Schedule

Creation: A panel discussion on trends in composition,  commissioning,  performing and publishing new music for classical guitar. Featuring Robert Cuckson,  Marco Cappelli and Andrew McKenna Lee. Moderated by Michael Newman and Laura Oltman, of the Newman Oltman Duo.

Hosted by the Center for Transformative Media at The New School, with Mannes College of Music

About Robert Cuckson: 

Robert Cuckson was born in 1942 in the U.K., and grew up in Australia. He is a U.S. citizen and lives in New York City.  His principal compositions include three chamber operas and several orchestral works, including the Variations for Orchestra and concerti for cello, saxophone and guitar, a Rhapsody for Viola and Chamber Orchestra and a Concertino for Trombone and Strings. His chamber works include both ensemble and solo works for guitar. He was composer in residence at the Marlboro Festival in Vermont in 2009, and his song cycle on Yiddish texts “Der gayst funem shturem” was performed on the Marlboro Tour in 2010, including performances in Washington, Philadelphia, Chicago and New York. He teaches at Mannes School of Music in New York City, where he is chair of the Techniques of Music Department and a member of the composition faculty. He also teaches at The Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. 

 About Andrew McKenna Lee:

Composer and guitarist Andrew McKenna Lee has been commissioned and programmed by some of the world’s leading ensembles and organizations, including the Brentano String Quartet, eighth blackbird, Kroumata, Concert Artists Guild, the American Composers Orchestra, the New Jersey Symphony, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. As a performer, he has given solo concerts featuring his original compositions for guitar in some of the country’s most esteemed venues, including Carnegie Hall, the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), and Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. His debut CD release, Gravity and Air, was named one of the year’s “Top Ten Best Classical Albums” of 2009 in Time Out Chicago. Released the same year, his EP Solar/Electric also met with critical praise, most notably from composer Steve Reich, who claimed Lee’s realization of his work Electric Counterpoint, “A magnificent performance beautifully recorded.” His most recent project is The Knells, a "post-progressive, neo-psychedelic art rock ensemble" that combines Renaissance-inspired vocal polyphony with influences from psychedelic, classic, and progressive rock. Released in 2013, their debut album was cited as one of the year's most notable releases in The New Republic, The Washington Post, The New Yorker, The Daily Beast, Textura, and several others. Mr. Lee holds degrees in composition from Carnegie Mellon University, the Manhattan School of Music, and Princeton University. He currently serves on faculty at The College of Saint Rose in Albany, NY.

 About Marco Cappelli:

Born in Naples, Italy, Marco Cappelli  studied with Oscar Ghiglia at the Musik Akademie der Stadt in Basel, Switzerland. Since the 1990s he has collaborated with a wide range of artists, including Anthony Coleman, Michel Godard, Butch Morris, Franco Piersanti, Jim Pugliese, Enrico Rava, Marc Ribot, Adam Rudolph, Elliott Sharp, Giovanni Sollima, Markus Stockhausen, and Cristina Zavalloni. He's been a guest -- both as soloist or in ensemble settings - in major classical and contemporary music series and festivals in the US, Europe, Canada, South Korea, Japan and China.  Marco has composed music for movies, theater and dance, and his large discography includes solo and chamber music albums as well as projects as band leader, released on labels including Mode Records and Tzadik.   Since 2004 Marco Cappelli made his home in Brooklyn, NY. 

About the Newman & Oltman Guitar Duo:

Hailed as a “revelation to hear” by The Washington Post, the Newman & Oltman Guitar Duo’s phenomenal musicianship places them solidly at the top of their field. Their innovative programming, matchless technique and ensemble precision, combined with their commitment to expanding the repertoire for guitar duo, make Newman & Oltman a world class chamber ensemble.

Newman and Oltman’s concert tours have taken them to cultural capitols and premier venues across five continents. The Duo has demonstrated extraordinary stylistic breadth in their collaborations with such diverse artists as composer/conductor Marvin Hamlisch and the Pittsburgh Symphony Pops, mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade, pianist Clarice Assad, fiddler Eileen Ivers and violinist Tim Fain. They have built a unique repertoire of works for two guitars by composers such as Roberto Sierra, Paul Moravec, Augusta Read Thomas, Lowell Liebermann, Dušan Bogdanovic, and Arthur Kampela. Their artistry has also been captured on nearly a dozen acclaimed recordings and has been recognized by grants and awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, Chamber Music America and ASCAP, among others.

Recent highlights include the world premiere of “Concierto Buenos Aires” composed for the Duo by Nuevo Tango master Daniel Binelli with l’Orchestre de l’Opéra de Reims in France and with the Virginia Symphony, as well as performances at the Volterra Guitar Project in Tuscany and the Iserlohn Guitar Symposium in Germany.  

The Duo has served as Ensemble-in-Residence at New York’s Mannes College the New School for Music since 1987.  They are Artistic Advisors to the D’Addario Foundation Performance Series at Carnegie Hall and served as Artists-in-Residence at Lafayette College.  Michael and Laura are founders and artistic directors of the New York Guitar Seminar at Mannes (www.mannesguitar.com), Raritan River Music (www.RaritanRiverMusic.org), and the new Lanciano International Guitar Seminar in Italy (www.lancianoguitar.com).

Michael Newman serves on the faculties of Mannes College and The College of New Jersey. Laura Oltman serves on the faculties of Princeton University and Lafayette College.  For more information visit: www.guitarduo.com.