Guitar Conversations Podcast

I chat with guitar icon Milos Karadaglic who has been performing classical guitar around the globe over the last decade as an artist for Deutche Grammaphone. He shares insights and learnings from his time in the guitar limelight. These include recording his award winning albums, and in particular Concerto Aranjuez and his new concerto collaborations. We also go into detail about how he forged his unique path towards an international guitar career. I really enjoyed my chat with Milos I hope you do too, please let me know your thoughts on my insta page or facebook page @sergioguitarist.   

Thanks for joining me for episode 42 of Guitar Conversations. It has been a while since my last podcast episode as I decided to take a break from this project to focus on other things. As you may know, I run a busy guitar program at a school in Melbourne, I have an active performing career and examining schedule(not during a pandemic) and publish a lot of teaching content on Latin Guitar Mastery.com. I really enjoy connecting with other guitarists who are doing interesting things so I'll continue publishing episodes as often as I can. If you'd like to stay in touch with my activities you can follow me on @sergioguitarist on Instagram. Irina Kulikova is a Russian classical guitar virtuoso of international acclaim. She has won numerous guitar competitions and has also recorded for Naxos. She has a powerful and engaging playing style and a great passion for music and the guitar. I had a lovely interview this week with Irina Kulikova. We talked about her early guitar experiences, competitions, her playing style and iconic tone, mindfulness, overcoming injuries and her Kickstarter campaign that runs till the end of May. Hope you enjoy! This episode is brought to you by Latin Guitar Mastery.com podcast listeners can use the code conversations to get a 20% discount on the courses or ebooks.  

Adam Del Monte is a grammy award winning flamenco and classical guitarist. He teaches at USC Thornton School of Music and alongside his busy touring schedule has written a flamenco guitar concerto, collaborated with artists such as the LA Guitar Quartet and written and recorded for numerous films. In our conversation we talk about his intriguing story so far, and his views on flamenco and classical guitar worlds, guitar education, writing for film and lots more. I hope you enjoy my conversation with Adam Del Monte.

Chrystian Dozza is a Brasilian guitarist/composer living in Sao Paolo.I saw Chrystian last year at the Adelaide Guitar Festival and also attended his guitar workshops. He has an infectious appetite for music having performed around the world and written a solid body of work and is developing a strong a devoted following. In our interview we talk about his beginnings, the music of Brasil and his influences. He also plays some excerpts from his latest compositions! "I really like to bring to my musical universe, music from all over the world, guitarists, composers and folk Muisc" Chrystian Dozza this program is brought to you by  www.latinguitarmastery.com. Use the promo code : conversations to get a 20% discount on courses and subscriptions. Hope you enjoy the show! Sergio      

The Beijing Guitar Duo are recognized as one of the worlds leading classical guitar duos. Both Meng Su and Yaming Wang have studied under and collaborated with the legendary Manuel Barrueco. They  continue to tour extensively internationally and have released number of CDs the latest  one called Bach to Dan Dun. I caught up with the duo on their recent visit to Australia and had a quick chat about their amazing guitar journey. I hope you enjoy my conversation with Meng Su and Yameng Wang.

My guest this episode is Derek Gripper who is a classically trained guitarist who has made waves in the guitar and world music scene with his ground breaking guitar arrangements of west African folk music. I ran into Derek at the Adelaide Guitar Festival last month and I found his stories fascinating. In our chat we explore some of the West African oral musical traditions and how they relate to this mystical 21 string harp called the Kora. We talk about Derek's recent collaborations with John Williams and kora virtuoso Toumani Diabate and how he managed to notate the highly complex and virtuosic kora music. Please enjoy my conversation with Derek Gripper.

Martha Masters is an internationally acclaimed classical guitarist. She is currently on the guitar faculty of Loyola Marymount University and California State University Fullerton, and is president of the Guitar Foundation of America. She has five recordings on the Naxos and GSP labels, and has published books three books with Mel Bay Publications and Alfred Music.   I caught up with her at the Adelaide International Guitar Festival last week where she was a featured performer. In our chat we talk about her recent collaborations and her current work with GFA, please enjoy my conversation with Martha Masters.

Stephen Goss needs little introduction in classical guitar and music circles having written a large body of works for guitar, choir, chamber, and orchestra. He is currently Professor of Composition and Director of Research in the Department of Music and Media at the University of Surrey, UK, and also a Professor of Guitar at the Royal Academy of Music in London. He is the Director of the International Guitar Research Centre, which he founded with John Williams and Milton Mermikides in 2014 He was in Melbourne last week for a week long residency at Melbourne University working alongside Head of Guitar Ken Murray and the guitar students. Last Friday I caught up with Steve before the end of week concert presented by staff and student featuring Steve's works.  We chat a bit about his writing for guitar and some interesting projects he has worked on.  Please enjoy my interview with Stephen Goss. Intro music: Piece: V. Walt Disney Concert Hall Album :Frozen Music Composer: Stephen Goss Performed by : Menuhin School pupils. Outro music Piece: Sonata for Guitar: II. Toccata Album :Frozen Music Composer: Stephen Goss Performed by : Michael Partington

Hi and welcome to GC, my name is Sergio and this podcast is dedicated to bringing guitarists together from diverse fields and sharing guitar music related ideas. Starting from July 2018 I will be publishing 2 episodes a month, the first episode featuring an interview with a guitarist from the world of classical, jazz, fingerstyle or Rock. The second episode will feature a Guitar Conversation topic. I will be dipping into previous episodes to extract some wisdom and interesting ideas. If you'd like to suggest a guitar topic or guitarist to interview you can go to www.guitarconversations.com and leave me a message.  Now to the featured interview. Brett Garsed is an Australian guitar legend having been involved in the music industry for many decades now. He has had success as a solo fusion guitarist but also as guitarist for John Farnham and the US group Nelson. He shares valuable insights and stories from his fascinating career. Thanks for listening to Guitar Conversations podcast. Help support this podcast by joining my newsletter at www.guitarconversations.com or leave a rating comment on iTunes.  Thanks for listening Sergio      

Earlier this year I caught up with Melbourne jazz guitarist Stephen Magnusson. Stephen is one of Australia's leading jazz guitarists undertaking a busy performing and session career. He currently has a number of projects on the go including a trio with Dave Beck and Frank Di Sario called MAG, and Boundaries with Frank Di Sario. Recent highlight include a jazz prize with his Quartet MAGNET and an ARIA award winning album with Katie Noonan and the group Elixir.   We had to finish our chat a bit earlier than expected so this episode will form part 1 of our conversation and we will have a part 2 soon.   This episode is brought to you by www.latinguitarmastery.com, enter "conversations" to redeem a discount on available guitar courses. 

Acoustic Uprising is a guitar documentary by Melbourne director Drew Roller. It explores the emergence of a new style of acoustic guitar playing called Acoustic Fingerstyle guitar which has taken the internet (in particular YouTube) by storm. I'm joined by Drew to talk about his journey around the globe to discover the origins and new innovations surrounding this style of guitar playing. We talk about why he decide to make this film, how he made its the leading players of the style and recent developments. You can visit http://www.acousticuprisingfilm.com  to purchase a copy of the film and find out when it is next showing.

Today I talk with 18 year old finger style  sensation Joseph Balfe. He recently appeared at the Melbourne Guitar Show (where I met him) He has won a string country music of awards and recently performed with Tommy Emmanuel. This episode is brought to you by LatinGuitarMaster.com. This is a unique guitar learning platform where under one simple subscription you can learn a variety of Latin Guitar styles including Bossa Nova, Flamenco, Classical and more. Visit www.latinguitarmastery.com and use the coupon code conversations to receive a 20% discount on a product or subscription.    

I caught up with Fernando Perez recently whilst in Barcelona. Fernando contacted m earlier in the year with a desire to share his music and his story. John Schneider from Gobal Village in Los Angeles describes Fernando : "Fernando Perez's is a long and amazing story. He learned the global music traditions one on one living in every major culture. Whether is West African, Latin American, Chinese, Hawaiian, Indian, Turkish you name it, Fernando Perez has been there, done that. He shares his artistry with an increasing list of recordings and publications which are just absolutely beyond belief." In my chat with Fernando we talk about his time in LA and his work as a session guitarist, his teachers, and his passion for guitar music from other cultures. You can find out more info about Fernando at www.fernandoperezguitar.com.   The Guitar Conversations Podcast is free but you can help support the show in a couple of ways. Firstly go to iTunes and leave a rating or review and secondly visit latinguitarmastery.com which is my guitar learning platform. Receive a 20% discount on a subscription by typing conversations in to the promo code. Thanks for listening to guitar conversations podcast, you can listen to moire episodes at www.sergioercole.com as well as finding out about my other projects or send me a hello and let me know what you think of the show. Till next episode bye for now.    

Andrea Vettoretti a un chitarrista Italiano molto conosciuto per is suo lavoro come concertista ma anche per essere il direttore della Festival Chitarristico Internazionale di due città, che si tiene ogni  anno a Settembre. Abita a Treviso dove parte della festival e tenuta (altra parte in Roma).    Oggi parleremo della la sua attività internazionale chitaristica, il suo nuove progetto che si chiama Wonderland, della Festival che e appena cominciata settima scorsa, e anche del suo processo creativo e le sue philosofie.  Spero che vi piacera la mia converzazione con Andrea Vettoretti.  

Nick Charles is an Australian blues and finger style legend. With an impressive catalogue of original music and arrangements he has a notable reputation as a true guitar master. On my chat with Nick we cover his international touring career, the challenges of being a solo guitar act, his collaborations and projects, and his goals for the future. I hope you enjoy my chat with Nick Charles. If you enjoy my podcast you may also like my guitar learning platform Latin Guitar Mastery.com use the coupon code conversations to get a 20% discount on a course or subscription!        

Matt Withers is making waves in the classical guitar scene in Australia by blending skillful solo playing with various collaborative projects. He is a member of acclaimed Guitar Trek, and Brew Duo, and is the founder of the Australian Music Composition Competition. He also performs regularly with ARIA award winning musicians and top Australian Orchestras. We caight up last week to chat about his upcoming performances and recodrings as well as the challenges of finding your niche in the guitar worls, and his beginnings in Adelaide and Canberra. More info at `https://mattwithers.com.au Music Zapateado by Regino Sainz De La Maza from his album Solo Intermezzo Op 118 No2 by Johannes Brahms performer by Guitar Trek on album Seren Nights

I had the pleasure of catching up with legendary jazz/fusion guitarist Mike Stern while he was visiting Melbourne for a residency at Bird's Basement. We talk about Pat Metheny, Miles Davis and his great band! Please excuse the audio quality which suffered from the less than ideal recording environment I am hoping to have him back for a more in depth interview later this year. Hope you enjoy my chat with Mike Stern.

Marion Scaap and Peter Constant's 25 year long career as Zoo Duo has seen them become leaders in chamber and ensemble guitar playing. They have been at the forefront in the development of the Guitar Orchestra genre in Holland and have also toured internationally as a sought after guitar duo. I recently caught up with them on the eve of their Austrlian tour and we chat about the program they will be playing, the guitar seen in Holland, the challenges of working with large guitar ensembles and lots more. For more information about the Zoo Duo you can visit www.zooguitarduo

UK based Aquarelle Guitar Quartet has been steadily building an international reputation since forming in 1999. Alongside the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet and Guitar Trek they were one of the first guitar chamber groups of its kind and have continued to bring this dynamic form to new audiences.  They have appeared at major guitar festivals and released six albums and are known for their captivating performances. On this episode( which was a four way Skype chat) we talk about their career highlights and challenges as well as their new album release  called Aspects. I hope you enjoy my conversation with Mike Baker, Rory Russell and Vasilis Bessas from the Aquarelle Guitar Quartet. Music Featured in this episode includes: From their recent release Aspects Quiccan by Andrew York Flippen (The Flip) by Karl Mikael Marin and The Punch Brothers      This podcast is brought to you by LatinGuitar Mastery.com find lessons and articles on Latin Guitar styles including Brasilian, Flamenco, and Spanish Classical Guitar. Use the code Conversation to receive a $5 off your first months membership! Thanks for listening to this episode don’t forget to write a review or leave a comment on iTunes or visit www.sergioercole.com to hear more great interviews which include John Williams, Manuel Barrueco, Tommy Emmanuel and lots more! See you next time.

Xuefei Yang (Fei) is acclaimed as one of the world’s finest classical guitarists. Born in China, Xueifei was performing at the age of 14 in International Guitar competitions. She is signed to a top UK agency and is keeping busy touring, recording and collaborating with acclaimed artists. She will be in performing in Melbourne next week and in our conversation we talk about her latestCD from Bach to Brasil, her story and recent projects. I hope you enjoy my conversation with xeufei yang. You can catch Xuefei in Melbourne next week on November 3rd at the Melbourne Recital centre.   This podcast is brought to you by LatinGuitar Mastery.com find lessons and articles on Latin Guitar styles including Brasilian, Flamenco, and Spanish Classical Guitar. Use the code Conversation to receive a $5 off your first months membership! Thanks for listening to this episode don't forget to write a review or leave a comment on iTunes or visit www.sergioercole.com to hear more great interviews which include John Williams, Manuel Barrueco, Tommy Emmanuel and lots more! See you next time. 

On this episode Michael MacManus and Evan Hopkins join me to chat about the Melbourne Guitar Foundation and the Melbourne International Guitar Festival. We chat about what inspired the MGF and the challenges of running a foundation. We also review the upcoming acts who will feature at the festival which will be half at Melba Hall on September 23rd to 25th. Today’s podcast is brought to you by audible.com – I listen to a lot of audiobooks and audible is the best platform I have found, and they have a great offer; get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/guitarconversations  Over 180,000 titles to choose from for any mobile device. Thanks for you support!

Karin schaupp has had a remarkable career so far. She has worked in the top echelons of classical guitar performance, recorded for major record labels and played with some of the major orchestras around the world. Along side this she has also been very creative in her collaborations and projects which have extended well beyond the guitar genre she has courageously launching into acting and various performance arts.   In our chat we talk about her beginnings and the joys and challenges of being taught by your parent, high lights of her career, influences and some of her most fulfilling projects. I hope you’ll enjoy my conversations with Karin Schaupp as much as I did.   Music Stélé by Phillip Houghton from the CD Lotte's Gift performed by Karin Schaupp. Intermezzo by Mascagni from the CD Dreams performed by Karin Schaupp.     Today’s podcast is brought to you by audible.com – I listen to a lot of audiobooks and audible is the best platform I have found, and they have a great offer; get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/guitarconversations  Over 180,000 titles to choose from for any mobile device. Thanks for you support!

Manuel Barrueco is a living legend of the classical guitar. For the past three decades has been at the forefront of classical guitar performance touring, recording, commissioning works and transcribing music for the guitar. He has also mentored a number of highly successful young guitar talents where he teaches at Peabody Institute in Baltimore.   It was a real pleasure to speak with the maestro about his recent projects including the latest releases on his label Tonar Music, as well as some of the finer aspects of his craft. Music Invierno Porteño by Astor Piazzola from the album Solo Piazzolla Farewell by Sergio Assad performed by Manuel Barrueco and Franco Platino from the album Virtuoso Guitar Duos.   Today’s podcast is brought to you by audible.com – I listen to a lot of audiobooks and audible is the best platform I have found, and they have a great offer; get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial at www.audibletrial.com/guitarconversations  Over 180,000 titles to choose from for any mobile device. Thanks for you support!

My guests today are a husband and wife duo Daniel and Marla Nistico. They form a flute and guitar duo called Duo Vela. Duo Vela performs enchanting music from across the seas, giving audiences a taste of the sounds, rhythms and cultures of different lands. Formed in 2014, the duo has brought their exciting programs to venues in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and China.

Andrew York is a world renowned classical guitarist and composer. Over the past 30 years he has recorded numerous ground breaing solo albums and was also a founding member for the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet. His compositions which are rich in folk, jazz and ancient influences a have been recorded by many notable guitarists including John Williams and Christopher Parkening. He continues to tour internationally performing his compositions and taking masterclasses and forming various collaborations.

Melbourne based guitarist and composer Lucas Michailidis joins me today to chat about a workshop series he is curating called the Melbourne Guitar Lab. Lucas has performed both locally and internationally in a career spanning 20 year, he is signed to Candy Rat records and his performances and compositions have won many accolades. In our chat we dive into the philosophy of teaching and a new teaching platform that Lucas is experimenting with. We also preview some of the artists that will be featured in the guitar workshop series, these include Slava Grigoryan, Steve Magnusson, Bret Garsed, Lisa Boyes, James Ryan, Doug De Vries, Geoff Achison, and Lucas.   We’ll go over some of the techniques and topics that will be covered in the workshops. I hope you enjoy my insightful and at times philosophical chat with Lucas Michailidis.

The Melbourne Guitar Quartet is one of Australia's leading guitar quartets having performed for over 10 years. Their mission is to cultivate new works for the chamber guitar and to bring this medium to new audiences,

Classical guitarist Jason Vieaux has been on the world stage for the past three decades. His busy schedule of touring schedule includes solo concerts and many chamber collaborations with quartets, harpists and accordionists. He co-founded the guitar department at  The Curtis Institute of Music and last year won a Grammy for best solo classical recording. In my conversation with Jason we talk about his beginnings, his collaborations, Bach, guitars, and the Grammys.

On this episode of Guitar Conversations I interview guitarist Yuri Liberzon. He is a graduate of Peabody Institute and Yale University having studied with Manuel Barrueco and Benjamin Verdery. Yuri has recently released his first solo CD called Ascension. We talk about his new release and his journey so far in the world of classical guitar.

Raffaele Agostino is a Sydney based guitarist and teacher. He has been involved With the Sydney guitar scene for many decades performing, teaching , examing and co-running the Sydney Guitar Summer School. He also performs in a variety of ensembles including the Sydeney Guitar Trio and Duo Agostino. In my interview with Raff we talk about his story, collaborations, the summer school, playing at English Festivals, collaborating with Richard Charlton and lots more.

My guest today is finger-style guitar legend Tommy Emmanuel. Tommy has been performing internationally for many decades. He has worked with many notable guitarists including Chet Atkins and Eric Clapton and is known for his high energy compositions and arrangements, especially those of The Beatles songs. I had a great chat with Tommy about his beginning, classical guitar, Chet Atkins and lots more. I hope you enjoy my conversation with Tommy Emmanuel.

Scott Tennant is an internationally recognized classical guitarist and teacher. He was a founding member of the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet which has enjoyed a 30 year career and amongst many accolades is also known for his best selling guitar technique book called Pumping Nylon. In my chat with Scott we talk about LAGQ, his teaching philosophies, recordings and some great travel stories. I hope you enjoy my conversation with Scott Tenant

John Williams needs no introduction, he is a household name amongst guitarist and classical music lovers around. He has performed internationally for over 60 years having recorded some 200 albums, and thrilled and amazed audineces around the world with his dazzling technique, and incredible breadth of repertoire. His contribution to the classical guitar cannot be understated having inspired many generations of young people to learn the instrument. I was thrilled to chat to John recently about his thoughts on guitar playing, teaching, the music industry, practice, guitars and much more.

Australian born Craig Ogden is one of the UK’s leading classical guitarists. He has recorded highly acclaimed CDs and has collaborated with some of Europes leading musicians including John Williams.

Vladmir Gorbach is a rising star of the classical guitar world. He has won numerous guitar competitions including the GFA in 2011.

William Kanengiser is an internationally renowned classical guitarist. A founding member of the award winning Los Angeles Guitar Quartet.

John Griffiths is a musician and musicologist specializing in vihuela and lute.

Tim Kain has had an enviable musical career. He was one of the first graduates in classical guitar in Australia, and after studying in England and Spain he began teaching at the ANU school of music. He gained a reputation as one of Australia’s leading classical guitar performers and teachers with many students going on to have success locally and overseas. Tim has also established many collaborations with notable international classical musicians and is very active performing and commissioning new works for the guitar. In my interview with Tim we talk about his early professional years, his time at the ANU, crowd funding for Guitar Trek and his collaborations with John Williams. There are many topics we did not cover and I’m hoping we can get together again soon to have another very enjoyable chat.  

Slava Grigoryan has been performing since mid 1990s. He was signed to Sony Music Label at age 19 after winning a major prize at the Tokyo International Guitar Festival.

Doug De Vries is an Australian music icon, having performed, recorded and composed professionally for over 30 years in the fields of Jazz and Brasilian guitar.

In part 2 of my interview with Lenny we chat about life on the road, mentorship, competitions, and technical workouts.  

My conversation today is with guitarist Leonard Grigoryan. Leonard has forged a career as both a solo guitarist and as a member of the internationally acclaimed duo the Grigoryan brothers with his brother Slava. They have toured every part of the globe and have recorded a number or ARIA award winning albums. Alongside being an exceptionally talented classical guitarist, Leonard also composes for guitar, performs in a number of cotemporary/fusion groups and records regularly as a session guitarist in the Melbourne music scene. In this episode we talk about; Cruise ships His guitar background the business side of the guitar performing and touring with Slava His solo album recording in Norway The new Grigoryan Brothers album-

My interview today is with Ken Murray. Ken is a lecturer at Melbourne University and co-head of the Guitar Department and holds a PHD in Spanish guitar music.  He regularly performs and records new classical guitar music, and is also a respected composer for guitar. Ken is performs regularly Doug De Vries and a number of international acts. Join me now as we begin our chat talking about his new project called Three withJoel Brennan (trumpet), Don Immel (trombone) and Ken Murray (guitar)with in a number of collaborations including a duo with Doug De Vries, and a number of international acts.