July 13 – July 25, 2008

The NCSA Summer Guitar Workshop is an outstanding opportunity for young artists to develop their love for and abilities on the classical guitar. High School, College, and Junior High students of all levels of experience are eligible for admission.   Our 2 week program is designed to provide an intensive and fast-paced experience which exposes the student to new concepts and skills in preparing and performing on the classical guitar. Students receive lessons and master classes, daily ensemble rehearsals, participate in classes in technique, guitar history, performance development, and other guitar related topics.  The goal of the workshop is to give students a high-level musical experience in a conservatory environment, as well as new tools and ideas that they can carry forward into their current musical studies.   For some students, the workshops provide a chance to experience life in a performing arts conservatory and gain insight into the possibilities for a career in the arts, for others it is a chance to improve their skills, gain new perspectives, and have fun playing and sharing music with their peers.

Joseph Pecoraro, guitar
Concert and recording artist Joseph Pecoraro appears as soloist, chamber musician, and with orchestra in recitals across the United States and abroad. His performances have received widespread recognition and awards. Recent appearances include performances as soloist with the Wintergreen Festival and Roanoke Symphony orchestras, solo recitals at the Kennedy Center, Washington Library, the Chicago Cultural Center as well as venues throughout North America and Europe.  Activities since 2000 include performances  in Houston, Denver, Minneapolis, Chicago, Cincinnati, New York, Charlotte, Charleston, Washington DC, Paris, Geneva, and Bologna.

Pecoraro has been featured frequently on radio and television broadcasts around the country. His recordings featuring major works by Domeniconi, Ponce, Hirsh, Bach, Merlin, and others are distributed by Orchard and his recent music-reading text for guitarists is available from J. Shepherd Pub.

Pecoraro also performs with acclaimed flutist Elizabeth Ransom as the Ransom-Pecoraro Duo. Both committed educators as well as performers, they offer concerts and educational programs in a variety of venues and are included in the North Carolina Arts Council's Touring Artist Roster. In 1998 Pecoraro was appointed to the full-time artist faculty of the North Carolina School of the Arts where he instructs graduate, college, and high school guitarists.  He appears frequently as a guest clinician, directs the NCSA Summer Guitar Workshop and teaches on the regular faculties of renowned summer festivals in Wisconsin, Colorado, and Virginia.