Sharon Isbin

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Sharon Isbin
Birth name Sharon Isbin
Born St. Louis Park, Minnesota, USA
Genres Classical, Folk
Occupations Musician
Instruments Guitar
Years active 1970–present
Labels Sony Classics, Warner Classics, Virgin Classics
Website www.sharonisbin.com

Sharon Isbin (born in St. Louis Park, Minnesota) is a widely-recorded American classical guitarist, recording artist, concert performer, and the founder of the Guitar Department at the Juilliard School.

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Early life and education [edit]

Sharon Isbin was born in Minneapolis and began her guitar studies at age nine in Varese, Italy. She was a student of Aldo Minella, Jeffrey Van, Andrés Segovia, Oscar Ghiglia, Alirio Díaz and Rosalyn Tureck. She began practicing Transcendental Meditation at age 17.[1] She received a B.A. cum laude from Yale University and a Master of Music from the Yale School of Music.

Music career [edit]
Cantabile (Paganini)
Joshua Bell and Isbin perform Niccolò Paganini's Cantabile at the White House Evening of Classical Music on November 4, 2009.
[[File:20091104 Joshua Bell and Sharon Isbin - Paganini's Cantabile.ogg|]]
Problems listening to these files? See media help.

Multi-Grammy Award winner Sharon Isbin is the author of the Classical Guitar Answer Book, and is Director of the guitar department at the Aspen Music Festival[2] and the guitar department at The Juilliard School which she created in 1989. Isbin has been hailed as “the pre-eminent guitarist of our time” (Boston Magazine.) She is also the winner of Guitar Player magazine’s “Best Classical Guitarist” award, First Prize winner of the Toronto Guitar ’75 competition, a winner of the Madrid Queen Sofia, and the first guitarist ever to win the Munich Competition.

Isbin has appeared as soloist with over 170 orchestras, and has commissioned more concerti than any other guitarist, including concerti by John Corigliano, Tan Dun, Aaron Jay Kernis, Joseph Schwantner, Lukas Foss, and Christopher Rouse. Other composers who have written for her include Joan Tower, David Diamond, Ned Rorem, Howard Shore, John Duarte, Leo Brouwer, Bruce MacCombie and Steve Vai.

Isbin's catalogue of over 25 recordings ranges from Baroque, Spanish/Latin and 20th century to crossover and jazz-fusion. In November 1995, her CD American Landscapes was launched in the space shuttle Atlantis and presented to Russian cosmonauts during a rendezvous with Mir. She won the 2010 Grammy Award for "Best Instrumental Soloist Performance" for her CD Journey to the New World (Sony) which includes guests Joan Baez and Mark O'Connor. She won a Grammy Award in 2001 for her Dreams of a World: Folk-Inspired Music for Guitar (Warner Classics) for “Best Instrumental Soloist,” becoming the first classical guitarist to win a Grammy in 28 years. Her world premiere recording of concerti written for her by Christopher Rouse and Tan Dun won another Grammy in 2002 and she won Germany's prestigious Echo Klassik Award for “Best Concert Recording”. She received a 2005 Latin Grammy nomination for “Best Classical Album” and a 2006 GLAAD Media Award nomination for “Outstanding Music Artist” for her disc with the New York Philharmonic of Joaquin Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez and concerti by Mexican composer Manuel Ponce and Brazilian Heitor Villa-Lobos. This is the Philharmonic’s first-ever recording with guitar, and follows their Avery Fisher Hall performances in June 2004 with Sharon Isbin as their first guitar soloist in 26 years. Her Journey to the Amazon with Brazilian percussionist Thiago de Mello and saxophonist Paul Winter, received a 1999 Grammy nomination for “Best Classical Crossover Album.” Her CD of Aaron Jay Kernis’ Double Concerto with violinist Cho-Liang Lin and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra received a 2000 Grammy nomination.

Isbin is the founder of Juilliard’s guitar department.[3] In 1989, she created the master of music degree, graduate diploma and artist diploma, and in 2007, added the bachelor of music degree and undergraduate diploma.

Isbin gave the world premiere of Blossom Suite, composed by and performed with rock guitarist Steve Vai during a week of concerts she performed at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris in 2005. Her earliest crossover collaborations began with Brazilian guitarist Laurindo Almeida and jazz guitarist Larry Coryell with whom she recorded and performed for five years.

On September 11, 2002, Ms. Isbin's performance for the memorial tribute at Ground Zero was televised live throughout the world. Isbin is featured on the soundtrack of Martin Scorsese's The Departed which won four Academy Awards in 2007, including Best Picture, and on the Grammy nominated score soundtrack CD composed by Howard Shore.

In November 2009, she performed a concert at the White House by invitation of President Obama and the First Lady. Her 2011 release Sharon Isbin & Friends: Guitar Passions (Sony) includes guests Steve Vai, Stanley Jordan, Nancy Wilson, Steve Morse, Romero Lubambo, Rosa Passos, Thiago de Mello, and Paul Winter.

Discography [edit]

compact discs
date title label catalog number format total playing time notes
1978 Sharon Isbin Classical Guitar Sound Environment TR-1010 1 LP music by Brouwer, Ponce, Sor, Lauro, Albeniz
1980 Sharon Isbin Classical Guitar Vol. II Sound Environment TR-1013 1 LP music by Bach, Britten, Brouwer
1981 Sharon Isbin Spanish Works for Guitar Denon OF-7012-ND 1 LP With Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony; music by Tarrega, Sainz de la Maza, Rodrigo "Concierto de Aranjuez"
1981 Sharon Isbin Guitar Recital Denon OX-7224-ND 1 LP music by Dodgson, MacCombie, Scarlatti, Bach "Chaconne"
1984 Dances for Guitar Pro Arte CDD 343 1 CD/LP Music by Barrios Mangore, Rodrigo, Lauro, Vianna, Savio, Turina, Granados, Castelnuovo-Tedesco
1985 3 Guitars 3 Pro Arte CDD 235 1 CD/LP With Larry Coryell and Laurindo Almeida; music by Nazareth, Gnattali, de Falla, Almeida, Rodrigo, Coryell
1987 Brazil, With Love Concord Records CCD-4320 1 CD/LP With Carlos Barbosa-Lima; music by Jobim, Nazareth, Vianna
1988 Rhapsody in Blue/West Side Story Concord Records CCD-42012 1 CD/LP With Carlos Barbosa-Lima; music by Gershwin and Bernstein
1989 J.S. Bach Complete Lute Suites EMI/Virgin Classics VC 7 90712-2 1 CD (DDD) 78:45
1990 Road to the Sun EMI/Virgin Classics VC 7-59591-2 1 CD Music by Sainz de la Maza, Rodrigo, Barrios Mangore, Abreu, Jobim, Tarrega, Brouwer, Villa-Lobos, Albeniz
1991 Love Songs & Lullabies EMI/Virgin Classics VC 7-91750-2 1 CD With soprano Benita Valente, baritone Thomas Allen, organic percussionist Thiago de Mello
1991 Rodrigo: Concierto de Aranjuez EMI/Virgin Classics 07777-59024-2 1 CD Rodrigo "Fantasia para un gentilhombre" and "Concierto de Aranjuez", Vivaldi "Concerto in D"
1994 Nightshade Rounds EMI/Virgin Classics VC 5 45024 2 1 CD (DDD) Five bagatelles/ William Walton (13:54) – Nightshade rounds / Bruce MacCombie (10:06) – Preludes for piano/ George Gershwin;arr. Carlos Barbosa-Lima (5:48) – Clocks/ Joan Tower (9:07) – Folk song from English suite : op. 31/ John W. Duarte (4:20) – Nocturnal : op. 70/ Benjamin Britten (17:53).
1995 American Landscapes EMI/Angel 72435-67672-2 1 CD (DDD) With The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra conducted by Hugh Wolff. World premiere recording of concerti written for Sharon Isbin by John Corigliano, Joseph Schwantner, Lukas Foss.
1995 Black Topaz New World Records 9322-80470-2 1 CD With flutist Carol Wincenc performing world premiere recording of "Snow Dreams" written for Isbin and Wincenc.
1997 Journey to the Amazon Warner Classics 0630-19899-2 1 CD With Paul Winter, and Gaudencio Thiago de Mello. Music by Almeida, Lauro, Barrios Mangore, Thiago de Mello, Montana, Savio, Brouwer, Canonico, Vianna. 1999 GRAMMY Nomination
1998 Wayfaring Stranger Warner Classics 3984-23419-2 1 CD With mezzo-soprano Susanne Mentzer, music by Schubert, Seiber, Niles, Sainz de la Maza, Rodrigo, Granados, Martini, Tarrega,
1999 Kernis Double Concerto for Violin & Guitar Decca/Argo 289-460226-2 1 CD With violinist Cho-Liang Lin and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra conducted by Hugh Wolff. World premiere recording of concerto for written for Sharon Isbin by Aaron Jay Kernis.
1999 Dreams of a World Warner Classics 3984-25736-2 1 CD (DDD) Folk-inspired Music for Guitar. 8 World Premieres; Music from Appalachia, Ireland, Greece, Israel, Spain, Cuba, Venezuela and Brazil. 2001 GRAMMY Award
2001 Rouse: Concert de Gaudi/Tan Dun: Guitar Concerto "Yi2" Warner Classics 8573-81830-2 1 CD (DDD) With the Gulbenkian Orchestra conducted by Muhai Tang. World premiere recording of concerti written for Sharon Isbin. 2002 GRAMMY Award, Echo Klassik Award
2003 Sharon Isbin Plays Baroque Favorites for Guitar Warner Classics 0927-45312-2 1 CD With the Zurich Chamber Orchestra conducted by Howard Griffiths, music by Bach, Vivaldi, Albinoni
2005 Rodrigo: Concierto de Aranjuez; Villa-Lobos: Concerto for guitar; Ponce: Concierto del sur Warner Classics 2564-60296-2 1 CD With the New York Philharmonic conducted by José Serebrier. 2005 Latin GRAMMY Nomination
2006 The Departed New Line Records 39078 1 CD Howard Shore's soundtrack to Martin Scorsese's film. 2008 GRAMMY Nomination
2009 Journey to the New World Sony Classical 88697-45456-2 1 CD Guest artists: folk singer Joan Baez and violinist Mark O'Connor. 2010 GRAMMY Award
2011 Sharon Isbin & Friends: Guitar Passions Sony Classical 88697-84219-2 1 CD Guest artists: Steve Vai, Stanley Jordan, Nancy Wilson (Heart), Steve Morse, Romero Lubambo, Rosa Passos, Thiago de Mello, Paul Winter

References [edit]

  1. ^ PETERSON, DIANE (January 21, 2011). "Ambassador of guitar to star with SR Symphony: Sharon Isbin broke new ground, founding program at Juilliard". The Press Democrat (Santa Rosa, Calif.). p. D.1. 
  2. ^ Aspen Music Festival and School. "Artist Faculty, Sharon Isbin". 
  3. ^ "Juilliard Portraits, Sharon Isbin". 

External links [edit]
Main articles
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Classical guitar lists
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