May 20, 2012 at 2:00pm, Reception Follows

Nicholas Ciraldo

Praised as “an exceptionally musical and accomplished guitarist,” Nicholas Ciraldo is a leader among his generation of American classical guitarists.  He has won awards and reached high levels at several prestigious solo competitions, including the Tredrez-Locquemau International Guitar Competition (France), twice at the MTNA Guitar Competition (USA), the Gaetano Zinetti International Chamber Music Competition (Italy), the GFA Solo Guitar Competition (USA), and the Portland International Guitar Competition (USA).  Dr. Ciraldo has enjoyed numerous solo, chamber, and concerto performances throughout the United States, South America, and Europe, from Boston’s Jordan Hall to Berlin’s Berliner Dom to Brazil’s Teatro José Maria Santos.

An avid chamber musician, Nicholas Ciraldo has collaborated with many fine performing artists, including harpist Franziska Huhn, flutist Thomas Robertello, guitarist Eliot Fisk, violinist Stephen Redfield, and the Quadrivium Guitar Quartet.  Currently, Dr. Ciraldo enjoys a busy concert schedule with his wife, flutist Rachel Taratoot Ciraldo, as the Ciraldo Duo.  Their recent concert venues include the National Flute Association Convention, the Pelican State Chamber Music Series of Baton Rouge, the Christ Church of Pensacola, and the Escola da musica e bellas artes do Parana, Brazil.

A participating member of the arts community, Nicholas Ciraldo has held diverse positions with several arts organizations, including Artistic Director of the Boston Classical Guitar Society and Vice President of the Austin Classical Guitar Society.  Dr. Ciraldo is also founder of the Hammer/Nail Project, a program that links student composers with guitarists and shows how to write for the guitar in the most idiomatic way possible.  He currently serves as faculty advisor to the USM Guitar Society.

Another of Dr. Ciraldo’s activities is as artist/teacher.  The Quadrivium Guitar Quartet performed as artists-in-residence throughout rural Kentucky under the auspices of New Performing Arts.  The Ciraldo Duo twice has been invited by the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra and the Austin Classical Guitar Society to be artists/teachers-in-residence.  Dr. Ciraldo has given numerous lectures and masterclasses throughout the U.S. and Brazil.  Dr. Ciraldo is on the faculty of the University of Southern Mississippi’s School of Music in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.