Ronald Pearl - Composer, Guitarist
Composer Ronald Pearl's works have been performed, recorded, and broadcast throughout North and South America, Europe, and Asia. He has had the privilege of composing for the Alturas Duo, Triobio, Duo Vitare, Encuerdas, the Atlantic Guitar Quartet, Quartetto Exsacorde, the ADAA Trio, Zane Forshee and others. His works have been presented at the Saigon Guitar Festival, Guimaraes International Guitar Festival (Portugal), Festival Forfest of the Czech Republic, Peabody Summer Intensive, Long Island Guitar Festival, Evolution Contemporary Music Series (Baltimore), and LiveWire6 Music Festival (Baltimore). In 2019, Celestial Navigation – for guitar orchestra – was premiered at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, and was commissioned by Peabody to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Fretfest.
His output includes works for solo guitar, multiple guitars, chamber ensembles, choir, cello, viola, and piano. My Name is Red – for solo guitar - has appeared on three cd recordings, and has received performances on four continents. Be Not Afeard: Music from Prospero's Island –commissioned and recorded by the Atlantic Guitar Quartet - prompted American Record Guide to write, “This is truly beautiful music”, and “This disc is worth acquiring for this work alone.”Other recordings include C, by the
1 East Guitar Quartet; Jacob’s Ladder by the Avanti Guitar Trio; and a recently released cd by Robert Trent on the Naxos label that included Impromptu, Four at III, and My Name is Red.
As a guitarist, he received his training at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where he worked with Michael Lorimer, George Sakellariou, and Philip Rosheger; and at the Peabody Conservatory with Aaron Shearer and Ray Chester. On the recommendation of Andres Segovia, he was awarded a scholarship to study at Music en Compostela (Spain) for the course directed by Jose Luis Rodrigo; later he studied with Jose Tomas. Upon the completion of his studies, he formed a duo partnership with guitarist Julian Gray. For two decades they gave concerts throughout the US, Canada, and England, released four highly acclaimed recordings on the Dorian label, and commissioned and premiered many works for guitar duo.
He recently retired, and is Professor Emeritus from Loyola University Maryland, where he taught courses in music theory, literature, and performance.
His output includes works for solo guitar, multiple guitars, chamber ensembles, choir, cello, viola, and piano. My Name is Red – for solo guitar - has appeared on three cd recordings, and has received performances on four continents. Be Not Afeard: Music from Prospero's Island –commissioned and recorded by the Atlantic Guitar Quartet - prompted American Record Guide to write, “This is truly beautiful music”, and “This disc is worth acquiring for this work alone.”Other recordings include C, by the
1 East Guitar Quartet; Jacob’s Ladder by the Avanti Guitar Trio; and a recently released cd by Robert Trent on the Naxos label that included Impromptu, Four at III, and My Name is Red.
As a guitarist, he received his training at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where he worked with Michael Lorimer, George Sakellariou, and Philip Rosheger; and at the Peabody Conservatory with Aaron Shearer and Ray Chester. On the recommendation of Andres Segovia, he was awarded a scholarship to study at Music en Compostela (Spain) for the course directed by Jose Luis Rodrigo; later he studied with Jose Tomas. Upon the completion of his studies, he formed a duo partnership with guitarist Julian Gray. For two decades they gave concerts throughout the US, Canada, and England, released four highly acclaimed recordings on the Dorian label, and commissioned and premiered many works for guitar duo.
He recently retired, and is Professor Emeritus from Loyola University Maryland, where he taught courses in music theory, literature, and performance.