Newman & Oltman Guitar Duo to Perform at Guitarfest 2016, 4/30

The celebrated Newman & Oltman Guitar Duo will appear at the Guitarfest 2016 on Saturday, April 30. Michael Newman and Laura Oltman will perform the music of Dušan Bogdanovi?, Johann Kaspar Mertz, Paul Moravec, Alfonzo Montes & Irina Kircher and Isaac Albéniz. The concert will be held at 8:00 at the Shea Center for the Performing Arts.

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.

Newman and Oltman's 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. 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.

Highlights of recent performances include the world premiere of "Concierto Buenos Aires" composed for the Duo by Nuevo Tango Master Daniel Binelli with l'Orchestre de l'Opéra de Reims in France. Following on the success of the Concierto's French debut, the Duo "charmed the Ferguson audience with phenomenal musicianship" (Gazette Journal) when they performed it with the Virginia Symphony. Last season their international tour included a performance and lecture at the VI Academic Guitar Symposium in Brazil, and several Italian festivals including the Estate Musicale Frentana/Lanciano International Guitar Seminar and the Volterra Guitar Project.

Through their groundbreaking new music-commissioning program, Newman & Oltman have built a unique repertoire of works for two guitars by composers such as Paul Moravec, Augusta Read Thomas, Lowell Liebermann, Dušan Bogdanovic, Arthur Kampela and Roberto Sierra. Next season will see the world premier of a new work written for them by Leo Brouwer. Fanfare Magazine hailed the duo's latest CD, Music from Raritan River as "top notch" and "a winner all around." The recording features a collection of world premieres commissioned by the duo over the past decade. Their artistry has also been captured on nearly a dozen other acclaimed recordings and has been recognized by grants and awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, Chamber Music America and ASCAP.

In addition to founding and serving as artistic directors of the New York Guitar Seminar at Mannes, Michael Newman and Laura Oltman have served as ensemble-in-residence at Mannes College of Music since 1987. They are also founders and artistic directors of the Raritan River Music Festival which will mark its 27th season this year.

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