The Faculty Artist Series presents Nicholas Goluses, Professor of Guitar, Thursday, September 12, at 7:30 p.m., in Hatch Recital Hall, at the Eastman School of Music. Goluses will play Bach’s Sonata No. 3 in C Major, BWV 1005 (arr. Goluses), Falla’s Homenaje pour le tombeau de Claude Debussy, Sor’s Fantasie, Op. 58, and Theodorakis’ Three Epitafios (arr. Goluses). Also included is a world premiere of a new solo work (Storge in three movements) composed for Goluses by Eastman alumnus Maria Newman (BM ’84). Newman will be in residence at Eastman during the week of September 7 through 13 and will be present at this world premiere performance.
Nicholas Goluses has been praised for his recitals and performances around the world. The New York Times has said, “Goluses produced an elegant sound. And the finales, taken dangerously fast, were accurate, transparent, and impressively articulated.” The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reviewed one of his recitals:, “The program was ingenious. From each work he drew a distinct character, humanized by his own personality and the luxuriously polished tone of his guitar. Goluses has a relaxed, yet refined playing style and he confirmed his color and voice leading acumen with flair. An exceptional début.” American Record Guide reviewed, “Goluses plays with strength and confidence. Goluses is masterly, a musician’s musician.”
Nicholas Goluses is Professor of Guitar and founder and director of the guitar programs at the Eastman School of Music, where he is the recipient of the Eisenhart Award for Excellence in Teaching. Before coming to Eastman, he was the first Andrés Segovia Professor at Manhattan School of Music where he received the Doctor of Musical Arts degree and was the recipient of the Pablo Casals Award, the Faculty Award of Distinguished Merit, and (in 2019) a Distinguished Alumni Award. His students have won major competitions throughout the world, including Darwin (Australia), Allentown, GFA, D’Addario, MTNA, Appalachian, Taxco (Mexico), Rantucci, Rosario, Stotsenburg, Paracho (Mexico), Brock (Canada) World Competition, Philadelphia Guitar Society, Lone Star Competition, Louisville Competition, Memphis Competition, Harvard Foote Prize, Hamilton, Belgium, Fulbright, CAPES (Brazil). In addition, his students hold numerous professorships throughout the United States, Australia, Mexico, Canada, Brazil, England, Taiwan, and Germany. Dr. Goluses is in great demand for master classes at leading institutions throughout the world.
Nicholas Goluses’s concert tours as soloist, with orchestra, and as chamber musician have taken him across North America, South America, Europe, Australia, and the Far East to critical acclaim. His many New York recitals have taken place in Merkin Hall, Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, and Kaufmann Auditorium at the 92nd Street Y. Goluses has been a featured performer at major festivals throughout the world and has performed as concerto soloist with the Savannah Symphony, New Jersey Symphony, Colorado Symphony, Rochester Philharmonic, American Wind Orchestra, Manhattan Symphony, Louisiana Sinfonietta, Jacksonville Symphony, Eastman Virtuosi, Heidelberg Symphony, and the Macon Symphony, among others. He enjoys an active duo with flutist Bonita Boyd and has collaborated with the American and Ying String Quartets, violinists Zvi Zeitlin and Juliana Athayde, and tenor Robert Swensen.
Goluses has recorded for Albany, BMG, and Naxos. He received wide critical and audience acclaim for his CD of sonatas of Johann Sebastian Bach: “Played with masterly control of form and substance” (Cleveland Plain Dealer); of his CD of late guitar works of Fernando Sor, Fanfare wrote, “Nicholas Goluses plays superlatively” and Classical Guitar (London) wrote, “his performance compels the highest praise.” He has recorded two duo CDs with Bonita Boyd for Albany Records (Chronicles of Discovery and Quicksilver), and Night Strings with violist George Taylor. His newest solo CD, From Afar, with works by Britten, Schwantner, Ponce, Falla, and Theodorakis, was released in 2012.
Committed to performing new music for the guitar, Goluses has given world première performances of over 100 works, including solo pieces, concertos for guitar and orchestra, and chamber music by many of today’s leading composers. His performance editions are published by Alfred Masterworks.
He is a voting member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (GRAMMY), is currently on the Board of Directors for the Guitar Foundation of America and was named Musician of the Year 2015-16 by Mu Phi Epsilon.
Nicholas plays a guitar by master luthier Matthias Dammann, of Passau, Germany.
Tickets for Eastman’s Faculty Artist Series are $10 for the general public and free to current Season Subscribers and UR ID holders. Tickets can be purchased at the Eastman Theatre Box Office, 26 Gibbs Street, 10 a.m.- 3 p.m., Monday-Friday; by phone (585) 274-3000; or online at http://eastmantheatre.org
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About Eastman School of Music:
The Eastman School of Music was founded in 1921 by industrialist and philanthropist George Eastman (1854-1932), founder of Eastman Kodak Company. It was the first professional school of the University of Rochester. Mr. Eastman’s dream was that his school would provide a broad education in the liberal arts as well as superb musical training. The current dean is Jamal Rossi, appointed in 2014.
More than 900 students are enrolled in the Collegiate Division of the Eastman School of Music—about 500 undergraduates and 400 graduate students. They come from almost every state, and approximately 23 percent are from other countries. They are taught by a faculty comprised of more than 130 highly regarded performers, composers, conductors, scholars, and educators. They are Pulitzer Prize winners, Grammy winners, Guggenheim Fellows, ASCAP Award recipients, published authors, recording artists, and acclaimed musicians who have performed in the world’s greatest concert halls. Each year, Eastman’s students, faculty members, and guest artists present more than 900 concerts to the Rochester community.