Newman & Oltman Guitar Duo Celebrate Music From the Americas June 27

The celebrated Newman & Oltman Guitar Duo will perform at the 18th New York Guitar Seminar at Mannes on Wednesday, June 27 at 7pm at the Americas Society, 680 Park Avenue, New York. The Duo will be joined by Brazilian guitarist João Luiz in a concert celebrating Music from the Americas. In addition to works by Brazilian composers Piazzolla, Machado, Jobim, Simas, Clarice Assad, Villa-Lobos and Bellinati, the program will also feature works by US native Paul Moravec and Argentinean Astor Piazzolla. The concert is produced in partnership with the Americas Society, and part of the New York Guitar Seminar at Mannes that takes place from June 26 to July 1. Tickets are $20.00, $10.00 for students and can be purchased at the door, directly from the Americas Society or atwww.mannesguitar.com.

Hailed as a "revelation to hear" by The Washington Post, the Newman & Oltman Guitar Duo's phenomenal musicianship places them solidly at the top of their field. Their innovative programming, matchless technique and ensemble precision, combined with their commitment to expanding the repertoire for guitar duo, make them a chamber ensemble of world renown. Their concert tours have taken them to world cultural capitals and premiere venues across five continents, the Caribbean, and South Pacific. In addition to their international engagements, they have performed at Carnegie Hall, aboard the Queen Elizabeth II, Caramoor and the Grand Canyon Music Festival. The Duo has demonstrated extraordinary stylistic breadth in their collaborations with such diverse artists as composer/conductor Marvin Hamlisch and the Pittsburgh Symphony, mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade, fiddler Eileen Ivers, pianist Clarice Assad, violinist Tim Fain, and the ETHEL, Calder, and Turtle Island string quartets.

season, Newman & Oltman will present world premier performances of a new work written for and dedicated to them by renowned Cuban composer Leo Brouwer, who they recently hosted during a rare US appearance at the Mannes School of Music. A recent commission, Concierto Buenos Aires composed for them by Nuevo Tango Master Daniel Binelli, was brilliantly performed by Newman & Oltman in its world premiere with the l'Orchestre de l'Opéra de Reims in France and celebrated its US premiere with the Virginia Symphony. Previous European engagements include performances and lectures at the VI Academic Guitar Symposium (Brazil) and the International Guitar Symposium Iserlohn (Germany). The Duo returned to several Italian venues this past summer, which included performances and master classes at the Estate Musicale Frentana/Lanciano International Guitar Seminar and the Volterra Guitar Project. The Duo will continue serving as co-artistic directors of the Lanciano International Guitar Seminar through 2018.

Champions of new music, Newman & Oltman have built a unique repertoire of works for two guitars by leading and emerging composers such as Paul Moravec, Augusta Read Thomas, Lowell Liebermann, Dušan Bogdanovi?, Arthur Kampela, and Roberto Sierra. The duo's latest CD, Music from Raritan River, which was hailed by Fanfare Magazine as "top notch" and "a winner all around" features a collection of world premieres commissioned by the duo over the past decade. Their artistry has also been captured on a dozen other acclaimed recordings.

In addition to founding and serving as artistic directors of the New York Guitar Seminar at Mannes, Michael Newman and Laura Oltman are celebrating their 31st year as ensemble-in-residence at Mannes College of Music. They are also founders and artistic directors of the Raritan River Music Festival which marked its 29th season this year.