Kevin R. Gallagher
Encyclopedia
Kevin R. Gallagher is a guitarist
who has achieved success with both the electric guitar
and the classical guitar
. As a classical guitarist, has received top honors at some of the most prestigious guitar competitions in the world, including the 1993 Guitar Foundation of America, the 1994 American String Teachers Association
, the 1993 Artists International Competition, and 1997 Francisco Tárrega Guitar Competition in Spain. As an electric guitarist, he is known for transcribing violin music for electric guitar and for founding the avant-rock ensemble Electric Kompany. He has also produced, in cooperation with John Zorn
, a music festival titled "Full Force: The New Rock Complexity" that showcases bands that have combined styles such as classical, rock
, jazz
, and metal. He has produced a CD for Naxos Records
titled "Guitar Recital - Music from the Renaissance and Baroque," a duo CD with Antigoni Goni
titled "Evocacion," and an EP featuring his work on solo electric guitar and with Electric Kompany
.
and Sharin Isbin at the Juilliard School
. After winning several major competitions and performing in Spain
, Germany
, Sweden
, Greece
, Turkey
, Brazil
, and England
, Gallagher once again became interested in the electric guitar. "Through the 90's I only owned and performed classical guitar. In 1998 I just got the sudden urge to walk into a music shop and try their Les Pauls. I hadn't touched an electric in years. I fell in love with one and bought it on the spot. All the electric guitar techniques I knew came back instantly and my classical technique opened up many more possibilities than I had ever had before."
Gallagher now performs solo music on electric guitar by composers such as Steve Reich
and Rob Haskins. With Electric Kompany, he has arranged music by Jacob ter Veldhuis
, Marc Mellits, and commissioned music for the quartet. "Performing on classical guitar and electric guitar is very different,' says Gallagher, "but there are similarities in my approach. Sound and color is very important to me. With both styles, I choose sounds depending on the piece and the mood I'm trying to convey. Articulation, dynamics and rhythm are also approached in the same way. Musically, I think my head is the same. Technically, there are a lot of differences. Using a pick is the obvious one, but the electric guitar also requires more string muting to keep the sound under control. There is also the pickup selector, tone controls and the endless variety of programmable effects I can use. So, I have similar musical ideas, but I'm using a different palette to convey them."
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
who has achieved success with both the electric guitar
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
and the classical guitar
Classical guitar
The classical guitar is a 6-stringed plucked string instrument from the family of instruments called chordophones...
. As a classical guitarist, has received top honors at some of the most prestigious guitar competitions in the world, including the 1993 Guitar Foundation of America, the 1994 American String Teachers Association
American String Teachers Association
The American String Teacher's Association is a professional organization based in the United States for music teachers. It is the largest such national organization in the US for string teachers. It promotes learning to play string instruments in the next generation of American students, and...
, the 1993 Artists International Competition, and 1997 Francisco Tárrega Guitar Competition in Spain. As an electric guitarist, he is known for transcribing violin music for electric guitar and for founding the avant-rock ensemble Electric Kompany. He has also produced, in cooperation with John Zorn
John Zorn
John Zorn is an American avant-garde composer, arranger, record producer, saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist. Zorn is a prolific artist: he has hundreds of album credits as performer, composer, or producer...
, a music festival titled "Full Force: The New Rock Complexity" that showcases bands that have combined styles such as classical, rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
, jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, and metal. He has produced a CD for Naxos Records
Naxos Records
Naxos Records is a record label specializing in classical music. Through a number of imprints, Naxos also releases genres including Chinese music, jazz, world music, and early rock & roll. The company was founded in 1987 by Klaus Heymann, a German-born resident of Hong Kong.Naxos is the largest...
titled "Guitar Recital - Music from the Renaissance and Baroque," a duo CD with Antigoni Goni
Antigoni Goni
Antigoni Goni is a Greek guitarist, recording artist, concertizer, and the founder and Chair of the Pre-College Division of the Guitar Department at the Juilliard School...
titled "Evocacion," and an EP featuring his work on solo electric guitar and with Electric Kompany
Electric Kompany
Electric Kompany is an American band that was formed by Kevin R. Gallagher. By exploring, arranging, and commissioning music for guitar, keyboard, drums, and bass, the group mixes classical and rock music in a genre that has been described as Art rock, Experimental Music, Avant-Progressive, or...
.
Background
Like many classical guitarists, Gallagher began his musical training with rock guitar, but soon became interested in jazz and classical. His talent led him to study with Benjamin Verdery at Wisconsin Conservatory of MusicWisconsin Conservatory of Music
The Wisconsin Conservatory of Music is an independent music school located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The conservatory teaches many types of music, including classical, jazz, rock, folk, and blues...
and Sharin Isbin at the Juilliard School
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School, located at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, United States, is a performing arts conservatory which was established in 1905...
. After winning several major competitions and performing in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, and England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Gallagher once again became interested in the electric guitar. "Through the 90's I only owned and performed classical guitar. In 1998 I just got the sudden urge to walk into a music shop and try their Les Pauls. I hadn't touched an electric in years. I fell in love with one and bought it on the spot. All the electric guitar techniques I knew came back instantly and my classical technique opened up many more possibilities than I had ever had before."
Gallagher now performs solo music on electric guitar by composers such as Steve Reich
Steve Reich
Stephen Michael "Steve" Reich is an American composer who together with La Monte Young, Terry Riley, and Philip Glass is a pioneering composer of minimal music...
and Rob Haskins. With Electric Kompany, he has arranged music by Jacob ter Veldhuis
Jacob ter Veldhuis
Jacob ter Veldhuis, also known as Jacob TV, is a Dutch avant-garde classical composer. Ter Veldhuis favors tonal, melodic compositions, avoiding the dissonance of some recent classical music. Many of his works build melodies around samples of the human voice, as in Steve Reich's composition...
, Marc Mellits, and commissioned music for the quartet. "Performing on classical guitar and electric guitar is very different,' says Gallagher, "but there are similarities in my approach. Sound and color is very important to me. With both styles, I choose sounds depending on the piece and the mood I'm trying to convey. Articulation, dynamics and rhythm are also approached in the same way. Musically, I think my head is the same. Technically, there are a lot of differences. Using a pick is the obvious one, but the electric guitar also requires more string muting to keep the sound under control. There is also the pickup selector, tone controls and the endless variety of programmable effects I can use. So, I have similar musical ideas, but I'm using a different palette to convey them."
Competition Honors
- Guitar Foundation of America (1993)
- American String Teachers Association (1994)
- Artists International Competition (1993)
- Francisco Tárrega Guitar Competition (1997)
Discography
- Guitar Recital - Music from the Renaissance and Baroque (Naxos RecordsNaxos RecordsNaxos Records is a record label specializing in classical music. Through a number of imprints, Naxos also releases genres including Chinese music, jazz, world music, and early rock & roll. The company was founded in 1987 by Klaus Heymann, a German-born resident of Hong Kong.Naxos is the largest...
) - Evocacion (Willow Shade)
- New Interpretations (Willow Shade)
- Music from the Avant-Pop (EP)