Simon Powis: Classical Guitar Workshop & Performance
Performance Date: Saturday, November 12, 2016 at 7:30PM
Eric Carle Museum
Workshop Date: Sunday, November 13, 2016 at 9:30AM - 11:30AM
Eric Carle Museum
Presented in conjunction with
¡Guitarra!
Praised by the Huffington Post for his “outstanding sensitivity” and “musical maturity,” classical guitarist Simon Powis couples formidable technique with a passionate and expressive style. He studied at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music in his native Australia and completed his masters and doctoral studies at Yale, where he was later employed as both a guitar instructor and guitar fellow. He has toured extensively as a soloist with performances in the Kennedy Center (Washington DC), Australia House (London), and the Banff Center for the Arts (Canada).
Marked with a passionate and expressive style coupled with a formidable technique, SIMON POWIS is a talented soloist, chamber musician and innovator. A native of Sydney, Australia, he studied at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music with Raffaele Agostino; and completed his master’s and doctoral studies at Yale University under the guidance of Ben Verdery.
Powis traveled extensively throughout Europe to study with some of the world’s most renowned virtuosos like Oscar Ghiglia, David Russell, Pavel Steidl and Aniello Desiderio . He has toured extensively as a soloist with performances at Carnegie Hall (New York), the Kennedy Center (Washington D.C.), Australia House (London), and the Banff Center for the Arts (Canada). A strong passion for chamber music has resulted in international collaborations ranging from traditional groups such as the Modigliani String Quartet and Ian Swenson (violin) to less common performances with double bass, electronics, and even the tuba. As a teacher Powis has instructed master classes in Lima, Mexico City and New York and at Yale where he was employed as both a guitar instructor and a teaching fellow.
Ticket Prices
Open to all skill levels, registration required. $25 participants, $12 observers; Concert General Admission: $15
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ArtistsA passionate and expressive style coupled with a formidable technique has garnered attention for Simon Powis as a talented soloist, chamber musician and innovator. Growing up in Sydney, Australia, Powis began his studies at the age of five on the cornet. Inspired by his brother’s musical pursuits he took up the guitar at age eleven and began an enduring obsession that would result in performances throughout Europe, Australia and the Americas.
After completing his studies at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music with Raffaele Agostino in 2004, Powis traveled extensively throughout Europe to study with some of the world’s most renowned virtuosos. Oscar Ghiglia, David Russell, Pavel Steidl and Aniello Desiderio have had a great impact on the musical style and technical foundation that Powis possesses. In 2006 Powis was invited to undertake a Masters of Music at Yale University on a full scholarship and upon completing this degree he was accepted as the first guitarist in over two decades to undertake doctoral studies at Yale. During his time at Yale the professor of guitar, Ben Verdery, offered instruction, support and guidance that readied him for a career as a professional musician.
Powis has toured extensively as a soloist with performances in the Kennedy Center (Washington D.C.), Australia House (London), and the Banff Center for the Arts (Canada). A strong passion for chamber music has resulted in international collaborations ranging from traditional groups such as the Modigliani String Quartet and Ian Swenson (violin) to less common performances with double bass, electronics, and even the tuba. Powis’s openness to innovation is exhibited by his devotion to performing new works. In the past years he has collaborated with a variety of composers to premiere over thirty new works on the concert stage.
As a teacher Powis has instructed masterclasses in Lima, Mexico City and New York and at Yale he was employed as both a guitar instructor at the school of music and a teaching fellow in the department of music. He is also the creator of classicalguitarcorner.com, one of the internet’s most prominent guitar education sites and maintains an active podcast where he interviews leading musicians from around the world including John Williams and Oscar Ghilgia.
Jason Vieaux
Tuesday, April 4 at 7:30 p.m.Bowker Auditorium
Jason Vieaux is the winner of the 2015 Grammy for Best Instrumental Classical Solo for his acclaimed recording, PLAY. NPR lauds Vieaux as "perhaps the most precise and soulful classical guitarist of his generation." A classical guitarist that goes beyond the classical, Vieaux has earned a reputation for putting his expressive gifts and virtuosity at the service of a remarkably wide range of music.
Othello in the Seraglio: The Tragedy of Sümbül the Black Eunuch
Friday, October 14 at 8:00 p.m.Bowker Auditorium
Othello in the Seraglio, a uniquely powerful "coffeehouse opera," tells an age-old story of passionate love and murderous jealousy, of a black eunuch at the 17th century Ottoman Court. The stunning score, by Boston composer and Grammy nominee Mehmet Ali Sanlıkol, weaves together Italian Baroque and Turkish sources with his own newly-composed music into a tapestry of uncanny beauty. Othello in the Seraglio is performed on European period and traditional Turkish instruments by an ensemble of 12 instrumentalists, singers and a dramatic storyteller.
Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra
Sunday, October 30 at 7:00 p.m.Fine Arts Center Concert Hall
For over a century, the Warsaw Philharmonic has been one of Poland's most distinguished musical institutions. They will be joined by the 2015 International Chopin Piano Competition Winner, Seong-Jin Cho. Bachtrack hailed “Cho has an enviable ability to make every note sound distinct and clear, shaping and balancing each phrase perfectly. After only about a minute of his performance I stopped analyzing, closed my eyes and lost myself completely in the sheer musicality of the moment.” Program TBA but you can bet Chopin will be included.
