Left-hand technique
The evening before her NYCCGS concert, Martha Masters will give a presentation at the monthly meeting.
The presentation will be followed by open-mic playing time for members. Sign up in advance to play — see the Member Events page for details. NYCCGS Member Events are free and open to all members and first-time guests, and are supported by a generous grant from the D’Addario Music Foundation.
Thursday, April 4, 2013, 7:00 PM
Manhattan Theatre Club Creative Center
311 West 43rd Street, 8th floor, between 8th and 9th Ave. (map)
New York City
The Illinois Times wrote that guitarist Martha Masters “is on a swift and certain trajectory to star territory.” Her playing has been described as “seductive” (Fort Worth Star-Telegram), ‘intelligent and natural (Guitar Review), and “refined and elegant” (American Record Guide). She has received critical acclaim as a solo recitalist, as a chamber musician with Duo Erato, and as a soloist with orchestras. Recent concert seasons have included performances on concert series and at festivals in China, England, Denmark, Spain, Poland, Germany, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, and throughout the United States.
Martha’s first CD, Serenade, is now in its second printing, and her Naxos recital disc sold over 10,000 copies worldwide in the first year of its release. Her recording of Italian music was released in 2006 on the GSP label, and a recording of early 20th Century Spanish music was released on GSP in 2009. Her book, Reaching the Next Level, a method for expreinced guitar students, was published in 2010 by Mel Bay, and has received critical acclaim.
In October of 2000, Martha won first prize in the Guitar Foundation of America (GFA) International Solo Competition. In November of 2000, she also won the Andrés Segovia International Guitar Competition in Linares, Spain, and was a finalist in the Alexandre Tansman International Competition of Musical Personalities in Lodz, Poland. Prior to 2000, Martha was a prizewinner or finalist in numerous other international competitions, including the 1999 International Guitar Competition “Paco Santiago Marín” in Granada, Spain, the 1998 Tokyo International Guitar Competition, and the 1997 GFA International Solo Competition.
In addition to leading the guitar program and the LMU Guitar Festival at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, Martha teaches annually at the National Guitar Workshop Classical Summit in Connecticut and on WorkshopLive.com. She is the President of the Guitar Foundation of America, dedicated to supporting the instrument, its players and its music in the U.S. and throughout the world.
Martha received both the Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the Peabody Conservatory, where she studied with Manuel Barrueco, and completed the Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the University of Southern California as a student of Scott Tennant.
