David Leisner is an extraordinarily versatile musician with a distinguished, multi-faceted career as guitarist, composer and teacher. Regarded as one of America's leading classical guitarists, he is increasingly recognized on the international scene for his significant contributions to composition and education.Mr. Leisner's performance career began auspiciously with top prizes in both the 1975 Toronto and 1981 Geneva International Guitar Competitions. Now a featured solo recording artist for the new label, Azica Records, Leisner's CDs have received great critical and public acclaim. He has also recorded chamber music for the Telarc, Etcetera and Koch labels. Solo, chamber music and concerto engagements have taken him throughout North America, Europe and the Far East. Celebrated for expanding the guitar repertoire, David Leisner has premiered works by many important composers, including Virgil Thomson, Ned Rorem, Philip Glass, Richard Rodney Bennett, Peter Sculthorpe and Osvaldo Golijov.As a composer Mr. Leisner is noted for the emotional and dramatic power of his music. His Dances in the Madhouse, in both its original version for violin and guitar and as an arrangement for orchestra, has received hundreds of performances. Leisner's music has been performed worldwide by such eminent artists as Sanford Sylvan, Paul Sperry, Juliana Gondek, Susan Narucki, D'Anna Fortunato, Eugenia Zukerman, Benjamin Verdery, St. Lawrence String Quartet, Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, Pearl and Gray Guitar Duo, Saturday Brass Quintet, and orchestras such as the Fresno Philharmonic and the Springfield (MA and MO) and Amarillo Symphonies. Works currently available on CD are on the Dorian, Sony Classical, Centaur, Town Hall, Signum, Acoustic Music, Athena and Barking Dog labels.Recent works and commissions include Vision of Orpheus for the St. Lawrence Quartet and Leisner (20th Century Unlimited series), Embrace of Peace for the Fairfield Orchestra, Battlefield Requiem for solo cellist Laurence Lesser and the New England Conservatory Percussion Ensemble, Fidelity for tenor Bruce Fowler, baritone Robert Osborne and pianist Warren Jones, Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam for the Saturday Brass Quintet and the 50th anniversary of Fairfield University, and Roaming for the New World Guitar Trio.A distinguished teacher, David Leisner served for 22 years on the faculty of the New England Conservatory and is currently on the faculty of the Manhattan School of Music. Primarily self-taught as both guitarist and composer, he briefly studied guitar with John Duarte, David Starobin and Angelo Gilardino and composition with Richard Winslow, Virgil Thomson, Charles Turner and David Del Tredici.
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