classical guitarist

Artist Biography

Displaying " . . . technical mastery and emotional expressiveness . . . " , Christopher Teves has been delighting audiences throughout the United States with imaginative programs of classical guitar music. Winner of the WGUC Fine Arts Radio Auditions, Finalist at the Music Teachers National Association Competition, and Semifinalist in both the Guitar Foundation of America International Competition and the first Luigi Legnani International Competition (Italy), Teves' love for performance is immediately apparent and compelling.

As an active recitalist, Mr. Teves has performed at the Guitar Foundation of America International Festival in Charleston (SC), at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory Summer Guitar Workshop, live on WGUC Fine Arts Radio in Cincinnati, live on WKNO Friday Live Lunch, the Shenandoah Valley Music Festival (VA), the George Eastman House Musicales Series, and as the soloist in Joaquin Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez with several Ohio orchestras. Other appearances have included tours with the Capital University Chapel Choir, a guest performance with Eastman's Capella Antiqua, and solo recitals in New York City, Washington D.C., Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Buffalo, Columbus, Madison, Rochester (NY), Columbia (SC), Dayton (OH), Memphis (TN), and Winchester (VA). Teves is also currently on the Approved Artist Roster of the South Carolina Arts Commission. He recently collaborated with arranger Howard Vance and released the cd Guitar America, a collection of favorite American songs.

As an ardent promoter of music by living composers, Mr. Teves has participated in numerous premieres including two solo works specially composed for him by American composer Richard Jordan Smoot and Taiwanese composer Sally Chen. The premieres occurred at the New York Public Library Center for Performing Arts in Lincoln Center's Bruno Walter Auditorium. During the Fall of 1998 he appeared with the Welsh Hills Symphony Orchestra in the world premiere of a concerto written for him by Richard Jordan Smoot. He has also performed at the NOW New Music Festival (Columbus, OH), the Society of Composers Inc. National Conference in Iowa City, the Central Ohio Composers Alliance, and the Cincinnati Composers Guild.

In addition to performing, Teves enjoys teaching and has given lessons to students of all ages in both collegiate and community settings. He has served on the faculties of Capital University, Otterbein College, and the Eastman School of Music Community Education Division.

Christopher Teves began serious music study during his senior year of high school at the Carnegie Mellon University Preparatory Department. Later, he studied at the University of South Carolina, the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and the Eastman School of Music. At the Eastman School, he was the recipient of a fellowship and teaching assistantship to Nicholas Goluses, who described him as "a musician of exceptional talent and dedication." Other primary teachers have included Clare Callahan, Christopher Berg, and James Ferla. Teves has also studied in master classes with some of the world's most noted performers, including Pepe Romero, Oscar Ghiglia, and David Russell.

Quotes

"He is a musician of exceptional talent and dedication . . . (he) has developed a high artistic level of performance, a refined technique, and exquisite tone . . . his knowledge of performance practices is quite exceptional . . . I give him my highest recommendation . . ."

Nicholas Goluses - Professor of guitar, Eastman School of Music

Jeffrey Van - Internationally renown guitarist, teacher, composer, and judge at the 1992 Music Teachers National Association Collegiate Competition

"He has a winsome flair and accessible personality . . . His standards are high and his artistic integrity ever apparent . . . I recommend him to you enthusiastically."

Clare Callahan - Professor of Guitar, Cincinnati Conservatory and Internationally renown guitar pedagogue

"Very good sense of musical line and phrase proportion. Excellent articulation, good sound, and excellent dynamic control."

Leopold La Fosse - violinist and judge at the Corpus Christi Young Artists Competition.

"Very good musicianship . . . Impressive player"

John McCormick - Judge, Ohio Federation of Music Clubs Competition.

"BRAVO! BRAVO! I hope you felt the audience's enthusiasm over your performance at the Midwest Kodaly Music Educators Conference . . . Your selections and artistry certainly upheld all the premises of the Kodaly philosophy. Thank you for representing Capital (University) so well.

Sandy Mathias - Director of the Kodaly Institute and Professor of Music Education, Capital University

"With mature artistry, Christopher immediately held his audience captive. He opened with twelve etudes of Leo Brouwer and connected them as if they were composed in three of four movements. This was quite exciting, as I kept wondering what he would do next . . . It was refreshing to hear so much new music. The pieces by Chen and Smoot were quite involved, but (he) guided his listeners . . . through the many changing textures and rhythms new to them . . . Congratulations, Chris, for a wonderful performance . . . "

Kevin Vigil - President and Reviewer, Washington D.C. Guitar Society

"Many thanks for the glorious music . . . Everyone who attended the concert is still raving . . . you are a very gifted musician. You are always welcome to play at Summit."

Ron McCarty - Organist and Music Series Director, Summit Methodist Church, Columbus OH

"Thanks for your contribution to the Central College Concert Series . . The program, the space, and your performance made a delightful package . . . I hope that you sensed the pleasure that your audience enjoyed as they listened and watched you make music."

Gary W. Everts - Director of Music, Central College Presbyterian Church, Westerville, OH

"Chris has a wonderful imagination, cheerful disposition, and lighthearted touch which makes him great company and an effective, popular teacher. He relates very well to everyone with whom he works and is a natural advocate for classical music via classical guitar. Underneath it all is a very serious, gifted artist with a keen mind, natural good taste, and a real flair for performance . . . a born performer. His superior musicianship and grasp of style give great elegance to his performance. . . "

Clare Callahan - Professor of Guitar, Cincinnati Conservatory and Internationally renown guitar pedagogue

" . . . an accomplished musician and performer. My church recently had the opportunity to host a concert by Mr. Teves. Not many in our parish, or in our community of Strasburg, were very knowledgeable in classical guitar. Everyone present was moved by Christopher's performance."

William H. Hall - Pastor, St. Paul Lutheran Church, Strasburg, VA

". . . He has a marvelous stage presence and rapport with his audience. His desire to educate and perform, especially for those who are not familiar with the classical guitar, draws his listeners into his work . . ."

George L. Sims - Pastor, Reformation Lutheran Church, New Market, VA.

". . . a wonderfully talented classical guitarist . . . The concert at Mt. Calvary church was an enjoyable, enlightening, and educational experience . . . An outstanding strength in Chris's performance abilities is his penchant for establishing quickly a rapport with his audience - a type of stage presence that draws one beyond admiration for his technical accomplishment to an emotional identification with an understanding of the composer's feelings and thoughts. Chris shares pertinent information about the music included in his presentation at several points during the concert, always with refreshing insight, not condescension . . . He is a young man with much to offer."

Sid W. Roden - Pastor, Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church, Mt. Jackson, VA.

" . . . The technical mastery and emotional expressiveness of such a young player shows that he is destined for the top of the performer's circuit . . . His personable relaxed stage presence made the event all the more enjoyable . . . this is a player to hear, if you get the opportunity, don't pass it up . . . "

Beverly Ross - Reviewer, Washington Guitar Society News Letter

" . . . one of the most successful concerts by one of the most talented performers that I have had the opportunity to hear this year . . . both enlightening and insightful . . . Teves is definitely a musician you should not miss . . . a delightful guitarist and performer."