Sharon Isbin
Sharon Isbin (born in Minneapolis)[1] is a classical guitarist and the founding director of the guitar department at the Juilliard School.[2]
Sharon Isbin
Musician
Classical guitar
1970–present
Personal life and education[edit]
Sharon Isbin was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to attorney Katherine Brudnoy[3] and Herbert S. Isbin,[4] a nuclear scientist and professor at the University of Minnesota.[5] She began her guitar studies at age nine with Aldo Minella in Varese, Italy.[6] She later studied with Jeffrey Van, Sophocles Papas, Andrés Segovia, Oscar Ghiglia, Alirio Díaz and for ten years with the noted keyboard artist and Bach scholar Rosalyn Tureck. Isbin collaborated with Tureck in preparing landmark first performance editions of the Bach lute suites for guitar, published by G Schirmer, and recorded by Isbin as Complete Bach Lute Suites on Warner Classics.[7] Isbin created and directs the guitar departments at the Aspen Music Festival and the Juilliard School.
She began practicing Transcendental Meditation at age 17.[8] She received a B.A. cum laude from Yale University and a Master of Music (M.M.) from the Yale School of Music.
In 1995 Isbin came out as a lesbian in a profile by Out magazine. She wanted to come out a year earlier but her manager told her not to, only changing their mind after k.d. lang and Melissa Etheridge found success as out musicians the following year.[9]
Music career[edit]
Performing and recording[edit]
Isbin has appeared as soloist with over 200 orchestras, and has commissioned more concertos than any other guitarist—including works by John Corigliano, Tan Dun, Aaron Jay Kernis, Joseph Schwantner, Lukas Foss, Chris Brubeck, and Christopher Rouse.[10]
In 2015, she performed with Josh Groban on PBS's Billy Joel: Gershwin Prize concert, and in February 2015 she was featured on the Tavis Smiley PBS television series.
In 2005, Isbin performed a world premiere of Blossom Suite along with the composer, rock guitarist Steve Vai. Her earliest crossover collaborations began with Brazilian guitarist Laurindo Almeida and jazz guitarist Larry Coryell. In 2014, she performed a 20-city Guitar Passions tour with jazz musicians Stanley Jordan and Romero Lubambo.
Other composers who have written for Isbin include Joan Tower, David Diamond, Ned Rorem, Howard Shore, John Duarte, Leo Brouwer, and Bruce MacCombie. New York's Carnegie Hall and Chicago's Harris Theater commissioned composer Richard Danielpour to write a song cycle for Isbin and mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard to commemorate the 125th anniversary of Carnegie Hall.[11] She has premiered over 80 works by world-renowned composers.
Isbin's catalogue of over 35 recordings has sold nearly one million copies and ranges from Baroque music, Spanish/Latin, and 20th century to crossover and jazz fusion. Her most recent releases are AFFINITY: World Premiere Recordings, and STRINGS FOR PEACE: Premieres for Guitar & Sarod with Amjad Ali Khan, both of which were named Best of 2020 by NPR, SiriusXM and multiple media. Her Souvenirs of Spain & Italy (Cedille) with the Pacifica Quartet debuted at number two on the Billboard charts and at number one on Amazon. Her Alma Espanola (Bridge) with mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard was honored by a 2018 GRAMMY Award for Producer of the Year, Classical. The acclaimed one-hour documentary Sharon Isbin: Troubadour won the 2015 ASCAP Television Broadcast Award.[12][13][14] In October 2014, Warner Classics released a 5-CD box set of her most popular albums titled Sharon Isbin: 5 Classic Albums. Her 2011 release, Sharon Isbin & Friends: Guitar Passions (Sony), became a bestseller on Amazon.com, and includes guest artists Steve Vai, Stanley Jordan, Nancy Wilson, Steve Morse, Romero Lubambo, Rosa Passos, Thiago de Mello, and Paul Winter.
Awards and nominations[edit]
Boston magazine called Isbin "the pre-eminent guitarist of our time".[11] She was the winner of Guitar Player magazine's Best Classical Guitarist award. Isbin has also won the following awards: