Matthew Rohde - 13th January, 2012

Background

Since capturing first prize in the Rantucci International Guitar Competition at age 19, Matthew Rohde has been regarded as one of the most notable American guitarists of his generation. Matthew has been heard as a soloist with the Yale Symphony Orchestra, the Hindemith Ensemble, and the Santa Fe Desert Chorale, and in 2007 he was invited to perform at an address delivered by President Hu Jin Tao of China during his historic visit to the United States.

Matthew has been a top prize winner in competitions across the US and in Israel, and in 2009, he was the only American to advance to the semi-final round of the Guitar Foundation of America International Competition, arguably the most prestigious event of its kind in the world.

As a teacher, Matthew has earned renown throughout the United States. Matthew has been a guest artist at the New Mexico Guitar Festival and the Las Vegas International Guitar Festival, and is a co-founder of Guitar Ambassadors, an annual summer retreat in Massachusetts for high school aged classical guitarists.

Matthew has also taught and performed considerably in the Middle East. From 2007-2008, he taught with Al-Kamandjati, an NGO promoting music education throughout the Israeli-Occupied West Bank, and for the past three summers he has taught at a US State Department-sponsored music camp in the territory. Additionally, through the support of the Qattan Foundation Matthew conducted guitar classes in the Gaza Strip – via live videoconference!

Matthew graduated with honours from Yale College and from the Yale School of Music. He has also studied at the Conservatoire Nationale de Musique et Danse in Paris and the Accademia Chigiana in Siena, Italy. His teachers have included Benjamin Verdery, Oscar Ghiglia, Roland Dyens, John Williams, Manuel Barrueco, David Russell, Sergio Assad, and Lorenzo Micheli.