Guitarist Viloteau to offer masterclass, concert at RU
French guitar phenomenon Dr. Thomas Viloteau, widely considered one of the most gifted classical guitarists today, will perform live on the campus of Radford University on Friday, November 13, 2020. Viloteau will offer a guitar masterclass from 4:30 until 7:00 p.m. that afternoon, followed by a concert performance at 7:30 p.m. Both events will take place in the Davis Performance Hall in the Covington Center. Due to social distancing restrictions, the audience will be limited to a total 38 attendees. Guests will be required to have a Radford University identification card (RUID) for admission.
Dr. Robert Trent, Director of Guitar Studies for the Department of Music, is excited to be able to host Viloteau on campus. “This concert and masterclass by the young, French, guitar virtuoso, is an event not to be missed!” said Trent.
Viloteau’s first concert was in his home country of France only a year after he began playing. Since then, Thomas has performed globally to audiences in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Norway, Sweden, Great Britain, Taiwan and Puerto Rico.
Born into a family of fine arts enthusiasts, Viloteau took his first lesson at the age of twelve. Eight years later he won first prize at the Guitar Foundation of America Competition and subsequently spent a year touring the United States. Other first prizes include the Francisco Tárrega competition in Spain, Mottola competition in Italy, Sernancelhe competition in Portugal, Ville d’Antony competition in France, and Segovia competition in Spain. Viloteau is the only guitarist to ever win the Arthur Foote Award from the Harvard Musical Association.
His book on guitar technique, “In the Black Box, Technique(s) of the Classical Guitar,” has sold more than a thousand copies worldwide. He has been the Artist-in-Residence at the radio show “Performance Today,” broadcasting his playing performances to more than a million people across the United States. Viloteau has released recordings with Naxos, Mel Bay and La Ma de Guido. His two latest albums, “Dances Through the Centuries” and “A Song and Dance” released on Tigado, contain world premiere recordings of the “Suite Brasileira 3,” which was commissioned and dedicated to Viloteau, and of the “Suite Brasileira 4,” each by Sergio Assad.
Viloteau has lived in Barcelona, Paris, San Francisco, London, Arizona, Montréal and Rochester, NY. In 2019, he joined the guitar faculty at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD.
Information and reservations can be made by contacting the Department of Music at 540-831-5177.