Benjamin Verdery, guitar
Biography
Artistic director of 92nd Street Y’s Art of the Guitar series since 2006, Benjamin Verdery is hailed for his innovative and eclectic musical career. Since 1980 he has performed worldwide in theaters and at festivals, including Theatre Carré in Amsterdam, the International Guitar Festival at Havana, Wigmore Hall in London, and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and Metropolitan Opera in New York. His tours regularly take him throughout the US, Canada, Europe and Asia. He has recorded and performed with such diverse artists as Andy Summers, Frederic Hand, William Coulter, Leo Kottke, Anthony Newman, Jessye Norman, Paco Peña, Hermann Prey and John Williams.
Ben Verdery has released more than 15 albums, his most recent being Happy Here with William Coulter; and Branches, featuring works of Bach, Strauss, Jimi Hendrix, Mozart and the traditional Amazing Grace, both for Mushkatweek. His CD, Start Now, also for Mushkatweek, won the 2005 Classical Recording Foundation Award, while other recordings of note include Some Towns & Cities and his collaborations with John Williams (John Williams Plays Vivaldi) and Andy Summers (First you Build A Cloud).
Many of the leading composers of our time have created music for Ben, including Ezra Laderman, Martin Bresnick, John Anthony Lennon, Anthony Newman, Roberto Sierra, Van Stiefel and Jack Vees. Of particular note was the commission by the Yale University Music Library of a work by Ingram Marshall for classical and electric guitars. Ben Verdery and Andy Summers premiered the work, Dark Florescence, at Carnegie Hall with the American Composers Orchestra. Last December, the two guitarists appeared at the annual Amsterdam Electric Guitar Heaven.
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Benjamin Verdery is also a prolific published composer in his own right with many of his compositions having been performed, recorded and published over the years. In 2012, he was commissioned to compose two works: Penzacola Belongs To All, commissioned by the Pensacola Guitar Orchestra in celebration of their 30th Anniversary (premiered in Pensacola October 2012) and Stand in Your Own Light for guitar and koto, commissioned by the Kyo-Shin-An Arts with funding from the New York State Council for the Arts (premiered in New York City November 2012).
In 2010, The Assad Duo premiered Ben's work, What He Said. Commissioned by the 92 St Y, the work is dedicated to the late luthier Thomas Humphrey. Other recent works have included Now and Ever (for David Russell,Telarc), Peace, Love and Guitars (for John Williams and John Etheridge, SONY Classical), Capitola (John Williams, SONY Classical) and Give (for eight guitars). This last was composed specifically for Thomas Offermann and the guitar ensemble of the Hochschule for Music and Theatre (Rostock, Germany) and dedicated to the memory of U.S. Senator Edward Kennedy. Ben’s Scenes from Ellis Island, for guitar orchestra, has been extensively broadcast and performed at festivals and universities in the United States, Canada, New Zealand and Europe, and the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet included it on their CD, Air and Ground (Sony Classical).
Doberman-Yppan (Canada) is currently publishing his solo and duo works for guitar, and Workshop Arts (distributed by Alfred Music) has published the solo pieces from Some Towns & Cities as well as instructional books and video. Many other compositions are available at his web site.
In addition to his performances, tours and recording, since 1985, Benjamin Verdery has been chair of the guitar department at the Yale University School of Music and artistic director of the bi-annual Yale Guitar Extravaganza. He was appointed an honorary board member of the Suzuki Association of the Americas in 2007. Each summer Ben holds his Annual International Master Class on the Island of Maui (Hawaii).
Benjamin Verdery uses D'Addario strings and guitars by Greg Smallman and Otto Vowinkel.
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Press Highlights
Guitarist, Sinfonietta pair for a riveting evening
Cape Cod Times
February 20, 2012
FALMOUTH -When you have a soloist who combines a gift for composition, an ecumenical embrace of many kinds of music and a natural and seemingly effortless connection with his chosen instrument you have the makings of an exceptional and riveting evening of music.
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Benjamin Verdery is without a doubt a great guitarist possessing an astonishing technique.
– CORDOBA TIMES (Spain)
MusicNOW 2008 · Night 2: An Evening of American Guitar
MusicNow 2008 Festival
Cincinnati, OH
A unique and inspired festival, with the likes of The National, Bill Frisell, the Dirty Projectors, Padma Newsome, Sufjan Stevens and Benjamin Verdery among others. Day 2 of the MusicNOW festival at Memorial Hall was billed as "An Evening Of American Guitar." Avant Garde Jazz guitar legend Bill Frisell was the headliner, but Classical guitarist Ben Verdery stole the show with his opening set.
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