Kenneth Meyer, guitar

Guitarist Kenneth Meyer starts the 2018-2019 Wednesday Recital Series with a solo concert of classical guitar music including music by J.S. Bach, Spanish composers such as Albania and Granados, and Latin American tango music music by Morel, Piazzolla, and Pujol. Mr. Meyer is an internationally acclaimed musician who lives Central New York; he directs the guitar studios at OCC and SU, and was soloist with Symphoria in May 2018. Read more about this program and the artist below!

Program:

Prelude Fugue and Allegro in Eb (BWV 998) – Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Spanish Selections by Isaac Albeniz (1860-1909) and Enrique Granados (1867-1916)

Suite Koyunbaba, Op. 19 – Carlo Domeniconi (b.1947)

Latin American Tango selections by Jorge Morel (b. 1931), Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992), and Emilio Pujol (1886-1980)

Kenneth Meyer, the national first-prize winner at the Music Teacher’s National Association Collegiate Artist Competition, is regarded by the Washington Post as, “A thinking man’s guitarist – he focuses on the inner structure of a piece…and plays with impressive gravity and power.” The Buffalo News has called him, “Impeccably articulate with superb technique.” Since his professional concert debut at the Teatro de la Opera de Maracay, Mr. Meyer continues to appear in recital, as a chamber musician, and soloist with orchestra in venues throughout North America, South America, Europe and Asia. In addition to live concerts, his performances have been featured on television, film, radio and most recently, on the Albany, Innova and Bridge record labels. Frequently in demand as a guest artist at colleges and universities across the country, Meyer has given concerts and lectures at, among others, the Eastman School of Music, the State University of New York College at Fredonia, Syracuse University, Cornell University, the University of Southern Mississippi, North Carolina School of the Arts, the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, Hochstein School of Music, Delta College, Canisius College, Finger Lakes and Saint Joseph’s Community Colleges and the University of Caracas in Venezuela. In addition, he is an active performer and teacher at music festivals and has been featured at the Rome, Alexandria, Eastman Guitar Summerfest and the Alirio Diaz Guitar Festivals. Mr. Meyer’s commitment to the cultivation and performance of new music has led to awards from the Barlow Endowment, the Argosy Foundation, and the Eastman School’s Hanson Institute for American Music; interpretive instruction from Milton Babbitt, and premiere performances of compositions by among others, Leslie Basset, Edward Green, Andrew Waggoner, Gregory Mertl, Edie Hill, Kevin Ernste, Nicolas Scherzinger, Jesse Benjamin Jones, Donald J. Sparr, James Piorkowski and Robert Baker. His diversity as a musician has led to performances on mandolin, banjo and electric guitar with among others, the Syracuse Opera, the Syracuse Society for New Music and the Broadway touring production of the Who’s rock opera, “Tommy.” Previous summer concert tours include trips to Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore and last season featured concerto performances with Symphoria, the Erie Chamber Orchestra, the Niagara Symphony Orchestra and the Seattle Modern Orchestra. Mr. Meyer’s latest commercial recording, Draw the Strings Tight was released on the Innova record label and he has a new book titled, Diatonic Arpeggios for Classical Guitar published through Mel Bay. Both are now available online. Kenneth Meyer holds degrees in Music Composition and Classical Guitar Performance from the State University of New York at Fredonia and Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from the Eastman School of Music. He has served on the faculties of East Carolina University and SUNY at Fredonia and most recently held visiting professorships at the Eastman School of Music and SUNY Potsdam’s Crane School of Music. Currently, Dr. Kenneth Meyer directs thriving guitar programs at Onondaga Community College and Syracuse University’s Setnor School of Music. For more information please visit: www.kennethmeyerguitar.com