisco
CA 94114
Phone: (415) 641-1366
FAX: (415) 695-1700
E-mail: ScotNygd@aol.com






















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PROFILE: Sharon Wayne

Visit Sharon Wayne's Website

". . .spectacular and possessing superbly executed style . . ." Charleston, Post and Courier

Winner of the 1991 American String Teachers Association Solo Guitar Competition
San Francisco guitarist Sharon Wayne has delighted audiences throughout the United States and Japan. A highly accomplished young artist, Sharon Wayne was the First Prize winner of the 1991 American String Teachers Association Solo Guitar Competition in California. Ms. Wayne's playing has been broadcast on radio stations from coast to coast. She appears on the recording, In the Midst of Winds, with composer/guitarist Susan Bogdanovic (MA Recordings Tokyo.)

Sharon Wayne earned her BM and MM degrees in Classical Guitar Performance from the University of Southern California, where she received The Ensemble Award for her involvement in the USC Guitar Quartet, with whom she premiered several new works. Having formerly taught at USC and Antioch University, Sharon is currently on the faculties of the Community School of Music and the Arts in Mountain View, CA, and the Marin Music Conservatory.






















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PROFILE: Denis Azabagic

Born in Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzogovina in November 1972, Denis Azabagic is considered to be one of the best guitarists of his generation.

In 1992 he moved to Spain and in 1993, at the age of 20, he became the youngest winner of the prestigious international guitar competition, the "Jacinto e Inocencio Guerrero" in Madrid, Spain. Since his success in Madrid, he has become a prize winner in virtually every competition in which he has participated:

Critics have said that he "shows a particularly balanced combination of perfect technique and mature musicality" (Dagblad Van Het Oosten) and that "he is a virtuoso artist of timbres, who masters... easily all kinds of expressions from enchanting softness to passion, from deep emotions to enormous joy." (Kolnische Zaitung).

In 1993 he formed a duo with his wife Eugenia Molinner Ferrer, a flutist, and since then they have played concerts at festivals and in concert halls throughout Europe and the United States. Known as Cavatina, the duo is going to record their debut CD for the Spanish recording company Opera Tres.

As a soloist, Denis has played with various orchestras and has given recitals in Europe and the United States in such famous halls as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and Radio France in Paris. In 1996 Denis Azabagic published two CDs - one for Opera Tres in Spain and another for Printemps de la Guitare in Belgium. His visit to San Jose is part of a 50-city tour as First Prize Winner of the 1998 Guitar Foundation of America (GFA) Solo Competition. Sponsored by the South Bay Guitar Society, the Concert wil be in the recently remodeled First Unitarian Church of San Jose, 160 N. 3rd Street, Sunday, February 20, 2000 at 2:00pm. Tickets may be purchased in advance from SBGS at (408) 292-0704.