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Lily
Afshar
Lily Afshar is like a breath of fresh air in the world of
classical guitar. Her
solo, chamber, and
concerto appearances combined with her adventurous recordings have
earned her
the status of “one of the world’s foremost
classical guitarists” according to Public
Radio International. The
Washington Post described her onstage performances as
“remarkable,
impeccable.” But perhaps equally as important is her
reputation for expanding
the contemporary classical guitar repertoire. Lily’s
collaborations with international
composers have resulted in premieres of new works by Carlo Domeniconi, Reza Vali, Garry
Eister,
Gerard Drozd, Loris Chobanian, Arne Mellnas, Kamran Ince, Barbara Kolb,
Marilyn
Ziffrin, David Kechley, and Salvador Brotons.
Her
exciting concert programs continue to earn her an active
schedule of solo, chamber and concerto appearances in the US
and around
the world. Recent
highlights include concerts in the US, England,
Ireland,
Canada,
France,
Iran,
Jordan,
Denmark,
Italy,
Africa,
New Zealand,
Australia,
and South America.
She has performed at the
Wigmore Hall in London,
the Kennedy
Center
for Performing Arts, the Grand
Teton Music Festival, the Aspen Music Festival, Banff School of Fine
Arts, the
Menton Music Festival in the South of France, the American
Academy
in Rome,
and Salle Cortot in Paris.
Lily
Afshar has four recordings to her credit which have
attracted international critical acclaim.
Her first recording "24 Caprichos de Goya, Op.
195" was released in 1994 and
her second “A Jug of Wine and Thou” in 1999. Her latest recordings
“Possession” (2002) and
“Hemispheres” (2006)
feature a combined total of eight world premieres.
“Hemispheres” reached #7 on Billboard’s
Top Classical Albums
Chart in 2006. Not only has her passion for
challenging the
traditional guitar repertoire made her a sought after artist by
classical
composers, it has also led to some unusual guitar sounds. Afshar introduced quarter
tones on her latest recording
(“Hemispheres”, 2006) which was occasioned by the
addition of fretlets to her
guitar to accurately reproduce the tones.
“Hemispheres”
attracted the attention of National Public
Radio’s Robert Siegel, who featured Lily on “All
Things Considered” in 2006.
Audiences have responded with fascination to the fretlets and to her
occasional
live performance on the traditional Persian instrument, the Seh-tar. At a recent Wigmore Hall
Concert in London
(where quarter
tone pieces were part of the program), England’s
Musical Opinion Magazine
praised Lily for her “fresh sense of
programming” and “her ability to draw listeners
onto the edge of their
seats...”
Lily
Afshar's grandparents were born north of Iran in Azarbaijan
and later moved to Tehran where Lily was born. She
was 10 years old when she began learning the
guitar. She graduated with a Bachelor of Music and a Master of Music
degree in guitar performance from The Boston Conservatory and the New
England Conservatory of Music. At Florida State University, where she
studied with Bruce Holzman, Lily became the first woman in the world to
gain a Doctorate of Music in guitar performance. She has studied at the
Banff Centre for Fine Arts and the Aspen Music Festival with Oscar
Ghiglia. She received Diplomas of Merit from the Accademia Musicale
Chigiana in Siena, Italy. She was selected to play for Maestro
Andrés Segovia in his master classes held at the University
of Southern California.
Lily
was honored with the 2000 Orville H.
Gibson Award for
Best Female Classical Guitarist in Los Angeles.
Her other performance awards include the Top
Prize in the Guitar Foundation of America Competition and Grand Prize
in the
Aspen Music Festival Guitar Competition, among others. She received the
Tennessee Arts Commission Individual Artist Fellowship Award in Music
and an
NEA Recording Award. She
is a three-time
winner of the Annual "Premier Guitarist" awards given by the Memphis
Chapter of the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences
and she was
chosen as "Artistic Ambassador" for the United States Information
Agency to Africa.
Currently,
Lily is head of the University of Memphis
guitar
program where she received the 2000 Board of Visitors Eminent
Faculty
Award, and more recently was awarded the 2008 Alumni Association
Distinguished Teaching Award. Lily regularly conducts guitar
master classes in conjunction
with her
touring. Her recordings of "24 Caprichos de Goya, Op. 195" by Mario
Castelnuovo-Tedesco and "A Jug of Wine and Thou" were released on
Summit Records.
Her latest recordings, “Possession” and
“Hemispheres”, were released on Archer
Records. Her "Five Popular Persian Ballads" are published by Mel Bay
Editions, which also produced her 2008 DVD entitled "Virtuoso Guitar"
featuring live performances and an interview with Lily.
Visit
http://www.lilyafshar.com
for more information.
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En
Espanol:
Nacida en Teheran, comenzó sus estudios de guitarra a los
diez
años. Se graduó de Bachillerato del Conservatorio
de
Boston y de Maestría en el Conservatorio de Nueva
Inglaterra.
Fue la primera mujer en obtener el título "Doctor of Musical
Arts" en guitarra clásica en el mundo, bajo la tutela del
maestro Bruce Holzman, en la Universidad del Estado de Florida (EEUU).
También fue discípula de Oscar Ghiglia en Banff
Centre
for Fine Arts, el Aspen Music Festival y la Accademia Musicale Chigiana
en Siena (Italia), donde obtuvo un diploma al mérito.
Recibió además el premio "2000 Orville H. Gibson
Award"
en Los Angeles, California, y los primeros premios en los concursos
internacionales de Guitar Foundation of America y Aspen Music Festival
Guitar Competition.
La maestra Lily Afshar desarrolla una extensa carrera internacional de
conciertos como recitalista, en la música de
cámara y de
solista con orquestas en los Estados Unidos, Irlanda,
Canadá,
Francia, Irán, Jordania, Dinamarca, Italia, Africa, Nueva
Zelanda, Australia y América del Sur. Ha actuado en
prestigiosas
salas como el Wigmore Hall en Londres, el Kennedy Center for Performing
Arts en Washington DC, la Salle Cortot en París, y los
festivales Grand Teton Music Festival, Aspen Music Festival, Banff
School of Fine Arts, the Menton Music Festival en el sur de Francia y
la American Academy en Roma.
Por los últimos veinte años ha sido directora del
programa de estudios de guitarra en la Universidad de Memphis,
Tennessee. Su colaboración con compositores
contemporáneos se ha traducido en estrenos mundiales de
obras
nuevas de Reza Vali, Garry Eister, Gerard Drozd, Loris Chobanian, Arne
Mellnas, Kamran Ince, Barbara Kolb, Marilyn Ziffrin, David Kechley y
Salvador Brotons.
Las cuatro grabaciones de Lily Afshar en disco compacto incluyen "24
Caprichos de Goya, Op. 195" de Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco y "A Jug of
Wine and Thou" con el sello disquero Summit Records, y para Archer
Records los CDs “Possession” y
“Hemispheres”,
que alcanzó el número 7 en la
clasificación Album
Clásico de la revista Billboard en 2006 y fue presentado en
el
programa “All Things Considered” de la prestigiosa
emisora
National Public Radio, que transmite por todo el territorio de los
Estados Unidos.
Su edición de Five Popular Persian Ballads (Cinco baladas
populares persas) fue publicada por Mel Bay Editions. Esta casa
editora también produjo el DVD titulado "Virtuoso
Guitar"
en 2008, con interpretaciones en la guitarra y una entrevista con Lily.
Para
más información pueden visitar http://www.lilyafshar.com
en la web.
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En
français:
Lily
Afshar apporte un souffle d’air frais dans
l’univers de la
guitare classique. Née à
Téhéran, Iran,
elle a commencé à apprendre la guitare
dès
l’âge de 10 ans. Elle est la première
femme au monde
à obtenir un Doctorat en interprétation
octroyé
par l’université de l’Etat de Floride,
Etats-Unis.
Son style, combiné avec des enregistrements aventureux, lui
a
valu le statut de « l’une des plus grande
guitariste
classique au monde » selon le Public Radio International. Sa
prestation sur scène est décrite comme
«
Remarquable, impeccable » par le Washington Post. Quant au
magazine anglais England’s Musical Opinion Magazine, il salue
«sa capacité à ensorceler son public
».
Peut-être est-il important de préciser
qu’elle doit
également sa réputation à sa
contribution dans
l’élargissement du répertoire de
guitare classique
contemporaine. Elle a notamment collaboré avec de nombreux
compositeurs internationaux. Son talent et son aisance
scénique
l’ont conduit partout dans le monde : Etats-Unis,
Grande-Bretagne, Irlande, Canada, France, Iran, Jordanie, Danemark,
Italie, Nouvelle-Zélande, Australie, Afrique, et
Amérique
du Sud. Avec quatre albums à son actif (24
Caprichos de
Goya, Op. 195 – 1994 ; A Jug of Wine and Thou –
1999 ;
Possession – 2002 et Hemispheres – 2006), Lily
Afshar a su
gagné les acclamations de la critique internationale.
L’album Hemispheres a atteint le 7e rang du
Billboard’s Top
Classical Albums Chart en 2006.
Lily a été honorée meilleure
guitariste classique
à la remise des prix de l’Orville H. Gibson Award
de Los
Angeles en 2000. Elle a par ailleurs reçu les prix
d’excellence au Concours de la Guitar Foundation of America,
Concours International du Festival d’Aspen, et a
été également
récompensée par la
Commission d’Arts du Tennessee Section Musique et
Enregistrement.
Actuellement, Lily est en charge de la classe de guitare de
l’Université de Memphis qui lui a remis la
récompense du « 2000 Board of Visitors Eminent
Faculty
Award » en qualité
d’intégrante du corps
enseignant.
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