MURIEL ANDERSON

Muriel Anderson's release, New Classics for Guitar and Cello is already being hailed as a landmark in its field. Nicholas Fuchs, Music Director, Emeritus of the Illinois Chamber Ensemble states, "This marks a new renaissance for classical guitar and cello! Ms. Anderson's compositions are flawless. Work like this assures me that music in the next century is in good hands." Widely respected as one of the premier fingerstyle guitarists on the scene today, Muriel Anderson is the first woman to have won the National Fingerpicking Guitar Championship. As a composer, Muriel has written and performed commissioned works for the Nashville Chamber Orchestra and Vox Caelestis Women's Choir. She has released seven CDs in the U.S. and three in Japan. Muriel has authored numerous articles, instructional books, and videos and serves on the Mel Bay artist advisory board. In addition, she is the founder of the renowned "Muriel Anderson's ALL-STAR GUITAR NIGHTr" and the Music for Life Alliance, a national organization that supports music education for children who might not otherwise be able to experience the joy of making music. Muriel Anderson's musical roots began in Downers Grove, Illinois where her mother taught piano, and back in Massachusetts her grandfather had been a saxophone player in John Philip Sousa's band. As a young girl, Muriel was enthralled with folk, bluegrass, jazz, and international folk music. She learned all she could locally and then went on to study as a double major in guitar performance and composition at DePaul University in Chicago. Preferring her traditional melodic style to the avant-garde style being taught at the time, she left the composition department and concentrated her energies on a degree in guitar performance. A three- week sabbatical to the desert of Borrego Springs, California, restored her love of composing, and some of the themes for guitar and orchestra she wrote there found their way into her duets for guitar and cello. As an instrumentalist, Muriel so