Composer and musician Kaki King is considered one of the world’s greatest living guitarists, known both for her technical mastery and for her constant quest to push the boundaries of the instrument. Hailed by Rolling Stone as “a genre unto herself,” Kaki has released 9 albums and toured extensively, presenting in such prestigious arts centers as the Kennedy Center, MoMA, LACMA, The Met and Smithsonian Design Museum. She has created music for numerous film and TV soundtracks, including “August Rush” and “Into the Wild”, for which received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Original Score. She has performed with symphonies and chamber ensembles, and recorded an album in collaboration with the Porta Girevole Chamber Orchestra commissioned by the Berklee College of Music.

Kaki King

Gohar Vardanyan discusses the challenges that face every performing guitarist, her approach to teaching, what it is like to finish an album at the beginning of a global pandemic, and how a running dog of capitalism could just ruin your next performance.

Gohar Vardanyan

Badi Assad describes her journey from 2 octave electric organist to world renowned singer, songwriter, guitarist and performance artist.

Badi Assad

“The ultimate element of playing….is musical integrity and not so much the lack of mistakes”

Robert Bekkers

Carissa Broadbest on why it might be easier for authors as opposed to musicians to make money in the digital age….the world of "badass ladies" in fantasy….the difference between a badass heroine in the aughts and a badass heroine in the 2010s…Sci-Fi vs. Space Fantasy…how to go “exclusive” on Amazon and still sell physical books through other sellers and platforms…how authors/creators are paid by Amazon….…whether Tiktok is harder to use as a promotional tool than Instagram….whether YouTube for books (or BookTube) has an indie scene…why good old fashioned newsletters still serve a purpose…how authors “beta” their work before they go to GA...how technology has enabled indie authors to exist: “We would not be here if the digital world had not become what it is today"

Carissa Broadbent

Derek Gripper is a classical guitarist who has taken a unique path.

Derek Gripper

MoreArtThanScience-About This Podcast

Born in 1963 to a Pakistani father and Chilean mother, Fareed’s extensive travels and especially long stays in Spain, France, Iran, Pakistan, and Chile exposed him to different kinds of music from a very early age.  His musical accomplishments are many ---including being named "Best World Guitarist" by Guitar Player magazine in 2009 -- but in my humble opinion tho the coolest thing about Fareed is that he named one of his bands "Garage Mahal".

Fareed Haque

Frank Wallace is an accomplished classical guitarist who has played for audiences throughout the Americas and Europe since 1976, including performances at the Holland Festival, Regensburg Festival, Música en Compostela, Taxco International Guitar Festival, Boston Early Music Festival, Barcelona Festival, International Guitar Festival of Arequipa, the Festival of Spanish Song of Granada, and the Guitar Foundation of America.  He has recorded 16 (SIXTEEN) CDs. 16?  16 CDs.

Almost as impressive as his catalog is his accomplishments as a composer, a teacher, recording engineer, publisher, and a director of musical/guitar projects.    

Soundboard magazine calls him “an impressive talent in every respect; he is a strong guitarist, a composer with a distinct voice, and a confident vocalist." 

I met Frank at the University of Rhode Island Guitar Fest. 

Frank was generous enough to give me an hour of his time as the festival wrapped, what follows is an edited version of our conversation on the intersection of music and commerce.

Frank Wallace

Adam Levin is a virtuoso guitarist with 5 CDs including Contemporary Spanish Guitar Volumes I, II, and III.  I recommend them all.  He is also founding member of the Great Necks, one half of "Duo Sonidos", founder of the Kithara Project, a great teacher at University of Rhode Island, creator of the URI Guitar Fest, and a very good friend.  Hear him discuss how he made his way in the post-Segovia classical guitar universe.

Adam Levin

Jacob Reuven describes how he makes ends meet as a professional mandolinist.

Jacob Reuven

Clarice Assad is a Brazilian-American composer, pianist, arranger and singer originally from Rio de Janeiro. She has recorded 7 solo albums and has appeared on dozens of additional recordings.  She is also Sergio Assad’s daughter, which may well be  unfairly her greatest claim to fame in the small world of classical guitar.  
Clarice holds a Bachelor of Music from Roosevelt University in Chicago and a master's degree in Composition from the University of Michigan. She was also a 2009 Latin Grammy nominee.
I caught up to Clarice this Spring at the University of Rhode Island Guitar Fest.  She is unassuming and has a very “real” feel about her, a presence that I’m beginning to associate with musicians in general.

Clarice Assad

Guitarist and arranger Scott Borg describes how he got to where he is and how he makes ends meet.

Scott Borg

Podcast interview of Mark and Beverly Davis, a guitar duo.

Beverly and Mark Davis

Aaron Larget-Caplan works hard. Nothing was handed to him and he expects nothing to be handed to him.  He works 80 hour weeks to make ends meet.  He performs, transcribes, presents, and promotes.  All that work takes a toll.  Aaron is committed none-the-less, and takes time to give back.

Aaron Larget-Caplan

Classical Guitar Virtuoso Eliot Fisk on his upbringing, the power of music to transform, the differences in music economics between the US and Europe, and why the great masters and composers are more important to us than our own great-grandparents.

Eliot Fisk

Patricia Price from 8va Music Consultancy on how to make ends meet as a classical musician, the effects of the pandemic on classical musician's careers, the evolution of recorded music from 2005 to 2020, what % of income comes from live performance, how the top performers are surviving the pandemic, the Imperial Death March on the streets of NYC, and how to make classical music more accessible to a wider audience.

Patricia Price

A podcast that explores the question: "How do artists make a living in the digital age?"

More Art Than Science

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