About 

Acclaimed musician David Russell leads a master class with members of SFCM’s Guitar Department.

For a sneak peek of what it’s like to work with David, watch a virtual master class he led last spring.

Program

Sérgio Assad (b. 1952)
Valseanna 
Samuel Liang, guitar

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Adagio ma non troppo, BWV 1034 
Juri Yun, guitar

Joaquin Rodrigo (1901-1999)
En Los Trigales 
Nicholas Martin, guitar

Leo Brouwer (b. 1939)
Concierto Elegiaco 
     Finale (Toccata)
Yifan Zhang, guitar

Get to know David Russell:

Classical guitarist David Russell is world renowned for his superb musicianship and inspired artistry. He was named a Fellow of The Royal Academy of Music in London in 1997. In May 2003 he was bestowed the great honor of being made “adopted son”
of Es Migjorn, the town in Minorca where he grew up. Later the town named a street after him, “Avinguda David Russell”. In November 2003 he was given the Medal of Honor of the Conservatory of the Balearics.

After winning a Grammy award for his CD Aire Latino in the category of Best instrumental soloist in classical music, the town of Nigrán in Spain where he resides, gave him the silver medal of the town. During his studies at the Royal Academy, David Russell won twice the Julian Bream Guitar Prize. Later he won numerous international competitions, including the Andrés Segovia Competition, the José Ramírez Competition and Spain’s prestigious Francisco Tárrega Competition .

David Russell tours the world, appearing regularly at prestigious halls in main cities, such as New York, London, Tokyo, Los Angeles, Madrid, Toronto, and Rome. His attention to detail and provocative lyrical phrasing suggest an innate understanding of what each individual composer was working to achieve, bringing to each piece a sense of adventure. In May 2005 he received a homage from the music conservatory of Vigo, culminating with the opening of a new auditorium in his name. In 2009 David was named honorary member of “Amigos de la Guitarra”, the oldest guitar society in Spain. Russell received an Honorary Doctorate in Music by the University of Arizona in Tucson in 2014. Inducted into the Hall of Fame of the Guitar Foundation of America in 2018.

The New York Times wrote about his performance: “... Mr. Russell made his mastery evident without ever deviating from an approach that places musical values above mere display... Mr. Russell possesses a talent of extraordinary dimension”. Upon hearing the play in London, Andrés Segovia wrote: “My congratulations on your musicality and guitaristic technique.” A prolific recording artist, his collection includes seventeen CDs with Telarc international.