Summer Guitar Workshop @ ECU: Faculty Artists

Applauded by critics and audiences for his unique blend of powerful virtuosity, beautiful tone, and natural musicianship, festival director Elliot Frank is a frequent guest performer and teacher at guitar festivals and on concert series throughout the Americas and Europe. Recent highlights include performances for the Mediterranean Guitar Festival in Cervo, Italy, the Sea and Guitars Festival in Vrsar, Croatia, the inaugural Encuentro Internacional de Guitarra Villa Caletas in Herradura, Costa Rica, the 2009 Fort Worth Guitar Guild Festival, and the Sauble Beach Festival of the Classic Guitar in Sauble Beach, Ontario. He has also been featured performer at the 2006 Guitar Foundation of America Festival, the 2009 Classical Minds Guitar Institute, Alexandria Guitar Festival, Piccolo Spoleto, the Appalachian Guitar Fest, the Festival Lachine in Montreal, Canada, at the Southwest Guitar Festival in San Antonio, and at the Sixth Guitar Festival of the Dominican Republic. Other international performances include appearances in Colombia, Venezuela, and Vienna, Austria. He has also performed for the Tampa Classical Guitar Festival, the North Carolina Bach Festival, Columbus State University Guitar Symposium, and the East Carolina University Summer Guitar Festival, where he serves as Artistic Director. ACA Digital Recordings recently released his first compact disc, South American Guitar Music, which has been praised as being “eloquent” and “delightful.” He has also appeared in solo recitals for the Tallahassee Guitar Society, the University of Memphis Classical Guitar Society, the Dallas Guitar Society, the Piedmont Guitar Society, the Richmond Classic Guitar Society, and Guitar Houston. An aficionado of guitar music of Hispanic cultures, he has performed lecture/recitals pertaining to the music of Antonio Lauro for the Guitar Foundation of America at international festivals in Pasadena and New Orleans. Elliot Frank has commissioned and performed works for guitar including an important new sonata by Andrew Zohn, E Sonata, which was premiered in 2004 at the New Music at ECU Festival. Most recently he gave the world premiere of an important new guitar concerto by Marc Faris, This World May Lose Its Motion, at the 2012 New Music at ECU Festival.
Elliot Frank is also a prizewinner in national and international competitions including the Concurso Internacional de la Casa de España in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Elliot Frank was selected to initiate the guitar studies program for East Carolina University and is currently teaching there in addition to maintaining an active concert schedule. His students and alumni have distinguished themselves with an impressive array of first prizes in national and international competitions.

The “spectacularly talented” concert artist Marko Feri has performed at festivals in countries all over the Europe and the world including the US, Italy, Spain, Germany, France Australia, Mexico and Japan. He has won top prizes at international competitions including the Fernando Sor competition in Rome and the Nicola Fago Competition in Taranto. He also has performed extensively as a chamber musician and concerto soloist and has numerous recordings including his highly acclaimed solo disk, “Nocturnal” ,“20th Century Works for flute and guitar,” and music of Piazzolla with the Concordia Chamber Orchestra. He is on the faculty of the Glasbena Matica Kojog in Trieste, and teaches numerous master classes and seminars throughout Italy. He has also edited an anthology of Slovenian guitar music and directs the Festival Kras which takes place annually in Italy and Slovenia.

Jeffrey McFadden has been acknowledged as one of the finest guitarists of his generation. Over the past years, concert engagements have taken him throughout Canada and the United States and into Europe. He has given World Premieres of works by numerous composers and has been a featured performer at several international music festivals, including "Guitar '87" and GuitarFest '91 in Toronto , Gitarren-Symposium Iserlohn, Lachine International Guitar Festival, the Columbus State Guitar Symposium, The Niagara International Chambre Music Festival, the National Flute Association (USA) Convention, the Festival Mediterraneo della Chitarra, the Acadia Guitar Festival and others.
In 1992, Jeffery McFadden was awarded a Silver Medal in the prestigious Guitar Foundation of America Competition and was also a prize-winner in the 1993 Great Lakes Guitar Competition. His debut recording was the first in the "Laureate Series" on the Naxos label and was released world-wide. Since it's release, this recording has sold in the thousands of copies. His playing has received enthusiastic critical acclaim; the "Daily Telegraph" of London (UK) exclaimed "McFadden's ability to make the guitar sing is second to none", and "Classic CD" has described his playing as "major artistry". His latest solo release features the complete didactic works by the 19th century composer Napoleon Coste. "ClassicsToday.com" raved about this disc saying, "Jeffrey McFadden is not only an extraordinary guitarist -- he's also an inspired musician." his latest disc, soon to be released is volume three of the complete works of Agustin Barrios on Naxos.
Many noteworthy events marked the past few seasons in Jeffrey McFadden's career. He had the opportunity to work under the great Pierre Boulez in a performance celebrating the awarding of the Glenn Gould prize to Boulez. Also, McFadden was counted among the most important guitarists of his day by his inclusion in the Maurice Summerfield lexicon, The Classical Guitar, Its History and Players. He also has performed frequently in the newly formed "Duo Spiritoso"' with American guitarist and composerAndrew Zohn
Jeffrey McFadden has collaborated with Canada's most prominent musicians and composers including Norbert Kraft, Robert Aitken, Ann Monoyios, John Beckwith and R. Murray Shafer. He is frequently heard on CBC radio and NPR in the United States both as soloist and ensemble player.
Jeffrey has given masterclasses and seminars at some of North America's most prestigious institutions including the Université de Montréal, Conservatoire de Music à Hull/Gatineau, University of British Colombia, Michigan State University and the Oberlin College Conservatory. He is a lecturer in guitar at the University of Toronto.

The Sharpe/Zohn Guitar Duo

The musical relationship between guitarists Robert Sharpe and Andrew Zohn began in 1997 as student and teacher. Robert received his first guitar lesson from Zohn at the age of 12 and would continue under his direction at the Schwob School of Music (Columbus State University). Upon Sharpe’s joining the faculty of the Schwob School in 2012, the two formed this exciting new duo and are performing a diverse program which includes Mozart, Gnattali, and Zohn.

Andrew Zohn is recognized internationally for his work as a performer, instructor, and composer. He has performed concerts on five continents including venues in Beijing, Cairo, New York, Rotterdam, Paris, Vancouver, Honolulu, Buenos Aires, Atlanta, Toronto, and Puerto Rico. He has also served as a guest artist at many of the world’s most prestigious music festivals including the Festival of New Music (Central Conservatory of Music, China) the Guitar on the Mediterranean Guitar Festival (Italy), the Iserlohn Guitar Symposium (Germany), the National Guitar Workshop (USA), and the Sauble Beach Festival (Canada). Students of Andrew Zohn have won prizes in several international competitions and have been featured on National Public Radio. Original compositions and transcriptions by Andrew Zohn are published through Les Productions d’Oz, Canada, Tuscany publications (Theodore Presser), and FJH Publications. His recordings for Clear Note and Centaur Records have received wide acclaim from American Record Guide, Classical Guitar Magazine, GuitArt Magazine, Soundboard, Guitarra Magazine, and Rosewood Review.

Since his national radio debut on National Public Radio’s acclaimed program From the Top, Robert Fielding Sharpe has received top prizes in national and international competitions. He has been a guest artist at the East Carolina University Guitar Festival, the Tennessee State University Classical Guitar Seminar, the Cleveland Classical Guitar Society, the Greater Cincinnati Guitar Society, the Virtuoso Showcase Classical Guitar Series, and the Fort Worth Guitar Guild. International performances include concerts at the Guitar Festival on the Mediterranean in Italy, the Sauble Beach Guitar Festival in Canada, and the Kras Guitar Festival in Slovenia. Mr. Sharpe has served on the faculty of the Tennessee State University Classical Guitar Seminar and the East Carolina University Guitar Festival. Recently, he joined the music faculty at Columbus State University’s Schwob School of Music. Mr. Sharpe holds a Bachelor of Music from Columbus State University and a Master of Music from Yale University. He is currently completing a Doctor of Musical Arts at the Cleveland Institute of Music under the direction of guitarist Jason Vieaux.

The Texas Guitar Quartet is Isaac Bustos, Jonathan Dotson, Alejandro Montiel and Joseph Williams II. As soloists, they have garnered acclaim on concert stages around the world and prizes in dozens of international guitar competitions. Together, they bring their unique passions and talents to an ensemble dedicated to presenting chamber music of the highest quality. Recent performances were presented by the New York City Classical Guitar Society, Victoria Bach Festival, Austin Classical Guitar Society, Guitar Houston, Texas Music Festival, Troubadour Series at Wofford College, University of Texas at Brownsville Guitar Ensemble Festival and Competition, and Austin Chamber Music.The quartet has developed an exciting repertoire by commissioning new works and creating their own arrangements and compositions. Earlier this year, the quartet commissioned Tracks, a major new work by composer Peter Lieuwen. They have also premiered works by Andrew Dickinson, Alfredo Barros, Mark Anthony Cruz, and Joseph Williams II. Their daring arrangements, such as Beethoven’s Egmont Overture, offer fresh perspective on works from other repertoires and push the boundaries of the medium.Their critically acclaimed 2012 debut recording, Red, was featured on the internationally syndicated radio show Classical Guitar Alive.

Since winning his frist prize at ECU last year, Joseph Palmer has won firat prizes in six consecutive international guitar competitions, including; 1st Prize in the Louisville Solo Artist Competition, 1st Prize in the Mississippi Guitar Competition, 1st Prize in the' Classical Minds' competition in Houston, Texas, Columbus Guitar

Symposium, the University of Colorado International Guitar Festival competition Joseph began his studies at 15 and excelled quickly. He was awarded a full scholarship to attend the Schwob School of Music with Dr. Andrew Zohn. Upon completion of his undergraduate degree, he has continued his study as a scholarship student under the world-renown performer

and teacher Adam Holzman at the University of Texas at Austin where he has received his Master of Music Performance degree and is currently pursuing his Doctorate of Musical Arts degree.

Joseph has also been fortunate to perform in masterclasses for many of the world's leading concert artists including David Russell, Manuel Barrueco, Eliot Fisk, and Lorenzo Micheli. These experiences have led to great dedication in his own teaching. He runs his own private studio in Austin, Texas where he works with young students of all ages. He also is on the faculty of the Orpheus Academy of Music and the University of Texas Music Outreach Program. His students have won awards in state and regional music competitions and have been accepted to study in

music programs at major universities in the U.S.

A native of Winston-Salem NC, Dr. Adam Kossler began his musical studies with his father, William Kossler, and continued his musical training through college, receiving a bachelor of music degree at East Carolina University studying under Dr. Elliot Frank. He earned a master of music degree at Appalachian State University and was a teaching assistant to Dr. Douglas James. Mr. Kossler has been a top prize winner in a number of national and international guitar competitions including the MANC guitar competition, East Carolina guitar competition, Appalachian State guitar competition, MTNA competition, Columbus State guitar competition and the UTD International Guitar competition. As a teacher he has been featured as a guest artist or clinitan at several festivals in the US and Canada. Mr. Kossler currently resides in Tallahassee, Fla., where he is pursuing a doctoral degree as Bruce Holzman's teaching assistant. Kossler performs regularly as a solo artist as well as with the Kossler Guitar Trio with his father and brother John. Most recently Adam has been selected as one of fifteen semifinalists for the Parkening Guitar Competition, the most prestigious guitar competition in the world.

American born guitarist Christopher Adkins began his study of the guitar at the age of twenty at East Carolina University with Dr. Elliot Frank. After receiving his Bachelor and Masters degrees in music performance there, Christopher went on to receive an Artist Diploma at Columbus State University in Columbus, Georgia with Dr. Andrew Zohn. As a competitor, Christopher has won first prizes at the 2010 MANC competition, the 2011 Appalachian State Guitarfest competition, and the 2012 Mississippi Guitar Festival. He has also had the honor of participating in masterclasses with world-renowned guitarists such as David Russell, Jason Vieaux, Lorenzo Micheli, and Carlos Perez among others. Currently, Christopher is a teaching assistant at the Florida State University where he is studying with world-renowned pedagogue Bruce Holzman.

Joseph Ikner (Teacher Trainer) is frequently invited to perform as a soloist and chamber musician at university campuses, music festivals and for a variety of audiences throughout eastern North America. Enthusiastically received performances for the Mexican Cultural Institute in Washington, DC and a tour of Tennessee, Mississippi and Alabama highlight Joseph Ikner’s recent concert happenings. In January 2002, Mr. Ikner premiered Comedic Situation, a commissioned work for solo guitar by Dr. Andrew Zohn. Following the debut, The North Carolina Arts Council awarded Joseph Ikner a grant to help fund his first recording, Premiere. Selections from Premiere have been featured on public radio stations and the CD is available for purchase at www.iknermusic.com. Joseph Ikner’s accomplishments at several solo guitar competitions include: Finalist, Aranjuez Strings International Guitar Competition, 2001; 1st prize, South Carolina National Guitar Competition, 2001; 1st prize, North Carolina Music Teacher’s Association Collegiate Artist Guitar Competition, 1997 & 1999; Finalist, East Carolina University Summer Guitar Workshop Guitar Competition, 1999. Widely regarded as a dedicated, conscientious and effective guitar pedagogue, Joseph Ikner is regularly sought to conduct master classes and clinics. Joseph Ikner has also directed guitar studies at Campbell University. He holds a MM, and BM, magna cum laude, in Guitar Performance from East Carolina University and is currently seeking a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Guitar Performance at Shenandoah Conservatory. Joseph Ikner has been a faculty member of the ECU Summer Guitar Workshop since it’s inception in 1996.