More Art Than Science

Clarice Assad is a Brazilian-American composer, pianist, arranger and singer originally from Rio de Janeiro. She has recorded 7 solo albums and has appeared on dozens of additional recordings. She is also Sergio Assad’s daughter, which may well be unfairly her greatest claim to fame in the small world of classical guitar. Clarice holds a Bachelor of Music from Roosevelt University in Chicago and a master's degree in Composition from the University of Michigan. She was also a 2009 Latin Grammy nominee. I caught up to Clarice this Spring at the University of Rhode Island Guitar Fest. She is unassuming and has a very “real” feel about her, a presence that I’m beginning to associate with musicians in general.

Jacob Reuven describes how he makes ends meet as a professional mandolinist.

Adam Levin is a virtuoso guitarist with 5 CDs including Contemporary Spanish Guitar Volumes I, II, and III. I recommend them all. He is also founding member of the Great Necks, one half of "Duo Sonidos", founder of the Kithara Project, a great teacher at University of Rhode Island, creator of the URI Guitar Fest, and a very good friend. Hear him discuss how he made his way in the post-Segovia classical guitar universe.

Frank Wallace is an accomplished classical guitarist who has played for audiences throughout the Americas and Europe since 1976, including performances at the Holland Festival, Regensburg Festival, Música en Compostela, Taxco International Guitar Festival, Boston Early Music Festival, Barcelona Festival, International Guitar Festival of Arequipa, the Festival of Spanish Song of Granada, and the Guitar Foundation of America. He has recorded 16 (SIXTEEN) CDs. 16? 16 CDs. Almost as impressive as his catalog is his accomplishments as a composer, a teacher, recording engineer, publisher, and a director of musical/guitar projects. Soundboard magazine calls him “an impressive talent in every respect; he is a strong guitarist, a composer with a distinct voice, and a confident vocalist." I met Frank at the University of Rhode Island Guitar Fest. Frank was generous enough to give me an hour of his time as the festival wrapped, what follows is an edited version of our conversation on the intersection of music and commerce.

Goran Ivanovic has built a career around exploration. Born and raised in Croatia, he was in the midst of studying at Mozarteum University in Salzburg, Austria with Elliot Fisk and Joaquin Clerch when his parents (his father is a Serb, his mother a Bosnian Croat) were expelled in the late 90s; the family was granted asylum in the US and they settled in Chicago. Since his arrival he’s displayed a deep interest in collaboration, steadily expanding his stylistic range well beyond the European classical music and Balkan sounds he was fluently versed in when he arrived. These days his repertoire not only incorporates those disciplines, but jazz and flamenco as well.

Born in 1963 to a Pakistani father and Chilean mother, Fareed’s extensive travels and especially long stays in Spain, France, Iran, Pakistan, and Chile exposed him to different kinds of music from a very early age. His musical accomplishments are many ---including being named "Best World Guitarist" by Guitar Player magazine in 2009 -- but in my humble opinion tho the coolest thing about Fareed is that he named one of his bands "Garage Mahal".

MoreArtThanScience-About This Podcast by More Art Than Science

Derek Gripper is a classical guitarist who has taken a unique path.