LILY AFSHAR
Lily Afshar's Persian heritage has given rise to some of her greatest musical innovations. Born in Iran to a musical family, she has drawn from Persian and Azerbaijani folk music traditions to create arrangements of works for the classical guitar which are as rich and beautiful as a Persian miniature. With a bachelor's degree from The Boston Conservatory, she earned her Master of Music at The New England Conservatory and went on to study at Florida State University, where she became the first woman in the world to be awarded the degree of Doctor of Music in guitar performance. She arranged for guitar and published Five Popular Persian Ballads with Mel Bay, and is presently creating a new collection of guitar arrangements of traditional Persian and Azerbaijani songs. She has also fascinated concert goers with occasional live performance on the seh- tar, a traditional Persian instrument which evolved over many centuries into the guitar.
Lily Afshar directs the University of Memphis guitar program where she received the 2000 Board of Visitors Eminent Faculty Award, and the 2008 Alumni Association Distinguished Teaching Award. Lily regularly conducts guitar master classes and lectures in conjunction with her touring. Her latest album, "Bach on Fire" (2014), highlights a completely unique and intricate approach to J.S. Bach?s guitar compositions. The arrangements on the album were taken from her book with Mel Bay?s Essential Bach: Arranged for the Guitar by Lily Afshar.
With her passion for going beyond the traditional guitar repertoire, contemporary classical composers have sought after her for creative collaborations resulting in notable world premieres