In the 39th of a series of articles, David Bird from the Redbridge Music Society introduces guitarist Adam Brown, who will be returning to Wanstead to perform this month
Redbridge Music Society, currently celebrating its 75th anniversary season, continues its current project of bringing high-quality live chamber recitals to the borough with a solo recital given by classical guitarist Adam Brown. On 14 May at Wanstead Library, Adam will perform a programme of guitar music with a Spanish and Latin American flavour.
Scottish-born Adam Brown lived in Wanstead for a number of years and taught guitar at Forest School. He studied at the City of Edinburgh Music School before starting studies with the internationally famous guitarist Carlos Bonell at the Royal College of Music London, where he received a BMus (Hons) degree and several prestigious awards. He then studied with classical guitarist Sharon Isbin at the Juilliard School in New York City, obtaining a Master of Music degree and subsequently becoming the first guitarist to receive the Artist Diploma, the Juilliard School’s most prestigious performance award. He gained a Doctorate in Musical Arts at the University of Southern California where he studied with the celebrated guitarists William Kanengiser and Pepe Romero.
Adam has performed throughout Europe, the United States and South America. Numbered among his many concert appearances are recitals at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall in New York, St Martin-in-the-Fields, the Southbank Centre and the Wigmore Hall in London. He has performed at such renowned music festivals as Aspen (USA), Spoleto (Italy), Amsterdam International Guitar Festival (Netherlands), Edinburgh International Fringe Festival and the International Guitar Festival at Kings Place, London. He has also performed throughout the United Kingdom as a Making Music Selected Artist.
Adam’s first solo album on CD, The Rebels Within, featured 20th-century masterpieces by composers such as Benjamin Britten, Lennox Berkeley and others. His second album, Gladios, released in 2010, highlighted the melodic lyricism of music from Latin America and showcased works by prominent Latin American composers such as Lauro, Montes, Piazzolla and Barrios. Without Limits – An American Century of Music for Guitar, released in 2013, explored the guitar’s pre-eminent role in American cultural life by presenting a number of contemporary genres that cross boundaries between classical and popular music. Adam’s more recent album Pássaro de Madeira, released in 2019, returns to the musical migrations and creativity of Latin America, providing distinctive insights into its rich and diverse culture.
Please come along to hear Adam perform and to support Redbridge Music Society’s 75th anniversary!
Adam will perform at Wanstead Library on 14 May from 8pm (tickets on the door; visitors: £12; members: £8). Call 07380 606 767. Redbridge Music Society is affiliated to Making Music.
