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Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
Label: Majian Music
Website: www.andrewyork.net
Sounds Like: LAGQ
Genre: Classical
GRAMMY-winning guitarist and composer Andrew York has shown extraordinary talent and versatility as a musician in many styles: electric guitar in a jazz quintet; classical guitar with The Los Angeles Guitar Quartet; even lute with the USC Early Music Ensemble.
In addition to his solo career, recording and performing his own compositions, Andrew's recent collaborations include projects with Andy Summers, Allaudin Mathieu, Dai Kimura, and Mitsuko Kado.
Andrew's tour schedule has included concerts in thirty countries. He has over 50 works published for guitar in its many varieties: solo, duo, trio, quartet, and ensemble. He has appeared in 3 DVDS, has recorded or appeared as soloist on more than 10 CDs, and has published a three-volume work on in-depth jazz study for classical guitarists. Andrew plays on 10 recordings with The Los Angeles Guitar Quartet including the GRAMMY-winning "Guitar Heroes" (2005).
Solo CDs include: Perfect Sky (1986), Denouement (1994), Into Dark (1997), California Breeze (2006), The Hauser Sessions (2007) and Yamour (2012).
Andrew was born in 1958 in Atlanta, Georgia and grew up in Virginia. He received a Bachelor of Music degree in Classical Guitar Performance in 1980 at James Madison University and completed his Master of Music degree at University of Southern California in 1986, both degrees magna cum laude. He was the recipient of numerous awards and scholarships at USC, including the Jack Marshall Memorial Scholarship and the Del Amo Foundation Grant for Study in Spain. Andrew is the only alumni in USC's history to have received their Distinguished Alumni Award twice, in 1997 as a member of the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet and again in 2003 for his solo music career.
“... York straddles with complete assurance the worlds Of Bossa Nova, Bach, Scarlatti, Celtic song, jazz and minimalism, maintaining a complete mastery of each idiom and managing to sound totally himself, with the classical and the exotic functioning simply as points of departure.”
Rafael de Acha - Seen and Heard International
“I love Yamour. Simply put it is my favorite classical guitar album. Ever. You are a gift to earth.”
Michael Chapdelaine - First Prize winner, GFA; First Prize winner, Fingerstyle
"While some people play music others are musicians. These people
transcend whatever instrument they play and connect with a level far
beyond the mere physical. Andrew York is one of these special people
who do just that; he is a musician’s musician. Not only through his
performances but through his composing he is enriching the guitar in
ways only future generations will truly understand. It is an honor and
pleasure to know this gifited and kind artist."
Bill Piburn - Fingerstyle Guitar Magazine
“When Andrew York plays, the guitar becomes transparent; the music just pours out from his soul.”
Russ De Angelo - Festival Director, La Guitarra California
"Andrew York takes old wine skins (Bagatelle, Etude, Saraband . . .) and fills them with the new wine of his artistic soul. This is beautiful music."
Michael Rivers - Victory Review
"Immaculate technique, elegant and expressive . . . His intimate knowledge of the instrument provides for some delicious sonorities of authentic originality . . ."
John Schneider - Soundboard Magazine
"Andrew York’s eclectic writing and playing constitute one of the hippest styles in American classical guitar . . . his writing projects levels of honesty, spirit and magnetism that are rare in contemporary guitar composition."
Jim Ferguson - Guitar Player Magazine
