Sharon Isbin

Personal life and education Sharon Isbin was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota to Katherine Brudnoy, an attorney, and Herbert S. Isbin, a nuclear scientist and professor at the University of Minnesota. She began her guitar studies at the age of nine with Aldo Minella in Varese, Italy. She later studied with Jeffrey Van, Sophocles Papas, Andrés Segovia, Oscar Ghiglia, Alirio Díaz, and for 10 years with keyboard artist and Bach scholar Rosalyn Tureck.

She received a B.A. cum laude from Yale University and a Master of Music (M.M.) from the Yale School of Music.

She began practicing the Transcendental Meditation at age 17.

Career Performing and recording In 2005, Isbin performed the world premiere with Steve Vai of his Blossom Suite composed for her at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris. Her initial crossover collaborations included Brazilian guitarist Laurindo Almeida and jazz guitarist Larry Coryell. In 2014, she performed a 20-city Guitar Passions tour with jazz musicians Stanley Jordan and Romero Lubambo.

In 2015, she performed with Josh Groban on the PBS Billy Joel: Gershwin Prize concert, and was featured on the Tavis Smiley PBS television series in February 2015.

On November 5, 2015, the David Lynch Foundation organized a benefit concert at New York City's Carnegie Hall named "Change Begins Within," to promote transcendental meditation for stress control. Sharon Isbin participated alongside Katy Perry, Sting, Jerry Seinfeld, Angelique Kidjo, and Jim James.

Teaching and other work In 1989, Isbin established the Master of Music degree, Graduate Diploma, and Artist Diploma programs for classical guitar at the Juilliard School, and later added Bachelor of Music and DMA degree programs to the department. She is the founding director and faculty of the Juilliard School's guitar department.

Isbin is the author of the Classical Guitar Answer Book and serves as the director of the Guitar Department at the Aspen Music Festival which she created in 1993.

Awards and nominations Awards and Recognitions

Won first prize at the Toronto Guitar Competition (1975) Won the Munich ARD International Music Competition (1976) A winner of the Madrid Queen Sofia International Competition (1979) Concert Artists Guild Virtuoso Award (2013) Germany's Echo Klassik Award (2002) Musical America Worldwide Instrumentalist of the Year (2020) JoAnn Falletta International Guitar Concerto Competition Lifetime Achievement Award (2020) Guitar Foundation of America HALL OF FAME and Artistic Achievement Award (2023)

In 2020, Isbin became the first guitarist named Musical America's Instrumentalist of the Year. She was also the first guitarist to win the Munich ARD International Competition. She received a 1999 Grammy nomination for "Best Classical Crossover Album" for her recording Journey to the Amazon. She played on Aaron Jay Kernis' Double Concerto with violinist Cho-Liang Lin and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. This album received a Grammy nomination in 2000 for "Best Contemporary Classical Composition" for Kernis' Air for Violin.

Isbin won a Grammy in 2001 for her album Dreams of a World: Folk-Inspired Music for Guitar (Warner Classics), becoming the first classical guitarist to win a Grammy in 28 years. On September 11, 2002, Isbin performed for the memorial tribute at Ground Zero, which was televised live throughout the world on international networks. Her recording of world premiere concertos written for her by Christopher Rouse and Tan Dun won a Grammy in 2002. She received a 2005 Latin Grammy nomination for "Best Classical Album" and a 2006 GLAAD Media Award nomination for "Outstanding Music Artist" for her recording of Joaquín Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez with the New York Philharmonic. The recording also featured concertos by Mexican composer Manuel Ponce and Brazilian Heitor Villa-Lobos. Isbin was the first guitar soloist to perform with the New York Philharmonic in 26 years; this was the orchestra's first-ever recording with the guitar.

In November 2009, Isbin performed at the White House by invitation of President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama.

In 2010, Isbin won a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist for her CD, Journey to the New World (Sony) in which Joan Baez and Mark O'Connor performed with her as guests. The album spent 63 consecutive weeks on Billboard charts and ranked as the number one bestselling classical CD on Amazon and iTunes during that time.

The PBS American Public Television documentary Sharon Isbin: Troubadour won the 2015 ASCAP Television Broadcast Award and has aired internationally and on more than 200 PBS stations across the U.S.

Awards

Grammy Source: 1999: Grammy nomination for Best Classical Crossover Album, Journey to the Amazon 2000: Grammy nomination, Kernis: Double Concerto for Violin and Guitar with Cho-Liang Lin and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra 2001: Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist, Dreams of a World 2002: Grammy Award for Rouse: Concert de Gaudi 2005: Latin Grammy nomination for Best Classical Album, Rodrigo: Concierto de Aranjuez; Villa-Lobos: Concerto for guitar; Ponce: Concierto del Sur with the New York Philharmonic 2010: Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist, Journey to the New World

Other awards Toronto Guitar competition, first prize, 1975 Winner Munich ARD International Music Competition, 1976 Madrid Queen Sofia International Competition, 1979 Echo Klassik Award, Winner Best Concert Recording, 2002 Best Classical Guitarist, Guitar Player magazine Concert Artists Guild Virtuoso Award, 2013 ASCAP Television Broadcast Award, 2015 Little Orchestra Society's Artistic Excellence Award, 2019 Musical America 2020 Instrumentalist of the Year Award Guitar Foundation of America HALL OF FAME and Artistic Achievement Award, 2023

Discography +Compact Discs (CDs) Date Title Label Catalog number Format Total Playing Time Notes 1978 Sharon Isbin Classical Guitar Sound Environment TR-1010 1 LP Music by Brouwer, Ponce, Sor, Lauro, Albeniz 1980 Sharon Isbin Classical Guitar Vol. II Sound Environment TR-1013 1 LP Music by Bach, Britten, Brouwer 1981 Sharon Isbin Spanish Works for Guitar Denon OF-7012-ND 1 LP With Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony; music by Tarrega, Sainz de la Maza, Rodrigo "Concierto de Aranjuez" 1981 Sharon Isbin Guitar Recital Denon OX-7224-ND 1 LP Music by Dodgson, MacCombie, Scarlatti, Bach 1984 Dances for Guitar Pro Arte CDD 343 1 CD/LP Music by Barrios Mangore, Rodrigo, Lauro, Vianna, Savio, Turina, Granados, Castelnuovo-Tedesco 1985 3 Guitars 3 Pro Arte CDD 235 1 CD/LP With Larry Coryell and Laurindo Almeida; music by Nazareth, Gnattali, de Falla, Almeida, Rodrigo, Coryell 1987 Brazil, With Love Concord CCD-4320 1 CD/LP With Carlos Barbosa-Lima; music by Jobim, Nazareth, Vianna 1988 Rhapsody in Blue/West Side Story Concord CCD-42012 1 CD/LP With Carlos Barbosa-Lima; music by Gershwin and Bernstein 1989 J.S. Bach Complete Lute Suites EMI/Virgin Classics VC 7 90712-2 1 CD (DDD) 78:45 Sharon Isbin performs landmark editions for guitar created in collaboration with Rosalyn Tureck 1990 Road to the Sun EMI/Virgin Classics VC 7-59591-2 1 CD Music by Sainz de la Maza, Rodrigo, Barrios Mangore, Abreu, Jobim, Tarrega, Brouwer, Villa-Lobos, Albeniz 1991 Love Songs & Lullabies EMI/Virgin Classics VC 7-91750-2 1 CD With soprano Benita Valente, baritone Thomas Allen, organic percussionist Thiago de Mello 1991 Rodrigo: Concierto de Aranjuez EMI/Virgin Classics 07777-59024-2 1 CD Sharon Isbin with Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne conducted by Lawrence Foster in Rodrigo Fantasia para un gentilhombre, Concierto de Aranjuez and Vivaldi Concerto in D Major 1994 Nightshade Rounds EMI/Virgin Classics VC 5 45024 2 1 CD (DDD) Five bagatelles/ William Walton (13:54) – Nightshade rounds / Bruce MacCombie (10:06) – Preludes for piano/ George Gershwin;arr. Carlos Barbosa-Lima (5:48) – Clocks/ Joan Tower (9:07) – Folk song from English suite : op. 31/ John W. Duarte (4:20) – Nocturnal : op. 70/ Benjamin Britten (17:53). 1995 American Landscapes EMI/Angel 72435-67672-2 1 CD (DDD) With Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra conducted by Hugh Wolff. World premiere recording of concertos written for Sharon Isbin by John Corigliano, Joseph Schwantner and Lukas Foss. 1995 Black Topaz New World Records 9322-80470-2 1 CD With flutist Carol Wincenc performing world premiere recording of Snow Dreams by Joan Tower written for Isbin and Wincenc. 1995 The Slatkin Years: St. Louis Symphony Orchestra LSC LSC 51204 1 CD Sharon Isbin and St. Louis Symphony Orchestra conducted by Leonard Slatkin—World Premiere live in concert January 1988 of Joseph Schwantner From Afar...A Fantasy for Guitar & Orchestra commissioned by SLSO for Sharon Isbin 1997 Journey to the Amazon Warner Classics 0630-19899-2 1 CD With Paul Winter, and Gaudencio Thiago de Mello. Music by Almeida, Lauro, Barrios Mangore, Thiago de Mello, Montana, Savio, Brouwer, Canonico, Vianna. 1999 GRAMMY Nomination 1998 Wayfaring Stranger Warner Classics 3984-23419-2 1 CD With mezzo-soprano Susanne Mentzer, music by Schubert, Seiber, Niles, Sainz de la Maza, Rodrigo, Granados, Martini, Tarrega, 1999 Ami Maayani: Viola & Guitar Concerti FONS FONS 36-2007 1 CD Sharon Isbin with the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra conducted by Kazuhiro Koizumi—Live in Concert in Jerusalem November 1979 1999 Kernis Double Concerto for Violin & Guitar Decca/Argo 289-460226-2 1 CD With violinist Cho-Liang Lin and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra conducted by Hugh Wolff. World premiere recording of concerto written for Sharon Isbin by Aaron Jay Kernis. 1999 Dreams of a World Warner Classics 3984-25736-2 1 CD (DDD) Folk-inspired Music for Guitar. 8 World Premieres; Music from Appalachia, Ireland, Greece, Israel, Spain, Cuba, Venezuela and Brazil. 2001 GRAMMY AWARD 2001 Rouse: Concert de Gaudí/Tan Dun: Guitar Concerto Yi2 Warner Classics 8573-81830-2 1 CD (DDD) With the Gulbenkian Orchestra conducted by Muhai Tang. World premiere recording of concertos written for Sharon Isbin. 2002 GRAMMY AWARD, ECHO KLASSIK AWARD 2002 Sharon Isbin's Greatest Hits Warner Classics 2435-62075-5 2 CDs Rodrigo, Vivaldi, Bach, Albeniz, Barrios, Villa-Lobos, Foss 2003 Sharon Isbin Plays Baroque Favorites for Guitar Warner Classics 0927-45312-2 1 CD With the Zurich Chamber Orchestra and Howard Griffiths (conductor), music by Bach, Vivaldi, Albinoni 2004 Sharon Isbin – Artist Portrait Warner Classics 2564-61591-2 1 CD Music by Vivaldi, Bach, Rodrigo, Sainz de la Maza, Lauro, Almeida, Thiago de Mello, Niles, Tan Dun, Albinoni, Takemitsu, Tarrega, Martini, Schubert, Rouse 2005 Rodrigo: Concierto de Aranjuez; Villa-Lobos: Concerto for guitar; Ponce: Concierto del sur Warner Classics 2564-60296-2 1 CD With the New York Philharmonic conducted by José Serebrier. 2005 LATIN GRAMMY Nomination 2006 The Departed New Line 39078 1 CD Howard Shore's soundtrack to Martin Scorsese's Academy Award-winning film. 2008 GRAMMY Nomination 2009 Journey to the New World Sony Classical 88697-45456-2 1 CD Guest artists: folk singer Joan Baez and violinist Mark O'Connor. 2010 GRAMMY AWARD 2011 Sharon Isbin & Friends: Guitar Passions Sony Classical 88697-84219-2 1 CD Guest artists: Steve Vai, Stanley Jordan, Nancy Wilson, Steve Morse, Romero Lubambo, Rosa Passos, Thiago de Mello, Paul Winter 2011 Sharon Isbin - Great Masterworks of the Guitar Warner Classics 50999-083412-2 4 CDs Rodrigo Concerti, Schwantner Concerto, Nightshade Rounds, Romances for Guitar, JS Bach Complete Lute Suites 2014 Sharon Isbin: 5 Classic Albums Warner Classics 2564-62436-4 5 CDs Journey to the Amazon, Dreams of a World, Baroque Favorites, Rouse-Tan Dun Concertos, Rodrigo/Villa-Lobos/Ponce Concertos with New York Philharmonic 2015 Sharon Isbin: Troubadour Video Artists International DVD 4580 Blu-ray 8202 Award-winning documentary presented by American Public Television. Guests include Joan Baez, First Lady Michelle Obama, Martina Navratilova, Garrison Keillor, Steve Vai, Stanley Jordan, Mark O'Connor, John Corigliano, Christopher Rouse, Tan Dun, Joan Tower, Romero Lubambo, David Hyde Pierce, Janis Ian & more. WINNER 2015 ASCAP TELEVISION BROADCAST AWARD 2017 Alma Española: Isabel Leonard & Sharon Isbin Bridge Records 9491 1 CD Composers: Federico García Lorca, Joaquín Rodrigo, Agustín Lara, Manuel de Falla, Xavier Montsalvatge, Francisco Tárrega, Enrique Granados 2019 Souvenirs of Spain & Italy: Sharon Isbin & Pacifica Quartet Cedille Records CDR 90000 190 1 CD Composers: Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Vivaldi, Turina, Boccherini 2020 AFFINITY: World Premiere Recordings Zoho Music ZM 202005 1 CD Guest artists: Maryland Symphony Orchestra & conductor Elizabeth Schulze; Isabel Leonard, voice; Colin Davin, guitar 2020 STRINGS FOR PEACE: Premieres for Guitar & Sarod Zoho Music ZM 202004 1 CD Sharon Isbin with Amjad Ali Khan, Amaan Ali Bangash, Ayaan Ali Bangash, sarods; Amit Kavthekar, tabla 2024 LIVE IN ASPEN: Recorded Live in Concert at the Aspen Music Festival Zoho Music ZM 202405 1 CD Sharon Isbin with Amjad Ali Khan, Amaan Ali Bangash, Ayaan Ali Bangash, sarods; Amit Kavthekar, tabla 2025 ROMÁNTICO KL2 KLM026 1 CD Sharon Isbin with Orchestra of St. Luke's & conductor Enrico Lopez-Yañez World Premiere recordings of Latin dance-inspired music for guitar by Karen LeFrak including her Miami Concerto for Guitar & Orchestra