“Since the passing of Andres Segovia the guitar world has needed an
advocate... perhaps Michael Nicolella is that person”
– The Washington Post
With a repertoire from J.S. Bach and Domenico Scarlatti to
Jimi Hendrix and Elliott Carter, Michael Nicolella is recognized as one of
America’s most innovative classical guitar virtuosos. He has received wide
critical acclaim for his performances, recordings and compositions. As a
concert artist, Michael has performed throughout North America, Europe and
Japan as solo recitalist, chamber musician and soloist with orchestra.
Nicolella blurs the lines between musical styles and disciplines; part of a growing trend in classical music to revitalize the role of the
composer/performer. As a concert artist he frequently programs his own works
for guitar in solo, chamber and orchestral settings. His most recent major
piece, Flame of the Blue Star of Twilight (for soprano, guitar and
orchestra), received its premiere performance by the Northwest Symphony
Orchestra with soprano Alexandra Picard.
Known for his creative programming, Nicolella has introduced electric
guitar into his “classical” programs and extended the repertoire and audience
of his instrument not only with his own compositions and transcriptions, but
also by premiering and commissioning works by some of today’s most exciting
emerging composers. Nicolella has premiered dozens of new works for classical and
electric guitar in solo, chamber and orchestral settings. In reference to his
abilities on the classical and electric guitar, noted guitar composer, scholar
and critic John Duarte stated in an issue of Gramophone magazine that:
“Others have ‘crossed the track’ in one direction or the other but none has
done so with the technical and/or musical success as Nicolella,
who, chameleon-like, achieves comparable distinction in both fields.
Nicolella's newest recording is a double CD of his arrangement of the Complete Bach Cello Suites released on September 23, 2014. His previous four
critically acclaimed releases were albums of contemporary music for classical
and electric guitar. Three solo albums (Ten Years Passed, Shard and Push)
all featured works composed by Nicolella (including an electric guitar concerto
and a classical guitar concerto); as well as music written for Nicolella and
recent masterworks by: Toru Takemitsu, Luciano Berio, Elliott Carter and Steve
Reich. The 2002 album. Transit, is a 45-minute magnum opus written for
Nicolella by composer John Fitz Rogers for electric guitar and computer
generated sound.
Nicolella has collaborated and performed with a wide range of artists
including: the Seattle Symphony, Merce Cunningham Dance Company, Northwest
Symphony Orchestra, jazz singer Johnaye Kendrick, Seattle Chamber Players,
Charanga Danzon, prog rock legend Jon Anderson, Seattle Modern Orchestra,
Broadway stars Bernadette Peters and Brian Stokes Mitchell, classical music
comedians Ingudesman and Joo, violinist Gil Shaham and the Seattle Guitar Trio
which performed Michael’s groundbreaking arrangement of Stravinsky’s Rite of
Spring. As a performer and composer, he has received awards from ASCAP, the
American Composers Forum, 4Culture, Wisconsin Arts Board, Washington State Arts
Commission, Seattle Arts Commission, and was first prize winner of both the
Portland and Northwest solo classical guitar competitions.
Nicolella is a graduate of Yale University, Berklee College of Music and the Accademia
Chigiana in Siena, Italy. He is on the faculty of Cornish College of the Arts
in Seattle.