Andrew York – Klassiek

Andrew York (born 1958) is an American classical guitarist and composer.

York was born in 1958 in Atlanta, Georgia and grew up in Virginia. He received a Bachelor of Music degree in Classical Guitar Performance in 1980 at James Madison University and completed his Master of Music degree at the University of Southern California in 1986, both degrees magna cum laude. He was the recipient of numerous awards and scholarships at USC, including the Jack Marshall Memorial Scholarship and the Del Amo Foundation Grant for Study in Spain. Andrew is the only alumni in USC’s history to have received their Distinguished Alumni Award twice, in 1997 as a member of the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet and again in 2003 for his solo music career.

York was a performer with the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet for 16 years and played lute with the USC Early Music Ensemble. In addition to his solo career, recording and performing his own compositions, York’s recent collaborations include projects with Andy Summers, Allaudin Mathieu, Dai Kimura, and Mitsuko Kado. York’s tour schedule has included concerts in thirty countries.

He has over 50 works published for guitar in its many varieties: solo, duo, trio, quartet, and ensemble. He has appeared in 3 DVDS, has recorded or appeared as soloist on more than 10 CDs, and has published a three-volume work on in-depth jazz study for classical guitarists. York plays on 10 recordings with The Los Angeles Guitar Quartet including the Grammy Award winning “Guitar Heroes“ (2005).

Solo CDs include: Perfect Sky (1986), Denouement (1994), Into Dark (1997), California Breeze (2006), Hauser Sessions (2007) and Yamour (2012). Regarding Denouement, Jim Ferguson stated that the five original suites that make up the recording “demonstrate [York’s] exceptional compositional breadth, commanding instrumental abilities, and rich tone. Rife with folk, jazz, and ancient influences, the material ranges from challenging to simple yet highly musical.”

Read more: Andrew York Biography

York’s compositions and arrangements for guitar have been performed and recorded by guitarists John Williams, Christopher Parkening, and Sharon Isbin.