About William Feasley

William Feasley is rapidly becoming recognized as one of today's top classical guitarists. The first guitarist to be awarded the Peabody Conservatory's coveted Artist Diploma. Mr. Feasley has since been the recipient of numerous prizes and awards: a gold medal in the 1987 Panhellenic Guitar Competition in Athens, the 1991, 1995 and 2000 Baltimore Chamber Music Awards and a 1996 Governor's Citation for Outstanding Achievements in the Arts in Maryland. Selected to play for Andrés Segovia at the master's historic last class at the University of Southern California in 1986, he was later featured on the CBS special Eulogy of Segovia.

Since making his debut in 1980 with the San Francisco Ballet, performing Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez for Lou Christenson's ballet, Don Juan, William Feasley has maintained an active international touring schedule. He has appeared in the Ohrid and Skopjme Summer Festival in Macedonia, the Mertz International Guitar Festival in Bratislava and venues such as St. Martin in the Fields in London, the National Gallery of Art, the Phillips Collection, the Smithsonian Residents Associates Program, the Washington National Cathedral and Yale University. He has toured with the Russian Chamber Orchestra, Music Viva (Alexander Rudin, Conductor), performed live on ABC International Radio in Australia, and with New York's Bachanalia Ensemble under the direction of Nina Beilina and Washington's 20th Century Consort. Recent tours have included Italy, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, Spain, the Caribbean, Greece, Yugoslavia, New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom, and Iceland.

The Echos of Goya program—a multimedia presentation on the life of the famous painter and his impact on several generations of composers, has become a popular presentation for museums held in conjunction with the national touring exhibition Goya: The Caprichos Etchings and Aquatints. Mr. Feasley performs a variety of Spanish musical arrangements—many of which were commissioned by art patrons that supported Goya and his contemporaries. Feasley’s sounds take on an almost palpable three-dimensional quality in its warmth and depth of expression while he illustrates many of the works of Goya and offers commentary on several of the pieces on view in the exhibition. Other programs by Feasley include arrangements that relate to the works of Robert Motherwell, Aristide Maillol, Pablo Picasso, and The Lincoln Center’s List Print Collection.

Mr. Feasley has released the critically acclaimed disc Echoes of Goya for the Sonora label, now available for purchase through Contemporary & Modern Print Exhibitions.

Media Comments:

"World-class performer…myriads of cascading notes at times belied their origin from one, lone, six string instrument, creating full-stringed harmonic impact or lyrical melodic strains to dominate over subtle accomplishments…"

Otago Daily times, Dunedin, New Zealand

"Feasley's guitar sounded, in the words of Segovia, like "a small orchestra" in its variety of colors..."

-- Joseph McLellan The Washington Post

"He is gifted with a dominating technique and a sharp intellect."

Guitar Review Magazine

"Gem of a concert... Feasley's consummate artistry prevailed."

Annapolis Capitol

"Feasley set off guitaristic fireworks so spectacular they were memorable by themselves."

Albuquerque Journal

"Feasley is a virtuoso. He has an incredibly high level of technique, and the ability to perform a piece in the mood in which it was composed. The sound of his guitar is warm, sweet, and full of musical truth."

NEA Newspaper, Xania, Greece

"... a commanding performance... dispatching each virtuosic work with panache and an unerring sense of style... an extremely polished and satisfying recital."

The Press Christchurch, New Zealand

"William Feasley is one of those musicians who, while not deliberately setting out to 'wow' the audience, succeeds in doing just that... the whole recital was consumed as a glass of sparkling water on a hot summer's night."

Politika Ekspress, Belgrade, Yugoslavia

Mr. Feasley has released the critically acclaimed disc Echoes of Goya for the Sonora label, now available for purchase through Contemporary & Modern Print Exhibitions.

Booking information for William Feasley:

"Feasley's guitar sounded, in the words of Segovia, like "a small orchestra" in its variety of colors."