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Sharon Isbin

 
In her hands the guitar takes on the precision of a diamond, each note a clear, shining facet that catches, prism-like, a glint of the spectrum.
  New York Times
 
 
Her instrument speaks with a thousand colors ... positively hypnotic.
  Chicago Tribune

Sharon Isbin:Troubadour American Public Television WINNER 2015 ASCAP DEEMS TAYLOR/VIRGIL
THOMSON TELEVISION BROADCAST AWARD!

American Public Television’s national broadcast of the 1-hour documentary Sharon Isbin: Troubadour has been seen by millions on over 200 PBS stations across the country. It is now streaming on Amazon, and available on DVD and Blu-ray from Video Artists International with additional full-length performances not seen in the film. To learn more, find broadcast dates, and order the documentary on DVD or Blu-ray and the music on CD, visit SharonIsbinTroubadour.com


News

Broadway World Acoustic Guitar Magazine
Cover story - 7 pages
November/December 2023

Six-String Sojourner
“Isbin is noted for her onstage charisma and playing with precision, variegated colors, and heartfelt expression. At her GFA concert, she drew the audience inside the music, reveling for long stretches with closed eyes, holding listeners enraptured until the final notes faded ... She has has furthered the goals Segovia long ago envisioned for the guitar. They included elevating it to the status of a classical concert instrument; commissioning contemporary composers to write for it; and establishing guitar performance curricula at conservatories, colleges, and universities.”
Read Article (PDF)

Broadway World Soundboard Magazine
Cover Story - 12 pages
August 2023

Hall of Fame & Artistic Achievement Award Tributes
“As Sharon enters the Hall of Fame for the GFA, we congratulate her on her fantastic career of distinguished concerts, magnificent recordings, and sheer guitar artistry. Sharon is a prodigious talent, one of the great guitarists of our time.”
    Graham Wade

“Sharon Isbin is one of the most remarkable and inspiring persons I have ever had the fortune to know.”
    Antigoni Goni

Feature also includes discography and over 80 world premieres-to-date.
Read Article (PDF)

Broadway World Broadway World
May 24, 2023
Grammy Winner Sharon Isbin to be Inducted into the 2023 Guitar Foundation of America Hall of Fame
“Multiple Grammy winner Sharon Isbin will be inducted into the 2023 Guitar Foundation of America Hall of Fame and receive their Artistic Achievement Award this June. Isbin, the 2020 Musical America Instrumentalist of the Year, will give a solo concert Friday June 23, 8pm at the Manhattan School of Music in celebration of GFA's 50th Anniversary at their annual convention to be held for the first time in New York City.”
Read Article (PDF)

Sharon Isbin, Chicago Philharmonic

Sharon Isbin, Scott Speck

Sharon Isbin, Scott Speck

Photos: Anne Ryan
Sharon Isbin Gives Thrilling North American Premiere of Tan Dun Concerto for Guitar & Orchestra (Yi2)
January 14, 2023
Grammy and Academy Award-winning Chinese composer Tan Dun composed Concerto for Guitar & Orchestra (Yi2) for Isbin who has performed it throughout Europe and Asia, and recorded it on her Grammy-winning album for Warner Classics. On January 14, 2023, she gave the North American Premiere with the Chicago Philharmonic conducted by Scott Speck for a packed house in Chicago's Harris Theater (see photos).

Third Coast Review: “Yi2 was an exciting finale to a cross-cultural evening of exquisite sounds. Isbin also leans into her instrument so that it seems an extension of herself. It was a bright and energizing moment before she gave an encore bow to which the audience enthusiastically cheered.”

Chicago Classical Review: “Isbin was fully in command. One was confident her account of the solo part was authoritative as she dispatched its hairy cadenza with ease. When she took the stage for an encore, she offered the waltz Natalia by Venezuelan Antonio Lauro, a hypnotically flowing ode to composer’s daughter that serenely ended the evening.”

Hyde Park Herald: “This American premiere featured Isbin at the guitar, and she was a wonder to watch and hear. Her technical prowess and musical intuition were all on display.”

Isbin, Schwantner and Pacifica - 92NY, 11-12-2022 SOUNDBOARD MAGAZINE
November 15, 2022
Sharon Isbin's 92NY Concert a Triumph
In their November 2022 recital at New York's 92NY Kaufmann Concert Hall, Sharon Isbin and the Pacifica Quartet gave the world premiere of Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Joseph Schwantner's Song of a Dreaming Sparrow for Guitar and String Quartet composed for them.

“The evening was a triumph for Isbin as she debuted yet another album and burnished her legacy of premieres of new music by venerated contemporary composers.” Soundboard Magazine
Read Article

AFFINITY Reviews NEW RELEASE
AFFINITY: World Premiere Recordings

ZOHO Music ZM 202005
Billboard Classical Charts, #2 Bestseller Amazon
Rave reviews from Gramophone, Musical America Worldwide, New Jazz Releases, Jazz Weekly, and many more...
Read Review Quotes (PDF)

STRINGS FOR PEACE Reviews NEW RELEASE
STRINGS FOR PEACE: Premieres for Guitar & Sarod

ZOHO Music ZM 202004
#2 Bestseller Amazon World Music
Rave reviews from Rolling Stone, Audiophile Review, World Music Central, New Jazz Releases, and many more...
Read Review Quotes (PDF)

Sharon Isbin & Pacifica Quartet: Souvenirs of Spain & Italy GRAMOPHONE
August 2020
AFFINITY: World Premiere Recordings
“Sharon Isbin's terrific latest recording evinces a wonderful talent for making fully hers what was written for her... Bright, jazzy and energetic ... a sparkling, virtuoso account.”
Read Article (PDF)

BBC Music Magazine BBC Music Magazine
April 2020
Sharon Isbin is one of the music world’s great collaborators
“From Bach masters to Joan Baez, Sharon Isbin refuses to make do with the classical guitar’s traditional repertoire ... A thrilling musician paving the way.”
Read Article (PDF)

Musical America Worldwide WINNER MUSICAL AMERICA 2020
INSTRUMENTALIST OF THE YEAR AWARD

“Sharon Isbin is the first guitarist to be named Musical America’s Instrumentalist of the Year ... She is a trailblazer, reconfiguring the guitar’s repertoire and updating the ways classical guitarists present themselves and their instrument. She invariably brings a warm tone, precise technique, and a lively but thoughtful interpretive style to her performances.”
Read Article

Yale Daily News Yale Daily News
October 24, 2019
Sharon Isbin Named 2020 Instrumentalist of the Year
“Isbin’s years of brilliant performing, teaching and recording stand on their own as great artistic achievements. Her playing continues to inspire us all as she breathes new life to the instrument’s magical existing repertoire and expands it through the numerous compositions that have been written for her. No other guitarist has commissioned, premiered and recorded so many brilliant concerti for the instrument.”
Read Article

Guitar Girl Magazine Guitar Girl Magazine
October 15, 2019
GRAMMY Winner Sharon Isbin Honored with 2020 Musical America Instrumentalist of the Year Award
“Musical America announced the annual coveted Musical America Awards today which recognizes each year’s stellar performers including multiple GRAMMY Award winner Sharon Isbin who will be honored with the 2020 Instrumentalist of the Year Award, the first guitarist ever to receive the award in its 59-year history...Representing the pinnacle of artistic achievement, previous winners include Leonard Bernstein, Igor Stravinsky, Vladimir Horowitz, Beverly Sills, George Balanchine, Arthur Rubinstein, Itzhak Perlman, Isaac Stern, Marilyn Horne, Andre Previn and Yo-Yo Ma. The ceremony will take place at Carnegie Hall in December.”
Read Article

The Epoch Times Sharon Isbin & Pacifica Quartet: Souvenirs of Spain & Italy

Cedille Records CDR 90000 190
NEW RELEASE: Grammy winners Sharon Isbin and the Pacifica Quartet team up for their first album together in music by Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Vivaldi, Turina and Boccherini. “A wonderful recording” (Third Coast Review), “beautiful disc” (WBAI-FM NYC), “Exquisite sonorities ... mesmerizing” (Santiva Chronicle). Tedesco’s Quintet is a seldom-heard gem demanding virtuosity from every player, and Vivaldi’s slow movement features “the beauty of Isbin’s gentle, improvised embellishments.” The celebrated Fandango of Boccherini’s festive Quintet is “a vigorous Spanish dance in which the guitar moves easily between refined detailing and hard-strumming flamenco effects” (Allan Kozinn).
ORDER ONLINE from your favorite providers. Visit the Music page to learn more. HEAR PODCAST
WATCH VIDEO 1 & WATCH VIDEO 2
LISTEN TO SAMPLES
Cover photo: Austin Ward

The Epoch Times The Epoch Times

July 4, 2019
Classical Guitar Showstoppers With Sharon Isbin Headed to Lincoln Center

“Isbin will perform the Boccherini Quintet No. 4 and Vivaldi Concerto in D with the Calidore String Quartet at Alice Tully Hall at Manhattan’s Lincoln Center on July 17 ... Isbin has also recently recorded these two pieces with the Pacifica Quartet. The Cedille-label record will be released in August, and also includes a string and guitar quintet by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, who was inspired by Boccherini.”
Read Article

Hindustan Times Hindustan Times
(Cover Story)

March 17, 2019
Bringing Cool to Classical

“Multiple Grammy-winning guitarist Sharon Isbin on how her first brush with Indian classical music has changed her life forever!” Describing their Peace Tribe performances in Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai: “The music Amjad Ali Khan has composed for us is sheer genius, successfully interweaving our varied musical, spiritual and artistic traditions with mystical beauty, grace and great emotion.”
Read Article (PDF)

Alma Española: Isabel Leonard & Sharon Isbin GRAMMY WINNER 2018
Producer of the Year, Classical
for David Frost

ALMA ESPAÑOLA
Isabel Leonard & Sharon Isbin

Bridge Records 9491
Multiple GRAMMY Award winners Sharon Isbin and Argentinian-American opera star Isabel Leonard team up for the first all-Spanish art song recording of its kind in 40 years, including twelve world premiere arrangements by Isbin. Duos for voice and guitar, and guitar solos are heard in performances that evoke the rich and magnificent tradition of Spain.
Cover photo: J Henry Fair
 
“Feasts of beautifully sculpted phrases ... glimpses of heaven”
  Philadelphia Enquirer

“Soulful depth ... dramatic flair and contrast”
  New York Times
 
WATCH VIDEO
Visit the Music page to learn more.

The Chautauquan Daily The Chautauquan Daily
August 20, 2018
CSO displays “unity and depth”
Isbin receives raves as soloist with the Chautauqua Symphony performing the concerto written for her by John Corigliano: “Gorgeous, shimmering focus ... the lion's share of the plaudits on this occasion go to Isbin. Brilliant, poetic, resonant: Her musical voice is impossible to resist ... a tough act for anyone to follow.”
Read Article (PDF)

Jay Leno, Sharon, Jerry Seinfeld - Kennedy Center
 
Hugh Jackman, Sharon, Katie Couric
Sharon Isbin Joins Jay Leno, Jerry Seinfeld, Hugh Jackman and Katie Couric at the Kennedy Center
 
Sharon performed at the Kennedy Center June 5, 2017, joining Jay Leno, Jerry Seinfeld, hosts Hugh Jackman, Katie Couric and others in a sold-out benefit for the David Lynch Foundation to bring free Transcendental Meditation to 10,000 veterans and at-risk youth in Washington DC! Click here to learn more.
 
Jay Leno, Sharon, Jerry Seinfeld - Kennedy Center
 
Hugh Jackman, Sharon, Katie Couric

Sharon & Sting at Carnegie Hall
 
Sharon & Sting at Carnegie Hall
Sharon Performs with Sting at Carnegie Hall
 
Sharon was thrilled to perform solo and with Sting at New York’s Carnegie Hall in an earlier sold-out benefit for the David Lynch Foundation November 4, 2015, joining Katy Perry, Angelique Kidjo and Jerry Seinfeld. “The highlight of the 16-time Grammy winner’s four-song set came when he was accompanied by guitarist Sharon Isbin for a mesmerizing ‘Shape of my Heart’ ” (Idolator)
 
Sharon & Sting at Carnegie Hall

EuroArts EuroArts
April 2016
EuroArts is the exclusive worldwide distributor of Sharon Isbin: Troubadour to television networks outside the United States.
See Catalogue Listing

Die Welt Sharon Isbin im Porträt
March 17, 2016
Sie ist die Gitarrenfrau schlechthin, nicht nur in Amerika, sondern auf der ganzen Welt; sie hat mehr für dieses Instrument getan als jeder Musiker seit dem legendären Andrés Segovia. Sharon Isbins Wohnzimmer ist mit Grammy Awards und anderen Auszeichnungen geschmückt, sie spielt regelmäßig vor ausverkauften Sälen, ihre CDs verkaufen sich millionenfach. Wer Martin Scorceses Thriller “Departed – Unter Feinden” gesehen hat, erinnert sich vielleicht an die eindringliche Gitarrenmusik, von der die Handlung unterstrichen wurde. Das war sie.
Read Article (PDF)

Sharon with Chris Brubeck, Jaime Laredo and VSO
 
Sharon with Chris Brubeck, Jaime Laredo and VSO
Rave Review for Isbin in Brubeck & Rodrigo Concerti
February 2, 2016
GRAMMY winner Sharon Isbin received raves for her sold-out performances of the stunning new guitar concerto written for her by Chris Brubeck “with Isbin delivering rapid-fire virtuosity with infectious themes ... The slow middle is a tender jazz-based tribute to Dave Brubeck, and Isbin played with heartfelt warmth and tenderness. ... Isbin also wowed and touched with Joaquìn Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez. She was truly charismatic in the virtuosic first and third movements, and eloquently tender in the gorgeous slow middle section. Isbin is much more than a virtuoso; she is an artist of depth.”
Read Review (PDF)

Sharon Isbin: Troubadour   Sharon Isbin: Troubadour Documentary Wins 2015 ASCAP Deems Taylor/Virgil Thomson Television Broadcast Award!
October 7, 2015
 
Read Article (PDF)

The Washington Post The Washington Post
October 2015
Sharon Isbin constituted luxury programming
Washington DC enjoys a lovefest with Sharon Isbin, and showered her with rave reviews for her sold-out solo show, and for three performances at The Kennedy Center as soloist with the National Symphony in Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez. Hailing her as “today’s most famous active guitarist”, the Washington Post exclaims: “Isbin is a master molder of color, balance, equilibrium and resonance ... The audience’s stillness spoke volumes about Isbin’s expressive powers.” And: “She offers an intense, elastic sound, resilient and nuanced and controlled and brought across in all its detail." Enjoy the full reviews:
First Review
Second Review

Acoustic Guitar Song Travels
October 18, 2015
Isbin’s mastery is on display as she shares notable recordings of her work and performs from her classical repertoire in this one-hour NPR feature hosted by Michael Feinstein.
Listen Here

Classical Guitar - Spring 2015 Classical Guitar
Spring 2015
‘The Face of Classical Guitar’
Troubadour traces the career of the guitarist from her early days as a youthful science whiz, who blasted grasshoppers into the abyss on a homemade rocket, to her lofty position, to quote one contemporary in the film as, “the face of classical guitar”.
Read Review (PDF)

Tavis Smiley
Sharon Isbin and Tavis Smiley
  Tavis Smiley
Monday February 16, 2015
 
Sharon Isbin joins celebrated talk show host and author Tavis Smiley on his nationally syndicated PBS television show. Their lively discussion explores how turtles and tapirs shaped her CD of music from the Amazon; how color, lyricism and vibrato create soul; and the new documentary on DVD/Blu-ray, Sharon Isbin: Troubadour.
Watch Here

The New York Times   Sharon Isbin: Seeking Out Serenity
January 2, 2015
 
“Sharon Isbin’s living room is decorated with two Grammy Awards and a keepsake from her time performing in the Amazon: a handcrafted poison-dart gun. (It does not work.) She lives on the Upper West Side with a view of the Hudson River and of a statue of her heroine, Eleanor Roosevelt. Ms. Isbin, has been a trailblazer both for female musicians and for the guitar’s place in the classical music world.”
Read Article

The Wall Street Journal   Sharon Isbin: Notes From a Classical Guitarist
November 26, 2014
Sharon Isbin, a pioneer in classical guitar, faced a steep career climb, but she refused to accept the possibility of failure
 
“As a guitarist in the classical music world, and as a woman in the guitar community, Ms. Isbin has had a steep climb in her career. This month, American Public Television will release a new documentary called ‘Sharon Isbin: Troubadour’, tracking her rise as a musical pioneer.”
Read Article

PBSSharon and Josh Groban   Sharon Isbin Performs on Billy Joel: The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize
January 2, 2015
 
Josh Groban & Sharon Isbin perform “She’s Always A Woman” on the PBS national broadcast.
Their performance begins at 22 minutes 30 seconds.
Watch the Performance

Guitar Player   Cosmic Traveler
Sharon Isbin Continues Her Musical Journey with Troubadour

Holiday 2014
 
In the current documentary, Sharon Isbin: Troubadour, First Lady Michelle Obama is seen saying, “Sharon’s father promised her that if she practiced guitar for an hour, she could go outside and launch her model rockets.” Eventually her amazing classical guitar talents would get her music onto actual rockets, on the NASA Space Shuttle as well as the Russian space station Mir. Talk about a trajectory. For the uninitiated, there has simply never been a better time to discover why so many people call Isbin “the world’s premier classical guitarist”.
Read Article (PDF)

NPR / Here & Now   Sharon Isbin, Guitarist Extraordinaire
December 4, 2014
 
Sharon Isbin: Troubadour”, a documentary on her career, is airing through March on public television stations around the country. Isbin brought her guitar along and told Here & Now’s Peter O’Dowd why she thinks the guitar is “one of the most extraordinary instruments.”
The show is broadcast on over 380 stations to 3.6 million listeners.
Read Article & Listen

Boston's WCRB/WGBH CD of the Week   CD OF THE WEEK: WGBH/WCRB Boston
November 10, 2014
Sharon Isbin brings together an astonishing diversity of music in a five-disc set.
 
“Isbin’s performances are faithful and transcendent, evoking an almost otherworldly allure. The variety of textures ranges from solo guitar to full orchestral guitar concertos, adding up to create a testament to Isbin’s flexibility and mastery of classical guitar repertoire in all genres, old and new.”
Read Article

Pollstar   The Passion of Sharon Isbin
November 17, 2014
Sharon Isbin talks to Pollstar about Sharon Isbin: Troubadour, airing now on public television stations. The film gives a look at how the Grammy Award-winning musician, who has been called the “pre-eminent guitarist of our time” and “the Monet of the classical guitar,” broke into the world of classical music as well as the male-dominated field of guitarists.
Read Article

GRAMMY-Winning Guitarist Sharon Isbin Will Be The Subject
of a Documentary   GRAMMY-Winning Guitarist Sharon Isbin Will Be The Subject of a Documentary, To Be Broadcast Nationally On Television Nov-Dec
 
Sharon Isbin: Troubadour explores the trailblazing performer’s extraordinary career, with guests including Michelle Obama, Joan Baez, Martina Navratilova and more.
 
“She has broken every glass ceiling for guitar and for women in her field.”
Read Article

Sharon Isbin - 5 Classic Albums (Box set)   NEW RELEASE
Sharon Isbin - 5 Classic Albums (Box set)
Warner Classics 2564-62436-4
 
This 5-CD box set features concerti by Rodrigo & Villa-Lobos performed with the New York Philharmonic, perennial Baroque favorites by Bach & Vivaldi, Latin American music with organic Brazilian percussion & saxophonist Paul Winter, plus two GRAMMY Award-winning discs: concerti by Christopher Rouse & Tan Dun (written for Isbin), and her folk-inspired solo disc Dreams of a World.
 
“Sharon Isbin—a true sorceress ... incomparable master of the guitar”
  Antonio Carlos Jobim
 
Visit the Music page to learn more.

Sharon Isbin: Troubadour (2014) - documentary excerpt   Documentary Film Sharon Isbin: Troubadour
 
Rockport Music, MA, September 28, 2014 - Click Here
Aspen Music Festival, August 3, 2014 - Click Here
Provincetown International Film Festival, June 2014 - Click Here
Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival - Click Here
New York Lincoln Center premiere, April 10, 2014 - Click Here
WATCH TRAILER
 
Sharon Isbin: Troubadour is a one-hour documentary produced by Susan Dangel. Guests include Martina Navratilova, Michelle Obama, Joan Baez, Steve Vai, Stanley Jordan, Garrison Keillor, David Hyde Pierce, Janis Ian, Lesley Gore, Mark O’Connor, Tan Dun, John Corigliano, Christopher Rouse, Joan Tower, Leonard Slatkin, Paul Winter, and more, with Isbin’s performances showcased from international concert stages to the GRAMMYs and White House. Narrated by NPR’s Susan Stamberg, the film combines performance and documentary to focus on Isbin’s unusual and inspiring journey which has expanded and transformed the landscape of the instrument.
 
“A loving, thoughtful and richly photographed documentary portrait of the world’s most eminent classical guitarist. Isbin’s story is an inspiration—from her ascent to the peak of the male-dominated field of classical guitar to her tireless championing of new works for guitar and quest for new musical worlds to conquer. Don’t miss it!”
  Michael Anthony, critic, Star Tribune (Minneapolis)

Sharon Isbin: Troubadour goes far beyond the expectations of an artist-portrait documentary. The result is a look inside a life as rich, as dazzling, as engaging and as playful as the subject’s acclaimed artistry, a highly entertaining portrayal of a seemingly unlikely life’s journey.”
  Steve Hochman, music journalist,
  Los Angeles Times, KPCC, Grammy.com


“I was deeply moved by this splendid and brilliant documentary. Artfully directed and edited, it gives a wonderful view of Sharon Isbin as a musician, performing artist, teacher, person, and creator of a legacy of compositions.”
  Michael Charry, author George Szell: A Life

More Review Quotes

UN Women Global Campaign
 
Sharon with Gloria Steinem
UN Women Global Campaign Beijing+20 at Apollo Theater
June 26, 2014
Sharon Isbin performed for a sold-out audience at New York’s historic Apollo Theater for the UN Women Beijing+20 campaign for global gender equality. Among the speakers were Gloria Steinem, pictured here at the event with Isbin.
Read Article

UN Women Global Campaign
 
Sharon with Gloria Steinem
UJA-Federation of New York Music Visionary Awards
June 25, 2014
Sharon Isbin performed for the UJA-Federation of New York’s Music Visionary of the Year award to Neil Portnow, President/CEO of The Recording Academy. Pictured here at the gala event with fellow performers Lang Lang and LL Cool J.
Read Article

Grammy Awards GRAMMY Hall of Fame Salutes Sharon Isbin!
February 2014
Read Article

Sharon Isbin, Stanley Jordan, Romero Lubambo Raves for 18-City Guitar Passions Tour
February 2014
Sharon Isbin’s 18-city Guitar Passions tour with jazz guitarists Stanley Jordan & Romero Lubambo ignited raves across the country. See reviews in Guitar World and SoundPress.

Concert Artist Guild Concert Artist Guild Virtuoso Award
June 2013
Concert Artists Guild honored Sharon Isbin with their prestigious Virtuoso Award in June 2013. Past winners include Ned Rorem and Paquito D’Rivera.
Read More

Portland Performing Arts Festival on Public Television   Live Concert on Public Television
June 2012
Watch Sharon Isbin in concert on Maine Public Broadcasting Network’s Maine Arts! Presents: Guitarist Sharon Isbin at the Portland Performing Arts Festival in a one hour television program archived online.
WATCH VIDEO

Prairie Home Companion Sharon Isbin on Garrison Keillor’s Prairie Home Companion, Town Hall, New York City
April 2012
Broadcast live on 600 stations for 4 million listeners.
Read More
BBC 4   Sharon Isbin Interview & Lesson on GuitarTV
April 2012
WATCH VIDEO

Sharon Isbin & Friends: Guitar Passions
 
Isbin, Steve Vai, Photo Afshin Javadi
 
Isbin, Nancy Wilson, Photo David Black
  Sharon Isbin & Friends: Guitar Passions
Sony Classical 88697-84219-2
 
Guests: Steve Vai, Steve Morse, Nancy Wilson (Heart), Stanley Jordan, Romero Lubambo, Paul Winter, Thiago de Mello, Rosa Passos A guitar tribute album, 7 Premieres
 
WATCH VIDEO   Sharon Isbin & Friends: Guitar Passions
      with Steve Vai, Nancy Wilson (Heart), and More
WATCH VIDEO   Sharon Isbin Performs Asturias by
      Isaac Albeniz
LISTEN   ‘Guitar Goddess’ feature on Minnesota Public Radio
LISTEN   The Guitar Show feature
LISTEN   Interview on WRTI 90.1 FM Philadelphia
 
Visit the Music page to learn more.



Photo with Steve Vai by Afshin Javadi
Photo with Nancy Wilson by David Black

National Pulbic Radio   NPR’s All Things Considered
December 27, 2011
Host Robert Siegel interviews Sharon Isbin and Steve Vai about their collaboration on Sharon Isbin & Friends: Guitar Passions
READ & LISTEN
BBC 4   BBC Radio 4
November 2011
Sharon Isbin
“Legendary guitarist, singer and songwriter, Joan Armatrading meets Sharon Isbin, America’s leading Classical guitarist and winner of 2 Grammys“.
LISTEN

Sharon's 2010 GRAMMY, Staples Center, Los Angeles
 
Sharon Isbin Featured on Grammy.com
  2010 GRAMMY AWARD WINNER
 
Sharon Isbin received a 2010 GRAMMY AWARD for ‘Best Instrumental Soloist Performance (without orchestra)’ for her CD Journey to the New World (Sony). She is the first guitarist in 43 years to receive a 2nd classical Grammy, and the only classical artist to perform in the 52nd Annual Awards.
 
To read her blog about the experience, click here.
To see her headline feature at Grammy.com, click here.

 
#1 Bestselling Classical CD at Amazon.com, iTunes, and BarnesandNoble.com
63 Consecutive Weeks, BILLBOARD Top Classical Crossover Chart
 
NPR NPR’s All Things Considered
June 4, 2009   Read Article & Listen
 
Click Here to Read REVIEWS (PDF)

Journey to the New World
 
Recording with Joan Baez
  Sharon Isbin’s Journey to the New World with Joan Baez & Mark O’Connor
Sony Classical 88697-45456-2
 
Exclusive Sony Masterworks recording artist Sharon Isbin’s release is a voyage from the British Isles to the New World. She is joined by folk legend Joan Baez and violin virtuoso Mark O’Connor. World premieres: Joan Baez Suite by John Duarte for solo guitar and Strings & Threads Suite for violin and guitar by O’Connor.
 
“Sharon’s exquisite playing allowed me to revisit and fall in love with these songs all over again.”
  Joan Baez
 
WQXR-FM 105.9 New York   LISTEN
KBAQ Radio, CD of the Week   LISTEN
 
Visit the Music page to learn more.

Sharon & Joan Baez in recording studio, Nov. 19, 20007.

Sharon Isbin celebrates with President Obama & First Lady Michelle Obama at the White House following her performance, November 4, 2009
 
Sharon Isbin Performing at the White House, November 4, 2009
 
Sharon Isbin Performs for the President and First Lady at the White House, November 4, 2009
  Sharon Isbin Performs at the White House
 
President Obama and the First Lady listen to Sharon Isbin perform at the White House Evening of Classical Music November 4, 2009.
 
WATCH VIDEO
Sharon Isbin performs at the White House
 
WATCH VIDEO
Sharon Isbin and Joshua Bell Perform at the White House
 
LISTEN
WQXR-FM Interviews Sharon About Performing at the White House

Sharon Isbin and Mark O'Connor at Symphony Space
  Grammy Winners Sharon Isbin & Mark O’Connor Live at Symphony Space
 
Sharon & Mark gave New York premiere of his Strings & Threads Suite for violin & guitar, January 2009.
Click here to watch a video from their performance.

Photo by Rob Fortunato.

The Departed
 
With Thelma Schoonmaker, Martin Scorsese and Howard Shore. Photo by David Fox.
 
Sharon performed at the 2007 Coolidge Awards in Boston honoring Oscar winning film editor Thelma Schoonmaker, pictured here with Martin Scorsese and Howard Shore.
Photo by David Fox.
  SCORSESE’S OSCAR WINNING THE DEPARTED
 
2008 GRAMMY Nomination
 
Sharon Isbin is featured on the soundtrack of Martin Scorsese’s Academy Award winning The Departed starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jack Nicholson and Matt Damon. She was also heard on the Awards telecast excerpt viewed by nearly 40 million. 4 ACADEMY AWARDS, including BEST PICTURE and BEST DIRECTOR
 
Winner Golden Globe and 200 ‘Best Picture’ awards.
 
She is featured on 5 tracks of Howard Shore’s GRAMMY-nominated score CD (New Line Records) and as the closing track of Rolling Stones/Van Morrison/Allman Bros./Beach Boys compilation (Warner).
 
Visit the Music page to learn more.

Sharon Isbin: Rodrigo, Villa-Lobos, Ponce
 
Sharon Isbin receives standing ovation with New York Philharmonic
 
Sharon Isbin acknowledges the audience’s standing ovation in her New York Philharmonic debut June 24, 2004, Avery Fisher Hall.
Photo by Chris Lee.
  Sharon Isbin & New York Philharmonic
Warner Classics 2564-60296-2
 
2005 Latin GRAMMY nomination for ‘Best Classical Album
2006 GLAAD Award nomination for ‘Outstanding Music Artist
 
Concertos by Villa-Lobos & Ponce, and Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez in the Philharmonic’s first-ever recording with guitar. 17 weeks BILLBOARD Top Classical Chart.
 
Visit the Music page to learn more.
 
Their June 2004 performances in Avery Fisher Hall were hailed as ‘Perfection’ NY Times, ‘Brilliant’ Toronto Star. Standing ovations and encore for the Philharmonic’s first guitar soloist in 26 years.
See Isbin interview with NY Philharmonic
 
Sharon received a 2006 GLAAD Media Award nomination for ‘Outstanding Music Artist’ for her CD with the New York Philharmonic. Also nominated in this category was Melissa Etheridge.

Sharon Isbin performing with Steve Vai, Paris 2005   Steve Vai and Isbin Premiere Vai’s Blossom Suite
 
Rock legend Steve Vai and Isbin premiered Vai’s Blossom Suite in Paris, February 2005, during her weeklong series at the Theatre du Chatelet.

Journey to the New World   Accolades for Joan Baez Suite
 
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Dallas Morning News

Sharon Isbin - The L Word   Sharon Isbin is a Featured Guest on Season 2 of The L Word.
 
Sharon Isbin performed as a Featured Guest on Showtime TV’s The L Word, broadcast internationally and available on DVD.
 
Click Here to Read More

Sharon Isbin with Joan Baez   On October 3, 2003, Sharon Isbin premiered the Joan Baez Suite
 
On October 3, 2003, Sharon Isbin premiered the Joan Baez Suite written for her by John Duarte, a seven-movement solo guitar work featuring songs from Joan’s early folk singing career.

Together at Joan Baez’s NYC Town Hall concert in March 2002.

With Hillary Clinton on September 11, 2002, Ground Zero, New York   Sharon Isbin Performs at Ground Zero
 
Sharon Isbin performed at Ground Zero for the internationally televised memorial on September 11, 2002. Pictured here with Hillary Clinton.

Sharon Isbin   Echo Klassik Award Winner
 
In June 2002, Sharon Isbin won Germany’s prestigious Echo Klassik Award in the category ‘Best Concert Recording’ for the Rouse/Tan Dun CD. She performed in the award ceremony broadcast on German television for 1 million viewers.
 
Related features about this release on NPR’s Performance Today (May 4, 2001), Town & Country (June 2001), Fanfare (July/August 2001), BarnesandNoble.com (May 2001), Acoustic Guitar (July 2001)

Tan Dun, Christopher Rouse CD
 
Christopher Rouse, Sharon Isbin, Tan Dun
  GRAMMY AWARD WINNER
Teldec 8573-81830-2
 
Sharon Isbin’s world premiere recording of concertos written for her by Christopher Rouse and Tan Dun (composer of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) received a 2002 GRAMMY Award for Concert de Gaudi for Guitar & Orchestra by Rouse in the category ‘Best Classical Contemporary Composition’ (the first guitar concerto ever to win in this category), and earned Isbin her third GRAMMY nomination (‘Best Instrumental Soloist Performance with Orchestra’).
 
Visit the Music page to learn more.




Sharon Isbin with Christopher Rouse and Tan Dun. Photo by Steve Sherman.

National Pulbic Radio   NPR’s All Things Considered
May 4, 2001
“Robert Siegel interviews Sharon Isbin, a sensation in the world of classical guitar. This year, Isbin became the first classical guitarist to win a Grammy award in nearly three decades, for her CD Dreams of a World.”
READ & LISTEN

Dreams of a World
 
Sharon's 2001 GRAMMY, Staples Center, Los Angeles
  GRAMMY AWARD WINNER!
 
Sharon Isbin received a 2001 Grammy Award for her CD Dreams of a World (Teldec) for ‘Best Instrumental Soloist Performance without orchestra’. She is the first classical guitarist in 28 years to receive a Grammy. The other nominees included pianists Murray Perahia and Evgeny Kissin. The announcement was broadcast to nearly 2 billion television viewers in 180 countries.
 
Visit the Music page to learn more.







At the 43rd Annual GRAMMY Awards, Staples Center in Los Angeles, February 21, 2001. Photo by Scott Gries/ImageDirect.

Christoph Eschenbach, Sharon, Christopher Rouse, January 2000, Germany   Sharon Isbin Premiered Christopher Rouse’s Concert de Gaudi
 
Sharon Isbin premiered Christopher Rouse’s Concert de Gaudi in Hamburg, Germany, January 2, 2000 with conductor Christoph Eschenbach, followed by the Dallas Symphony in March.
 
“It’s uncommonly beautiful and here’s predicting it’s going to be performed and recorded a lot. The work is a salute to Spanish architect Antoni Gaudi... Its emotional impact is reminiscent of Falla’s Nights in the Gardens of Spain... virtuoso performance by Sharon Isbin.”
  Dallas Morning News
 
“Wonderfully eclectic... From the opening swirl of flamenco-style gestures, through the poignant, ballad-like slow movement and the scintillating finale, the score kaleidescopically presents memorably expressive passages.”
  Barrymore Scherer, Public Arts

Journey to the Amazon   GRAMMY AWARD NOMINATION
 
Sharon Isbin received a 1999 Grammy Award nomination for her CD Journey to the Amazon (Teldec). It is the first guitar recording ever to be nominated for ‘Best Classical Crossover Album’. Her recording of Aaron Kernis’ Double Concerto (Argo/Decca) is featured on an album which received a 2000 Grammy nomination for ‘Best Classical Contemporary Composition’.

 
Sharon, Baroque




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