| Home | Biography | Tour | News | Music | Video | Press | Photos | Publications | Repertoire | Guitars | Contact |
Sharon Isbin

 
She merges extraordinary technical facility with a clean, lithe style, and the evocative power of a keen storyteller.
  Denver Post
 
 
Superb musicianship and effortless technique ... clear mastery of the instrument.
  Miami Herald
 
 
Wonder Woman of the classical guitar...
  The Times

Video



Excerpt from Sharon Isbin: Troubadour, a one-hour documentary produced by Susan Dangel (2014). 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, Thiago de Mello, Paul Winter, and more, with Isbin’s performances showcased from international concert stages to the GRAMMYs and White House.
Review Quotes
 
Sharon Isbin in Satin Gown



Sharon Isbin Affinity - World Premiere Recordings
Multiple GRAMMY Award winner Sharon Isbin performs multi-faceted and virtuosic new works written for her by leading composers from three continents on AFFINITY. Enjoy excerpts from the jazz and Middle Eastern-influenced “Affinity: Concerto for Guitar & Orchestra” by Chris Brubeck with the Maryland Symphony Orchestra and conductor Elizabeth Schulze, the Africa-influenced “El Decameron Negro” by iconic Cuban composer Leo Brouwer, Chinese and Spanish-inspired “Seven Desires for Guitar” by Tan Dun, Richard Danielpour’s sensual song cycle “Of Love and Longing” performed with multiple GRAMMY winner Isabel Leonard, and a two-guitar premiere with Colin Davin of Antonio Lauro’s “Waltz #3 Natalia”. Isbin gives her inimitable imprint to and vastly enriches major new repertoire for guitar.
 
Purchase: Music Page, Amazon.com and all major retailers
 
CD cover photo: J Henry Fair



Strings for Peace: Sharon Isbin, Amjad Ali Khan, Amaan & Ayaan Ali Bangash--Ragas for guitar & sarod
Sharon Isbin, guitar; Amjad Ali Khan, Amaan Ali Bangash & Ayaan Ali Bangash, sarod; Amit Kavthekar, tabla
 
Multiple GRAMMY Award winner Sharon Isbin teams up with legendary sarod master Amjad Ali Khan, his two brilliant sons Amaan Ali Bangash & Ayaan Ali Bangash, and tabla virtuoso Amit Kavthekar in their groundbreaking album STRINGS FOR PEACE: Premieres for Guitar & Sarod (May 2020 release). Enjoy excerpts from this extraordinary recording of music steeped in the tradition of North Indian classical music, featuring four Khan ragas written and arranged for Sharon Isbin: By the Moon (Raga Behag), Love Avalanche (Raga Mishra Bhairav), Romancing Earth (Raga Pilu) and Sacred Evening (Raga Yaman). The album is edited, mixed & mastered by Sai Shravanam, Resound India.
 
Purchase: Music Page, Amazon.com and all major retailers
 
More info: http://sarod.com/



Sharon Isbin, Amjad Ali Khan, Amaan & Ayaan Ali Bangash - Ragas for guitar & sarod with interview
Sharon Isbin, guitar; Amjad Ali Khan, Amaan Ali Bangash & Ayaan Ali Bangash, sarod
 
Multiple GRAMMY Award winner Sharon Isbin teams up with legendary sarod master Amjad Ali Khan and his two brilliant sons Amaan Ali Bangash and Ayaan Ali Bangash performing world premiere ragas for guitar & sarod! Enjoy interviews and concert excerpts from their acclaimed 2019 tour of India. Their groundbreaking album STRINGS FOR PEACE (May 2020 release), features four Khan ragas steeped in the tradition of North Indian classical music, written and arranged for Sharon Isbin.
 
Purchase: Music Page, Amazon.com and all major retailers
 
More info: http://sarod.com/



Sharon Isbin performs Tarrega Capricho Arabe for solo guitar - Remembering Julian Bream
Sharon Isbin performs Francisco Tarrega’s Capricho Arabe for solo guitar in New York Guitar Festival’s “Remembering Julian Bream”, and shares the story of her transformative lesson with Julian at age 14. Recorded at her home in New York City July 2021.
 
Photo: J Henry Fair



Sharon Isbin & Colin Davin perform Aranjuez ma pensée for two guitars
Sharon Isbin performs Joaquin Rodrigo’s Aranjuez ma pensée with guitarist Colin Davin live in concert, New York City, December 2017.



Sharon Isbin performs with Colin Davin live in concert his beautiful arrangement for two guitars of Antonio Lauro’s Waltz No. 3 Natalia, New York City, December 2017.



Sharon Isbin WQXR Artist Check-In with Elliott Forrest
Multiple GRAMMY Award winner Sharon Isbin discusses with WQXR’s Elliott Forrest life during the pandemic, and her two May 2020 album releases of world premieres composed for her: AFFINITY and STRINGS FOR PEACE.
 
CD cover photo: J Henry Fair



Sharon Isbin & Pacifica Quartet: Souvenirs of Spain & Italy - Trailer 1
Multiple Grammy Award-winning guitarist Sharon Isbin teams up with the Grammy winning Pacifica Quartet to record a beautiful collection of music for guitar and strings on their new album, Souvenirs of Spain & Italy! Music by Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Vivaldi, Turina and Boccherini on Cedille Records. Click here to preview the album: https://cedille-records.lnk.to/1GtONYP



Sharon Isbin & Pacifica Quartet: Souvenirs of Spain & Italy - Trailer 2
Multiple Grammy Award-winning guitarist Sharon Isbin teams up with the Grammy winning Pacifica Quartet to record a beautiful collection of music for guitar and strings on their new album, Souvenirs of Spain & Italy! Music by Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Vivaldi, Turina and Boccherini on Cedille Records. Click here to preview the album: https://cedille-records.lnk.to/1GtONYP



Isabel Leonard & Sharon Isbin perform Granada by Agustin Lara - CD cover session with J Henry Fair
Multiple GRAMMY Award winners Sharon Isbin & Argentinian-American Isabel Leonard perform Granada by Agustín Lara (arr. Isbin) on ALMA ESPAÑOLA, the first Spanish art song album of its kind in 40 years, including 12 world premiere arrangements by Isbin. Duos for voice & guitar by García Lorca, de Falla, Lara, Montsalvatge and Rodrigo, and guitar solos by Granados and Tárrega, are heard in performances that evoke the rich and magnificent tradition of Spain.
 
Photos: J Henry Fair
Video footage: Dirk Vandenberk
Video Editor: Rebecca Fay
 
More info: http://isabelleonard.com
 
Purchase:
Music Page, Amazon.com and all major retailers
 
More info:
http://www.jhenryfair.com
http://www.vandenberkvisual.com



In this interview with Tavis Smiley, Sharon Isbin shares her technique and discusses the new documentary about her life and music, Sharon Isbin: Troubadour. February 16, 2015.



Special Features excerpts from ‘Sharon Isbin: Troubadour’.
More Information
Romero Lubambo
Sharon Isbin: Troubadour

 

Sharon Isbin & Friends: Guitar Passions
Music and interviews with Sharon and Steve Vai; in studio with Nancy Wilson (Heart) and Stanley Jordan; previews with Steve Morse, Paul Winter, Rosa Passos, Romero Lubambo, and Thiago de Mello. August 30, 2011 CD release on SONY Classical.



Sharon Isbin performs Asturias by Isaac Albeniz in a music video produced by Susan Dangel. The music is featured in her CD Sharon Isbin & Friends: Guitar Passions (SONY) released August 30, 2011. The video is part of the documentary on Sharon Isbin’s life and work to be released in 2014.



Sharon Isbin, Stanley Jordan & Romero Lubambo perform live on Detroit television during their 18-city 2014 Guitar Passions tour. Their performances combine jazz, classical, rock and Brazilian styles in a unique fusion of genres. Guitar World magazine wrote: “These three amazing instrumentalists were meant to play together. The chemistry between them is so genuine ... like a love triangle of soul mates who finish each other’s sentences.”



On June 29, 2012 Sharon Isbin came to Maine to perform as part of the inaugural Portland Performing Arts Festival. Isbin presented a diverse program featuring Latin romances for guitar by Tarrega, Albeniz, Granados, and Barrios Mangore, as well as Andecy by Andrew York and the Joan Baez Suite written for her by John Duarte.



Sharon Isbin performs Isaac Albeniz’s Asturias, Antonio Lauro’s Waltz #3, and Isaias Savio’s Batucada at the White House Evening of Classical Music on November 4, 2009.



Josh Groban & Sharon Isbin perform She’s Always A Woman, live on the Billy Joel: Library of Congress Gershwin Prize concert in Washington DC, January 2015.



GuitarTV traveled to New York City to interview the best classical guitarist we have ever heard. Head of The Juilliard School Guitar Department, international sensation, former student of Andres Segovia—we are talking about the one-and-only Sharon Isbin.
This in-depth 40 minutes interview with Sharon showcases various classical guitar playing techniques, tips and performance snippets from her latest release Guitar Passions.



Journey to Amazon - Ravenna Festival, Italy, July 2007
con Sharon Isbin chitarra classica Gaudencio Thiago de Mello percussioni musiche di L. Almeida, A. Barrios Mangoré, L. Brouwer, B. Canonico, A. Lauro, G. Montaña, I. Savio, G. Thiago de Mello, A. Vianna (Pixinguinha)



Available from Amazon
Sharon Isbin, Gaudencio Thiago de Mello and Paul Winter collaborate on a Journey to the Amazon. Hear their performances and discussions of Brazilian music with scenes of the lush rainforest.



Sharon Isbin performs Francisco Tarrega’s Recuerdos de la Alhambra on Korean Television January 2002.



Sharon Isbin performs Black is the color of my true love’s hair / Darling Cora from John Duarte’s Appalachian Dreams written for Sharon Isbin. Korean Television January 2002



Sharon Isbin performs Agustin Barrios Mangore’s Waltz Opus 8 #4 on Korean Television January 2002.



Sharon Isbin & Spanish mezzo-soprano Gemma Coma-Alabert perform selections from Canciones Antiguas Españolas by Federico García Lorca: May 2, 2009 concert at the 92nd Street Y, New York City.



Sharon Isbin & Mark O’Connor Live at Symphony Space, New York, January ’09.
Lily of the West by John Duarte (Isbin solo), Swing & Sweet Suzanne from Strings & Threads Suite for Violin & Guitar by Mark O’Connor (O’Connor & Isbin). Featured on Isbin’s Sony CD, Journey to the New World.



Joshua Bell and Sharon Isbin perform Niccolò Paganini’s Cantabile at the White House Evening of Classical Music on November 4, 2009.

| Home | Biography | Tour | News | Music | Video | Press | Photos | Publications | Repertoire | Guitars | Contact |