I first heard Alex De Grassi live at Carnegie hall in about 1980, and have been a dedicated fan ever since. He is an artist who has never stopped growing and always created inspired music. His technique is fantastic and his music is ever meaningful. We at Strings By Mail are proud to now have a sponsorship relationship with Alex and have teamed with him to pursue the mutual goal of promoting the pursuit of higher education for acoustic guitarists. We will be announcing new efforts to that end in the coming months.
John Wunsch
Proprietor
Strings By Mail
For Alex De Grassi products click here.
Alex De Grassi has been a unique voice in the world of acoustic guitar for
over 30 years and his innovative approach to composing and arranging for
solo steel-string guitar has influenced a generation of players. From his
first solo performances in university coffeehouses and as a street musician
to his engagements at such prestigious venues as Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy
Center, and the Montreux Jazz Festival, Alex has followed his own vision
and, in the process, helped to lay the foundation for contemporary
fingerstyle guitar. Inspired by American and British Isles folk and blues
artists in his early teens, his musical pursuits soon expanded to encompass
classical, jazz, and world music. He has since become known for his
evocative compositions and arrangements, and for his sheer virtuosity.
Using a broad palette of techniques and timbre in conjunction with his
ability to weave together melody, counter-melody, bass, harmony, and rhythm
into a highly orchestrated canvas of sound, Alex’s performances take the
listener well beyond the instrument. The Wall Street Journal has called his
playing “flawless” and Billboard hails his “intricate finger-picking
technique with an uncanny gift for melodic invention.”
Alex’s career has drawn acclaim for numerous recordings as well as for
his live performances as a soloist and within ensemble settings. His 1978
recording, Turning: Turning Back (cited by Acoustic Guitar magazine among
their top ten essential fingerstyle recordings), the subsequent recordings
Slow Circle (1979) and Southern Exposure (1984), and his Grammy® nominated
recording The Water Garden (1998) are considered classics of the genre.
He has twice been commissioned by the New York Guitar Festival to compose
and perform live scores for the festival's Silent Films/Live Guitars
series: in 2010 at Merkin Hall, and in 2006 at Flushing Town Hall. Festival
director David Spelman says “Alex de Grassi is a treasure… his
technical wizardry as well as his vibrant and poetic music-making make him
one of the most distinctive steel-string guitarists performing today.”
Alex’s most recent solo guitar recording, In Concert (Mel Bay Records),
was recorded in front of a live Nashville audience and it features
compositions and arrangements spanning the length of his career. His latest
solo studio recording, Now and Then: Folk Songs for the 21st Century (Tropo
Records), features contemporary arrangements of 11 treasured melodies from
the American standards repertoire.
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Matt Palmer
I was introduced to Matt Palmer by my associate and former student Brad De Roche. One often hears of exciting new artists on the horizon, but I am usually more impressed by their abilities than their meaning. Matt breaks that pattern quite decidedly. The level of expression and meaning in his performances is exceedingly impressive. We at Strings By Mail are very proud to support Matt by our sponsorship and look forward to the fulfillment that others will experience as they discover this fine young artist of the classical guitar.
John Wunsch
Proprietor
Strings By Mail
For Matt Palmer products click here.
“Matt Palmer is one of the most extraordinary young guitarists I have heard in the last few years. His ability on the instrument in quite outstanding and the ease with which he takes on the most challenging works of the guitar repertoire is impressive. I wish him all the success in his career that he clearly deserves.”
- David Russell, Grammy-award winning guitarist
“even the most difficult passages with the utmost clarity and incredible speed”
- Modern Guitars Magazine
“poise, maturity, intelligence, abundant technical skills, and impressive control”
- Classical Voice of North Carolina
“the soul of an artist...virtuosity of the highest caliber and a heightened sense of musicality”
- Guitar International
Award-winning guitarist Matt Palmer is an artist whose unique musical gifts have gained him recognition as one of the most talented and innovative artists of his generation. Performing energetic concert programs featuring rarely played virtuosic works, Matt Palmer's highly developed technique and superb sense of musicality has captivated audiences across the United States, Europe, and Mexico.
Born in the town of Fall Branch, TN, he began his musical journey self-taught as a youth. After mastering the art of the electric guitar, he began his formal musical studies at age 20 with Dr. William Yelverton at Middle Tennessee State University, and later with Dr. Douglas James at Appalachian State University. He is currently in the final stages of a D.M.A. degree at The University of Arizona under the guidance of Professor Thomas Patterson, and receives further instruction from Artists-in-Residence David Russell, Sergio Assad, and Odair Assad.
Mr. Palmer has had the honor of studying in masterclasses with world-renowned artists, including Pepe Romero, David Tanenbaum, Andrew York, Lorenzo Michelli, Marcin Dylla, Scott Tennant, Denis Azabagic, David Starobin, Roland Dyens, Aniello Desiderio, among others. His talent has been recognized across genres, with an outstanding number of competition prizes on both classical and electric guitar. Mr. Palmer was a also finalist in the Internationales Pfingstseminar in Koblenz, where he had the distinct privilege of being chosen to perform for Pepe Romero’s masterclass. As a result of his competition successes in 2007, he was awarded with handcrafted guitars by master luthiers Brian Dunn and Eric Sahlin.
Matt Palmer's eclectic programming and dazzling virtuosity enchants audiences across the world with critically acclaimed interpretations of the virtuosic repertoire of Stepan Rak and Joaquin Rodrigo. Recent performances include concerts at the Tennessee Guitar Festival, Tucson International Guitar Festival, WIU Guitar Festival, Las Vegas Guitar Festival, Appalachian Guitarfest, live performances and interviews on WIAA Interlochen Radio, WCYB TV-5 and WETS-FM, and soloist appearances with the Johnson City Symphony Orchestra (Leo Brouwer’s Concerto Elegiaco), and with North Carolina’s Appalachian Chamber Orchestra (Joaquin Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez). |
