Keith CalmesGuitarist Keith Calmes has performed as a soloist in halls such as Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, the St. Louis Art Museum, Musician's Institute, American Institute of Guitar, and California Institute of Technology. He has performed at the Guitar Foundation of America Festival, Fresno Classical Guitar Festival, Philadelphia Classical Guitar Festival, Lincoln Center Mozart Bicentennial, and the Philly Fringe Festival; and has performed with groups such as LA Camerata, Monmouth Symphony, Juilliard Symphony, Downey Symphony, and LA Musica Viva. Keith is a graduate of The Juilliard School, California State University at Northridge, and the University of Southern California; and also graduated from summer courses at Berklee College of Music, and Musica en Compostela (Spain).
Recent performances include concerts in Florida, California, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. His latest CD, Still Life and Simple Dreams, was produced in collaboration with Steve Jankowski of Blood, Sweat, and Tears and is receiving rave reviews. Mel Bay Publications has released numerous books and recordings of his, including Gospel Classical Guitar and Guitar Music of the 16th Century. As a member of Sun Guitar Quartet in the late 1980's, Keith played in Japan and gave premieres of works by Frank Campo, Stepan Rak, and Carlos Barbosa-Lima.
As a composer, his recent activity includes a suite written for the California State University Bakersfield Guitar Ensemble, funded by a grant from Meet the Composer. He is dedicated to diverse genres of music; in recent years he has opened for surf guitar innovator Dick Dale, and played at clubs such as Trumpet's (NJ) and the art gallery of legendary rock club CBGB. Keith is currently on the Board of Directors of the NJ American String Teachers Association, where he directs the state string competition and regularly contributes to their journal NJ Strings. Godin Guitars recently gave Keith an artist endorsement.
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