Contemporary Classical Guitar Music

11 MP3 Songs
CLASSICAL: Contemporary, CLASSICAL: Traditional



Details:
Steven Thachuk is known as one of Canadaâs outstanding guitarists. He has appeared in recital, as a chamber musician, and soloist with orchestra throughout North America, Great Britain and Europe. Thachuk has performed most of the major concertos in the guitar repertoire with orchestra and has had concerts broadcast on NPR in America and the CBC in Canada. He is also a member of the Meyer-Thachuk Guitar Duo with American guitarist Ken Meyer. In the 1998/99 concert season, the duo made their Ford Performing Arts Centre (Toronto) debut performing Rodrigoâs Concierto Madrigal with the Toronto Philharmonic. His playing has drawn critical acclaim. Classical Guitar Magazine has described his performances as âperfectly and sensitively doneâ. On a performance of Rodrigoâs Fantasia para un Gentilhombre in Wales, Great Britain, the Tivy-Side Examiner praised his âastounding virtuosity and musicalityâ. In addition to many other awards, he received the prestigious Chalmers Performing Arts Training Grant in 1994, which enabled him to continue his studies abroad, and was a top finalist in the Freschen International Competition in Köln.

An avid supporter of new music, Thachuk has premiered numerous works by composers such as Liviu Marinescu, Robert Baker, Denis Dion, Luke Mercier and Scott Adams. He performer the world premiere of Gerald Garciaâs Heat of the Rose Concerto in Manchester, England in 2005 In 1997, he gave the world premiere performance of Scott Adamsâ Eurasia for Guitar and Orchestra in New York.

In addition to his performing career, Thachuk has an international reputation as a leading teacher and pedagogue of the instrument. He is much in demand for masterclasses and concerts at universities, conservatories, and major guitar festivals throughout North America and Europe. Recent festival appearances have included the Iserlohn Gitarren-Symposium, the Gevelsberg Gitarren-Festival, the Stetson International Guitar Festival, the Culiacan International Guitar Festival, the Halifax International Guitar Festival, and the Eastman Summer GuitarFest in Rochester, New York. In 2002, Steve Thachuk was appointed as Professor of Guitar and Chair of Guitar Studies at California State University, Northridge. Previously, he has served on the faculties of the University of Toronto, the Glenn Gould Professional School at the Royal Conservatory of Music and Queenâs University. While completing graduate studies, he taught at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York as an assistant to the guitar department. Thachuk also serves on juries for many major international guitar competitions.

Steven Thachukâs studies began when he was eight years old. He pursued his undergraduate degree at the University of Toronto, and continued his studies in Germany and at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, where he completed his doctorate degree in 1998.





Recent highlights of his performance career include solo appearances with the Fort Wayne Philharmonic, Toronto Sinfonietta, Quinte Symphony, Prince George Symphony Orchestra,and the Toronto Philharmonia, as well as concerts and masterclasses in Toronto, Nova Scotia, Kansas, Kentucky, Los Angeles, Nevada, Northern California, Mexico, England and Germany. Thachuk has released two CDs, Evocacion, with the Meyer/Thachuk Guitar Duo, and Currents, a solo recital CD of 20th century guitar works.

Thachuk engages in various musical activities outside of performing and teaching. He is currently the director of the Guitar Workshop for California SummerArts, which began in 2004. In addition to this, he serves on the artistic board for the American Guitar Society, and was organizer and co-director of the highly successful Eastman Summer GuitarFest in Rochester, New York, an annual week-long event. He was producer of the recording 20th Century Music for Flute and Guitar for Albany Records. The CD is performed by the Boyd/Goluses Duo and features the world premiere of a concerto by Augusta Read Thomas. Most recently, Thachuk mastered and mixed the debut CD of Germanyâs Fenix International Guitar Quartet.

Steven Thachuk currently lives in Toronto and Los Angeles

âThe centerpiece of this concert was the Concierto de Aranjuez by Joa[q]ui[n] Rodrigo, brilliantly performed by classical guitarist, Steven Thachukâ¦..the performance belonged to Steven Thachuk, who caressed his guitar with crystal clear fingering and fine musicality. The audience demanded an encore and Thachuk obliged with Neil Youngâs âAfter the Goldrushâ.â
Prince George Citizen
Prince George, British Columbia

âThachuk conquered with a flawless concert!â¦A master of interpretation and artistry.â
Nordeste
Culiacan, Mexico

âperfectly and sensitively doneâ
Classical Guitar Magazine

âastounding virtuosity and musicalityâ¦a passionate proponent of new musicâ
Tivy-Side Examiner
Wales, Great Britain