José Lezcano, guitarist & composer, Keene

Cuban-born José Manuel Lezcano is Professor of Music at Keene State College, with a Ph.D. (music theory) from Florida State University and BM (guitar) from Peabody Conservatory. His guitar studies were with Aaron Shearer and Christopher Berg, and he performed in masterclasses of Lorimer, Isbin, and Leo Brouwer, who called him "un guitarrista magnifico." Among his numerous awards: first prize, 1982 MTNA National Guitar Competition; 1998 Fulbright Award in Ecuador to teach, perform, and research indigenous guitar traditions; 2002 Commissioned Composer of the Year (NH Music Teacher's Association); 2003 Keene State College's Award for Distinction in Research and Scholarship in recognition of his activities as performer, scholar, and composer.

He has played Carnegie Recital Hall and major festivals in Rio, Lima, and Quito, and locally with the Granite State Symphony and Keene Chamber Orchestra in concertos by Rodrigo and Lezcano. In South America he has been a frequent soloist with the National Symphony of Ecuador; additional appearances include the Philharmonics of Loja (Ecuador) and Lima (Peru). In 1998 he, Bonnie Insull, and Matthew Shubin performed in Chengdu, China for Apple Hill's "Playing for Peace." Their CD, "Passports," was released in 1999 to critical acclaim. He has received additional funding for research from the Whiting Foundation and KSC, has published his research in scholarly journals and encyclopedias, and lectures around the state for the New Hampshire Humanities Council on the mythical traditions of the indigenous guitar in Ecuador.