Anatomy of an Etude - “ Why write an Etude ? ” We are delighted that this year that Gerald will give a fantastic presentation and he will also be arranging one of his 25 Etudes Esquisses for the course ensemble to play as one of their repertoire pieces.
Gerald Garcia has greatly enjoyed being a conductor and workshop leader of amateur and professional groups for over 40 years, being a regular visitor to summer schools and weekend courses in the UK, Europe and Asia. His teaching experience has included educational workshops with Kent Opera, English National Opera and the Academy of St.Martin-in-the- Fields and he has been musical director of the National Youth Guitar Ensemble from 2004-2022.
As a guitarist he has recorded more than 12 CDs which have sold more than 100,000 copies world-wide. He has performed with many other musicians and actors, notably guitarists Paco Pena, John Renbourn and John Williams, and performs in a duo with Alison Bendy and with Simon Mayor's Mandolinquents. In October 1995 he toured China in a duo with guitarist John Williams playing to audiences of tens of thousands of Chinese guitarists and teaching at Beijing and Shanghai conservatoires. He continues to visit China as a guest professor at Sichuan Conservatoire and has held workshops in Beijing, Weifang and Changsha.
He has written many guitar works including concerti and large ensemble pieces. Gerald’s compositions have been played and recorded by David Russell, Craig Ogden, the Eden-Stell Duo, Xue Fei Yang and John Williams. Recent commissions include works for the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, the Amadeus Duo, Kuang Junhong, Tim Beattie, Christian Fergo, Charivari Agréable and the MFO. His orchestral and choral music has been performed at Festivals in Europe and his guitar Etudes and competition pieces have become staples of the repertoire. His music and arrangements are published worldwide by Mel Bay, Holley Music, ABG publications, Guitarissimo and Cramer. www.geraldgarcia.com
