2008 Judges: Guitar Concerto Competition
Joanne Castellani and Michael Andriaccio
Regarded as one of the elite chamber ensembles on the music scene today, their CDs, Danzas and More and Two Guitar Concerti with the Israel Chamber Orchestra, were named Best of the Year by American Record Guide and Fanfare Magazine. The internationally renowned Duo has performed on five continents and at the White House, and they have served as artistic envoys of the U.S. State Department. They are founders and owners of Fleur de Son Classics, Ltd., an acclaimed record label specializing in chamber music. Joanne Castellani is on the Music Faculty of the State University of New York at Buffalo and the Castellani Andriaccio Studios, and both performers are Artists-in-Residence at the Chautauqua Institution.
John Landis
In the course of his career, Classical 94.5/WNED-FM program host John Landis has studied at the National Music Camp and Eastman School of Music. His principal conducting teachers have been Frederick Fennell, Howard Hanson, John Farinacci, Orien Dalley, George Szell and Josef Blatt. Following military service with U.S. Air Force musical units, Landis conducted for the Boris Goldovsky Opera Theatre. He was associated with the Buffalo Philharmonic as a conductor, orchestrator, keyboard player and percussionist. He is currently Music Director of the Cheektowaga Community Symphony Orchestra and a Music Appreciation Lecturer at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Buffalo.
David Dusman
A classically trained musician with a Bachelor's degree in sound recording, David Dusman is founder and president of Dusman Audio, Inc., which provides audio consulting services, state of the art classical recording and post-production services, and mastering services. His clients include the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, the Nexus Percussion Ensemble, and the Corigliano Quartet. Recently, Dusman completed a world premiere recording with the Israel Chamber Orchestra, featuring the Castellani-Andriaccio Duo. Also, in collaboration with Grammy winning producer David Frost, he has engineered and mastered releases for The New Arts Trio, Rebecca Penneys, and The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by JoAnn Falletta.
Eduardo Fernandez
Eduardo Fernández is recognized as one of today's leading guitarists. Born in 1952 in Uruguay, he began his studies of guitar at age 7. His New York debut in 1977 won critical accolades, being described as "A top guitarist...Rarely has this reviewer heard a more impressive debut recital on any instrument" (Donal Henahan, The New York Times). Fernandez signed an exclusive recording contract with Decca, a label for which he made 18 recordings of solo guitar, with the English Chamber Orchestra and the London Philharmonic Orchestra.
An active composer, he was the secretary of the Uruguayan branch of ISCM for two years. He is also a founder of Uruguay's CIM/UNESCO section, and Artistic Director of Montevideo's biannual International Guitar Festivals since 1996, and of Colombia's Encuentros Nacionales de la Guitarra since 2000.
Brian Head
Brian Head is the President of the Guitar Foundation of America and professor of guitar and composition at the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California. He has composed for Grammy and NAIRD-winning recordings, has performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Los Angeles Opera, and new music groups inauthentica, Jacaranda, L.A. Phil Green Umbrella Players and Xtet, and has given premiere performances and recordings of numerous works by composers such as Donald Crockett, Stephen Hartke, William Kraft and Steve Reich. His music has been recorded on Delos, Denon, Digital Revolution, GSP Recordings, Massax Productions and TelArc labels, and has been heard in Merkin Hall in New York, the Ambassador Auditorium in Los Angeles, and the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C., and in concert halls throughout the world.
David Leisner
Regarded as one of America's leading classical guitarists, he has been acclaimed as "a triple-threat performer" by The New York Times and a "serious, exploratory and imaginative musician" by The Boston Globe. A featured recording artist for the new label, Azica Records, Leisner has released 5 highly acclaimed solo CD’s of music by Bach, Villa-Lobos, Mertz and Schubert, Contemporary composers and his own compositions. Soon to be released is a Naxos recording of the Hovhaness Concerto with Gerard Schwartz and the Berlin Radio Orchestra.. His collaborations with Boston Symphony Orchestra flutist Fenwick Smith have been recorded on the Etcetera and Koch labels, with music by Rorem and Pinkham, and his most recent chamber music recordings of Hovhaness and Haydn are with harpist Yolanda Kondonassis on Telarc and the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival on Koch.
Tony Morris
Tony Morris is heard each week by radio listeners of over 200 stations across the United States, and world-wide via internet broadcasts as the host of the Classical Guitar Alive! program. In conjunction with his international broadcast career, he performs as a solo guitarist and chamber musician. He is regularly invited to perform at White House in Washington, D.C. The White House debut performance by "Tony Morris & Friends", (with Renata Green, flute; James Fenner, percussion; Shu-Yi Scott, cello) , was praised by First Lady Laura Bush. He performs with flutist Renata Green and violinist Jennifer Bourianoff as Viva Trio.
Enrique Muñoz Teruel
Spanish guitar virtuoso and impresario Enrique Munoz Teruel is the Director of some of Europe’s most popular festivals and competitions including the Concurso Internacional de Guitarra "COMARCA EL CONDADO" JAÉN – ESPAÑA and the Festival Internacional de Música Clásica Villa de Navas de San Juan. He is a sought-after judge at numerous music performance competitions and is a major force on the cultural scene of Southern Spain.