Masterclass with Professor David Tanenbaum, San Francisco Conservatory of Music
Performer slots for this class are sold out. Admission to audit the class is free.
March 1, 2025, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Evergreen Valley High School, 3300 Quimby Road, San Jose
Please note that a parent or guardian must accompany performers under the age of 18 at all times, including during warm-up and the class itself.
Directions
The South Bay Guitar Society is pleased to present a masterclass with David Tanenbaum, chair of the guitar department at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Players will perform individually and receive feedback from Professor Tanenbaum in this educational event.
Recognized internationally as an outstanding performing and recording artist and a charismatic educator, David Tanenbaum is “one of today’s most distinguished guitarists,” notes the BBC. He has performed in more than 45 countries and in 1988 became the first American guitarist invited by the Chinese government to perform in China.
He has been a soloist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, London Sinfonietta, and many others, with such eminent conductors as Esa-Pekka Salonen, Alan Gilbert, Kent Nagano, and John Adams. The New York Times called him “a master of the instrument," adding, "Mr. Tanenbaum played so musically and expressively that the listener was led directly to the essence of composer.”
While his repertoire encompasses diverse styles, Tanenbaum is recognized as one of today’s most eloquent proponents of new guitar repertoire. Among the many works written for him is Hans Werner Henze’s guitar concerto An Eine Aolsharfe, which he premiered throughout Europe and recorded with the composer conducting, Terry Riley’s first guitar piece Ascención, five works by Pulitzer Prize winner Aaron Jay Kernis, and the last completed piece by Lou Harrison. Tanenbaum has toured extensively with Steve Reich and Musicians and was invited to a guitar festival produced by Toru Takemitsu in Nagano, Japan. Tanenbaum’s arrangement of Steve Reich’s Nagoya Guitars, created in collaboration with the composer, is performed worldwide.
Tanenbaum’s three dozen recordings reflect his broad repertoire interests. His 2002 recording as soloist with Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Los Angeles Philharmonic in John Adams's Naïve and Sentimental Music was nominated for a Grammy Award. Tanenbaum's latest release Double Echo-New Guitar Concertos from the Americas became a best seller on the Naxos label.
Tanenbaum is chair of the guitar department at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where he received the 1995 Outstanding Professor Award, and is in demand for master classes worldwide.
