Teachers (2011)

Ana Vidovic comes from the small town of Karlovac near Zagreb, Croatia and started playing guitar at the age of 5, and by 7 had given her first public performance. At the age of 11 she was performing internationally, and at 13 became the youngest student to attend the prestigious National Musical Academy in Zagreb where she studied with Professor Istvan Romer. Ana’s reputation in Europe led to an invitation to study at the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, USA, with Manuel Barrueco, from where she graduated in May 2003. Aged 23 Ana has won an impressive number of prizes and international competitions all over the world. These include first prizes in the Albert Augustine International Competition in Bath, England, the Fernando Sor competition in Rome, Italy and the Francisco Tarrega competition in Benicasim, Spain. Other top prizes include the Eurovision Competition for Young Artists, the Mauro Giuliani competition in Italy, the Printemps de la Guitare in Belgium and the Young Concert Artists International Auditions in New York. Ana has given over one thousand public performances since first taking the stage in 1988. Her international performance career includes recitals in London, Paris, Vienna, Salzburg, Rome, Budapest, Warsaw, Tel Aviv, Oslo, Copenhagen, Toronto, Baltimore, San Francisco, Houston, Austin, Dallas and St. Louis. Ana will be giving a Masterclass during the 2011 Classical Guitar Retreat.

Yvonne Zehner was born in 1977 in Salzburg. She started playing the guitar at the age of 12, continuing from 1993 at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, studying first with Prof. Mathias Seidl. In 1997 she decided to continue her education with Eliot Fisk and Joaquin Clerch at the Mozarteum. Additionally she went in February 1997 to Montevideo, Uruguay, to study with Abel Carlevaro and to learn about his specific method of guitar technique. In 1998 she was awarded her first Diploma at the Mozarteum with distinction. During the summer months from 1998 till 2001 she received several scholarships in order to study with Oscar Ghiglia at the “Academia Musicale Chigiana” in Siena, concluding these studies with a “Diploma di Merito”.
Between 1999 and 2000 she worked with Nicolas de Souza Barros at the “Universidade Federal” in Rio de Janeiro. In October 2001 she finished her musical studies at the Mozarteum achieving a Masters degree with distinction.

Allan Neave is the senior lecturer in guitar at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music & Drama and widely regarded as one of Europe’s foremost educators and promoters of the instrument. He has broadcast widely both in the UK and abroad, including Radio 3 and 4 broadcasts at the Edinburgh International Festival, performances of Schoenberg’s Serenade with the Hebrides Contemporary Music Ensemble for BBC Radio 3, the isle is full of noises on KFZAZ Radio USA, RadioSodre Uruguay and BBC Radio 3. He also gave the world’s 1st live Internet guitar concert broadcast in 1997.He has worked with many influential musicians, including Nikita Koshkin, Edward McGuire, Hans Werner Henze, Gordon McPherson and Stephen Dodgson, many of whose works he has premiered.

Matthew McAllister is amongst Europes’ finest young guitarists. Since graduating with honours from RSAMD in 2003 he has been delighting audiences across the world with his thoughtful performances and effortless presentation. In addition to having toured extensively throughout North & South America, Europe and Asia both as soloist and chamber musician, Matthew has also produced an extensive discography with Natural Studio Records. Matthew’s live concert performances alongside his recordings with Natural Studio Records have appeared on British, Spanish, Malaysian, Turkish, Peruvian & Chilean TV and have featured on numerous radio broadcasts worldwide. Matthew holds the post of Classical Guitar Lecturer in the Music Faculty of the Unversity of St Andrews on the east coast of Scotland.

Peter Stewart is one of Scotland’s most highly respected forces in Classical Guitar. Studies with Carlos Bonell and John W. Duarte provided the bedrock for a lifelong career with the Classical Guitar. From 1990 Peter performed in the guitar ensemble Duo Stewart. Duo Stewart edited a series of works, written by John Duarte, for Mel Bay and also directed the Oatridge International Guitar Festival. Currently Peter lectures in guitar at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music & Drama and the Aberdeen College of Muisc and Performing Arts.

Douglas Whates studied composition with Dr. Gordon McPherson at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, receiving the Patron’s Fund Prize (Royal College of Music) for Composition in 2003, and graduated in 2004 with a 1st class honours. He has had major works performed by the London Sinfonietta; RSAMD Sinfonietta; the Hebrides Ensemble; the Paragon Ensemble; the National Youth Guitar Ensemble with Allan Neave; he was commissioned to write the theme music for Nemesis Inferno—one of the UK’s most advanced roller coasters. Whilst at RSAMD his formal instrumental training was in classical guitar, towards the end of his studies, focus shifted to bass—the instrument with which he is now most readily associated. In this capacity he has performed with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra; Scottish Ballet Orchestra; appeared as a sideman for London session ace Hugh Burns (Scott Walker, Gerry Rafferty, Paul McCartney) and celtic/crossover guitarist John Goldie; has undertaken theatre pit work—including touring with Sunshine on Leith and has featured on BBC Radio as composer or performer on numerous occasions. He is currently a member of the string faculty at RSAMD, teaching bass guitar.

Aisling Agnew was born and raised in Belfast. She regularly performs around the UK and Ireland and has appeared in concert across Europe and America. Aisling’s performances have been broadcast on BBC Radio, RTE Lyric FM and Resonance FM and include many high profile concerts such as a Wigmore Hall chamber music recital. As concerto soloist she has appeared with various orchestras including the Ulster Orchestra and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. She recently released her acclaimed debut album Recital with Natural Studio Records. Aisling studied at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama with Richard Blake and David Nicholson where she followed masterclasses with players such as Jacques Zoon, Robert Dick, Wissam Boustany and Wilbert Hazelzet. In her third year she won a scholarship to the Lake Placid Institute for Arts in New York and in her final year she was selected to perform the Penderecki Concerto with the RSNO at the Henry Wood Hall in Glasgow; the first performance of this work given in Scotland. Aisling also holds a Masters degree from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama where her studies were generously funded by awards from the Belfast Classical Music Bursaries and the BELB. Aisling has a keen interest in performing new music and working with composers. She has premièred works written specifically for her by Douglas Whates, Matt Rogers, Greg Caffrey and David Flynn and has enjoyed working with other composers such as Edward McGuire and David Fennessy.

Feargus Hetherington, completed his studies at the Cleveland Institute of Music in the USA having received batchelor and post-graduate awards from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow, Scotland, the city of his birth. His teachers have included Angus Ramsay, Elizabeth Layton, David Russell, Peter Salaff and Jerre Gibson. His viola studies have been with Catherine Marwood and Michael Beeston. He has also worked with distinguished soloists Ilya Kaler, James Buswell and Ivan Straus at summer academies in Canada and Austria. As an invited participant of the Mendelssohn on Mull Festival for six consecutive years, Feargus has performed alongside leading musicians in chamber and string orchestra repertoire. Whilst a student, Feargus led the Sonoré String Quartet for five years. The group premiered quartets by Eddie McGuire and David Fennessey, and performed in the RNCM’s Quartetfest, RSAMD’s Summerfest & ‘Academy Now’ series and the Halifax Young Musicians Festival. Feargus has worked extensively in the medium of violin with guitar, through which he has uncovered some interesting and varied repertoire, from Italian classical to traditional music and tango. His group ‘Maelasta’ with Matthew McAllister, guitar, perform throughout the UK and Europe. An experienced orchestral leader, Feargus has led under conductors such as Joseph Swensen, Sian Edwards and Takuo Yuasa. He has been leader of the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland, RSAMD Symphony Orchestra, the Cleveland Philharmonic Orchestra, and numerous freelance ensembles. Feargus is the violinist for the Glasgow based new music ensemble, Symposia, and has worked extensively in the Scottish Chamber Orchestra.

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Teachers (2011)

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