GRAMMY Winner Sharon Isbin to Play National Sawdust in December

Multiple Grammy winner Sharon Isbin will be featured premiering new chamber works and a guitar concerto at National Sawdust, 80 North 6th Street in Brooklyn on Wednesday, December 4 at 7:30pm.  Box office: 646 779 8455. Tickets are $75.

The centerpiece of the program will be the New York premiere of Karen LeFrak's Miami Concerto for Guitar & Orchestra with the Orchestra of St. Luke's and conductor Elizabeth Askren. Isbin recently performed the world premiere of this dazzling Latin dance-inspired work, an homage to the musical heritage of Miami with influences from Africa, Europe, and the indigenous peoples of Latin America, and recorded it with the Orchestra of St. Luke's conducted by Enrico Lopez-Yanez.  Last fall Isbin performed the first movement, "Bailamos" with the National Symphony for an enthusiastic audience of over 10,000 on the U.S. Capitol Lawn.

Isbin will also perform the world premiere of Urban Tango with pianist Forrest Eimold, and Habanera Nights with cellist Jeffrey Ziegler and percussionists Javier Diaz, Mariana Rodriguez, Rolando Morales and Victor Pablo García-Gaetán.

Hailed as “one of the best guitarists in the world” (Boston Globe) and celebrated as “the pre-eminent guitarist of our time,” Sharon Isbin has been soloist with over 200 orchestras, premiered over 80 works written for her by some of the world's finest composers, and has given sold-out performances in celebrated halls across 40 countries. Isbin, the 2020 Musical America Instrumentalist of the Year, was inducted into the 2023 Guitar Foundation of America Hall of Fame and received their Artistic Achievement Award.

Isbin was the cover story of Acoustic Guitar magazine's Nov/Dec 2023 issue – the only classical guitarist ever featured on the publication's cover in their 33-year history. Recent highlights include a 21-city Guitar Passions tour with jazz greats Stanley Jordan and Romero Lubambo, a collaboration with Sting, triumphant performances with the Detroit, Montreal and National Symphonies, as well as sold-out concerts at the Kennedy Center, Kimmel Center, and Carnegie Hall. Other recent projects include a work by Pulitzer Prize-winner Joseph Schwantner for Sharon and the Pacifica Quartet which was recognized as:

“The evening was a triumph for Isbin as she debuted yet another work and burnished her legacy of premieres of new music by venerated contemporary composers.”
Isbin's catalogue of over 35 albums has sold over a million copies and reflects her remarkable versatility. Highlights include her Grammy-winning Journey to the New World which spent 63 consecutive weeks on top Billboard charts, and her Latin Grammy-nominated Rodrigo Aranjuez with the New York Philharmonic, the orchestra's only recording with guitar.

Isbin's newest album Live in Aspen with India's legendary sarod masters Amjad Ali Khan was released this summer to rave reviews. An Amazon #2 bestseller, it was recorded live at their sold-out concert for the Aspen Music Festival and climbed to the top 10 Billboard chart last week.

PBS specials include the Billy Joel Gershwin Prize, and the acclaimed documentary Sharon Isbin: Troubadour, seen by millions around the globe and winner of ASCAP's Television Broadcast Award. Troubadour paints the portrait of a trailblazing performer and teacher who over the course of her career has broken through numerous barriers to rise to the top of a traditionally male-dominated field. She directs guitar departments she created at the Aspen Music Festival and The Juilliard School.

Karen LeFrak, a New York based composer known for her lyricism and dynamic compositions, has had her works performed by renowned ensembles including the New York Philharmonic, National Symphony, and Shanghai Symphony. A true Renaissance woman, she is also a published author of children's books and serves on the boards of the New York Philharmonic and Kennedy Center.

For more information visit www.sharonisbin.com.

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