Rupert Boyd
“Remember the name Rupert Boyd. While there may never be another classical guitarist like Segovia, this young Australian left his Marlow Guitar Series audience with the impression that someday there may not be the likes of him again, either.”
New York-based Australian classical guitarist Rupert Boyd is acclaimed as one of the most talented guitarists of his generation. He has been described by The Washington Post as “truly evocative,” and by Classical Guitar Magazine as “a player who deserves to be heard.” His performances have taken him across four continents, from New York’s Carnegie Hall, to the Barcelona Guitar Festival in Spain, Strings-139 Festival in China, Gharana Music Festival in Nepal, and every state and territory in mainland Australia.
In addition to his Carnegie Hall debut as part of the D’Addario Music Foundation’s “International Competition Winners in Concert” Series, Rupert Boyd’s recent performance highlights include the Newport Music Festival, Music in the Strathmore Mansion, Marlow Guitar Series, Grand Canyon Guitar Society, Boston Guitar Society, University of Denver and University of Hawaii.
In New York, Rupert Boyd has performed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the New York City Classical Guitar Society, Merkin Concert Hall, Trinity Wall Street, Bargemusic, SubCulture, and with a diversity of groups such as New York Festival of Song and Moving Theater Dance Company.
Rupert Boyd’s debut recording Valses Poéticos received the following review in the UK magazine Classical Guitar: “The performances that Boyd gives here are first-rate... Even the Bach is one of the best of its kind.” Soundboard, the Guitar Foundation of America’s quarterly publication, gave the CD the following review: “Boyd’s playing is beautifully refined, with gorgeous tone… musically and technically flawless… the album is first-rate.” Soundboard also described the eponymous work by Granados as “one of the best recorded performances of this work on guitar.”
Active as both a soloist and chamber musician, Rupert Boyd regularly performs throughout the world as half of the Australian Guitar Duo with guitarist Jacob Cordover. The duo has performed throughout the world, including appearances in the United States, France, Spain, China, the Philippines and all throughout Australia. The duo was a prizewinner of the Chamber Music section of the Australian Guitar Competition, and their debut CD Songs from the Forest was released in March 2012 and was described as “wonderfully entertaining” by Classical Guitar Magazine, and “very impressive” by Soundboard Magazine.
Rupert Boyd holds a Bachelor of Music (First Class Honours) from the Australian National University School of Music, a Master of Music from the Manhattan School of Music and an Artist Diploma from the Yale University School of Music. His major teachers have been Timothy Kain, David Leisner and Benjamin Verdery. In addition to winning the Andrés Segovia award from the Manhattan School of Music, Rupert Boyd was a winner of the Lillian Fuchs Chamber Music Competition and winner of the Eisenberg-Fried Concerto Competition.
Rupert Boyd currently resides in New York City. He is represented in North America by Dan McDaniel, LLC and exclusively plays D’Addario strings.
Matt Rohde
Matthew Rohde has performed extensively throughout the US, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. He has been heard as a soloist with the Yale Symphony Orchestra, the Hindemith Ensemble, and the Santa Fe Desert Chorale, as well as with members of the Decoda Ensemble. In 2007 he was invited to perform at an address delivered by President Hu Jin Tao of China during his historic visit to the United States, and in 2009 he was the only American to advance to the semi-final round of the Guitar Foundation of America International Concert Artist Competition, arguably the most prestigious event of its kind in the world. As the recipient of a 2013 US State Department grant, Matthew performed and taught throughout Ecuador. Matthew’s debut solo album is due for release in early 2014.
Matthew has distinguished himself as an innovative educator, too. From 2007-2008, he lived and taught music in occupied Palestine, and for the three subsequent summers he taught at a US State Department-sponsored music camp in the territory. Additionally, through the support of the Qattan Foundation Matthew conducted Arabic language guitar classes in the Gaza Strip – via live videoconference! Matthew also spent part of 2011 working with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; there, he spearheaded an initiative to expose refugee children to jazz and classical music. Matthew’s past students have been awarded scholarships at the San Francisco Conservatory and the Angers Conservatory, in France.
Matthew completed his studies at Yale College, the Yale School of Music, the Conservatoire Nationale de Musique et Danse in Paris, and the Accademia Chigiana in Siena, Italy. His teachers have included maestros Benjamin Verdery, Oscar Ghiglia, and Roland Dyens. Matthew also holds a Master’s degree in International Affairs from Sciences Po, in France. He is conversant in French, Spanish, Italian, and Arabic.
Matthew plays a 2003 Greg Smallman & Sons guitar.
