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Cristian Amigo

Cristian Amigo is an American composer, guitarist, producer, and educator who explores connections between art (classical and jazz) music and American popular and roots musics. Known as an acoustic and electric guitarist, and improviser, Amigo writes avant-music for chamber ensembles, orchestra, opera, theater, and film; he composes and performs in various roots and experimental music groups including The Gotham Roots Orchestra and Kingdom of Jones. H

His awards include fellowships from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, the Smithsonian Institution Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, and Meet the Composer. His work has been supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council for the Arts, the Brooklyn Philharmonic, the American Composers Forum, and Innova Recordings, among many others. The 2012 New Grove Dictionary of American Music will contain an entry on Cristian and his music. In 2011, he produced the recording NYFA: 25 Years of New York New Music, an anthology that includes music from Meredith Monk, Pauline Oliveros, Joan Tower, Eliot Sharp, ETHEL, and hundreds of others.

Awards

John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, the Smithsonian Institution Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, and Meet the Composer. His work has been supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council for the Arts, the Brooklyn Philharmonic, the American Composers Forum, and Innova Recordings, among many others. The 2012 New Grove Dictionary of American Music will contain an entry on Cristian and his music.

Gear

guitars: Gibson ES-175, Gibson Les Paul Standard, EPI Emperor Regent, Fender Telecasters, Fender Stratocaster, Godin, Hagstrom Viking. amps: Fender slides: brass and glass fx: compressor, eq, reverb, delay, OCD, tubescreamer.


Tags

“ I kind of hate myself for digging this abrasive clatter [War is Good for Business] because it’s galaxies away from my Beatles- and Beethoven-forged sense of composition. But it rocks real hard against its orchestra of bloops and bleeps, and then breaks down to a mournful sound collage. A great theme for Halliburton’s symphony of opportunism.

-GUITAR PLAYER MAGAZINE

” Guitarist-composer Cristian Amigo straddles the contemporary-classical, improv and rock worlds; no wonder he calls his Kingdom of Jones a “new music jam-band.” During any given performance, Messiaen grapples with Led Zeppelin while Perez Prado teaches Stravinsky to mambo.”

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Primary Instrument

Guitar

Location

New York City

Willing to teach

Advanced only

Credentials/Background

This is Cristian. Maybe you've reached a plateau in your playing and hearing. i see taking lessons with me as a kind of coaching/producing where I suggest pathways to develop both your technical and easthetic sensibilities. I give lessons in both guitar (total concepts beyond style) and composition (new music, jazz and Western Art, and selected topics in World Music). I will be taking on about 5 students in the Fall of 2008 in New York City. Ideally, you would have one lesson a month. I charge $100 for a two hour session. I have a Ph.D in ethnomusicology from UCLA, and have received many awards and commissions including a Guggenheim in music composition. My theoretical experience lies beyond Western art and jazz music, and I am committed to training the best musicians of the present and future. That includes identifying and engaging the evolving issues and techniques of music. contact: [email protected]

Clinic/Workshop Information

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Photos

Music

Videos

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