Andrew Eliot Zohn, DM aezohn@knology.net
Andrew Eliot Zohn, DM aezohn@knology.net
Guitarist/composer Andrew Zohn has been hailed as "one of the finest guitarists of his generation" by Anthony Morris, host of the nationally-syndicated radio program Guitar Alive. His ability on the instrument has earned prizes in five national and international competitions including the Guitar Foundation of America and the Stotsenberg International. In addition to concertizing throughout North America and in Europe as a soloist, Andrew Zohn has been active as a chamber musician and orchestral soloist. Recent performances include venues in New York City, Boston, Cincinnati, Toronto, and Ottawa.
Andrew Zohn holds a doctorate of music degree from Florida State University, a master of music from the University of Texas, and a bachelor’s degree from the North Carolina School of the Arts. Since 1999, Zohn has served on the faculty of Columbus State University, where he founded and directs the annual CSU Guitar Symposium and Competition. He also currently serves on the faculty of the Guitar on the Mediterranean Festival in Cervo, Italy, and the Guitare Lachine festival in Canada, each summer. Dr. Zohn is a frequently invited guest artist, lecturer, and clinician at music festivals, seminars, and universities throughout North America. Students of Andrew Zohn have won prizes in international competitions, and have been featured on the American national radio program From the Top.
Beginning a career in composing in 1998, Zohn has already received commissions for new works from, among others, La Flame Records, Canada, the Campbell University Foundation for the Arts, and the East Carolina New Music Festival. In 2004 and 2005, Zohn was selected as a recipient of a Plus Award from the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) in recognition of his compositions. Original compositions and transcriptions by Andrew Zohn are published through Les Productions d’Oz, Canada, Tuscany publications (Theodore Presser), and FJH Publications. His latest recording, Music of Piazzolla, Debussy, Gershwin, and Zohn, is now available through Centaur Records.
Andrew Zohn/Selected Quotes
"Zohn showed full control of all aspects of his art. This assured and confident performance brought the potential of the guitar to new heights of excellence, allowing the audience to experience a mature artist at work." –GuitArt Magazine
"His sensitive touch and tasteful musicality shaped each phrase in a way that was easy to understand and enjoy. Both the aficionado and the concert performer would be moved by Zohn’s obvious command of the instrument and repertoire…A stellar performer!" -Washington D.C. Society Newsletter.
"Brilliant and engaging." -Soundboard Magazine
"With a sophisticated use of harmony and an inventive use of melodic and rhythmic motifs, these [Zohn’s solo compositions] will surely find there way into concert programs and perhaps a set piece in future competitions." –GuitArt Magazine.
"A talented new composer [whose] compositions deserve to be heard." "Charming and entirely convincing… More of the same please!" -Classical Guitar Magazine (London).
"The same rhythmic sensitivity as Leonhardt," and the "intensity usually associated with Assad recordings." -Guitarra Magazine (review of Zohn’s debut recording A Guitar Recital).
A Review of Andrew Zohn's CD from Guitarra Magazine:
Andrew Zohn is better than coffee. One's ears delight and one's mind is
energized by his sophisticated and light touch.
Articulation and rhythmic excellence are not necessarily the order of the
day when one deals with guitarists raised on a heavy diet of rubato and
cheese. Zohn's playing exuberantly toys with the rhythm through a
combination of articulation and subtle shadings of rhtyhm.
His reading of the Hommage a Debussy by de Falla is fresh, if one considers
that he's one of the first players in history to actually play what is
written. His grasp of the Habanera's characteristic steps has the same
rhtyhmic sensitivity as a Leonhardt reading of a Bach courante.
Zohn also performs three new transcription of sonatas by Domenico Cimarosa.
The pieces work, and whatsmore, they work well. The sonatas find a champion
in Zohn who plays them with the a rhythmic intensity usually associated with
Assad recordings of Scarlatti.
The CD concludes with arrangements of Gershwin and Porter transcribed by
Zohn. Again, every guitarist should woodshed this recording if only to
imitate his rhythmic vitality. Purists may question their inclusion on the
recording. But, purists are usually boring people who don't have much fun.
So, open your ears and listen to this guitarist and learn a thing or two
about how to swing everything from Cimarosa and Vivaldi to Gershwin and
Porter.
Andrew Eliot Zohn, DM
706-571-9086
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