Engelman Recital Hall
Baruch College Performing Arts Center
55 Lexington Avenue
New York City (see map)

Ticket information
Tickets are $25 each, $20 for students, seniors and NYCCGS members. Tickets for this concert can be ordered online or by calling 646-312-4085 or 866-811-4111.

The renowned New York guitarist, lutenist, and composer Frederic Hand will appear in concert on Friday, April 30, at 8 pm, at Engelman Recital Hall at Baruch Performing Arts Center. The program, titled "Convergence," will reflect the varied musical traditions that come together in Mr. Hand's art. The opening set of lute improvisations on medieval and Renaissance themes will lead without pause into "For Julian," written by Mr. Hand to commemorate the 75th birthday of guitarist/lutenist Julian Bream, and Mr. Hand's "Prayer," performed on guitar, will be followed by his arrangement of J. S. Bach's Suite No. 1 for Unaccompanied Cello. The second half will include the premiere performance of his "Child's Play," selections by Chick Corea and Oliver Nelson (each followed by a jazz-tinged original composition), and selections from the incidental music composed by George Stiles for Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. The concert is the fourth and final in the 2009-2010 series sponsored by the New York City Classical Guitar Society.

Frederic Hand is one of the most versatile guitarists performing today, equally at home on the stage of New York's Metropolitan Opera, where he has been the appointed guitarist and lutenist since 1986, and in the recording studio, where he has created Emmy-winning television scores, music for many films (including the theme for the Academy Award-winning Kramer vs. Kramer), and innovative reinventions of early music with his group Jazzantiqua. Mr. Hand has performed as guest artist with numerous festivals and orchestras, and his concert tours throughout North America and Europe have been met with the highest critical acclaim. In the words of Guitar Review, "Frederic Hand is a tremendously skilled and expressive guitarist. But what makes him unique is that he is also one of today's most fascinating composers, able to weave together a variety of influences, from jazz to Dowland to the avant-garde." His composition "Prayer," recorded by John Williams, was nominated for a Grammy award, and his own recordings are available on the Music Masters and Musical Heritage Society labels.

A graduate of the Mannes College of Music, Mr. Hand studied in England with Julian Bream on a Fulbright scholarship. He is currently chairman of the Classical Guitar department at the State University of New York at Purchase and he also serves on the faculties of the Mannes College of Music and Bennington College. He has taught masterclasses and given residencies at numerous conservatories and universities.