Guitarist
Benjamin Silva comes from a
musical family. He is the grandson
of the renowned cellist Luigi Silva, and a laureate of numerous guitar
competitions including the MTNA, Sholin, and Stotsenberg among others.
Silva has performed for audiences across the United States and
Spain. Recent appearances include concert series in New Mexico,
Arizona, California, Florida, North Carolina, Ohio, Utah, Washington,
D.C., and Santiago de Compostela.
Silva’s most influential teachers include Thomas Patterson, Michael Chapdelaine, Richard Hermann, the Indian sarod maestro Ustad Amjad Ali
Khan, and Jose Luis Rodrigo (a former student of Andres Segovia).
He
is currently on the music faculties of the Public Academy for
Performing Arts, the New Mexico School of Music, and the University of
New Mexico Music Prep School. Artistic quality and craftsmanship are
attributes that Silva strives for in his teaching and as a result his
students have garnered prizes in several contests including, most
recently, the “Hey, Mozart” competition for young composers under 12
years old.
Here are a
few facts about me that you may or may not know:
-
Performed
for the US First Lady, Spring 2003
-
Award for
study from the Spanish government, Summer 2004
-
Second
guitarist in history of UNM to win their concerto competition, Spring
1999 (I was only 3 years old!)
-
Member of
the Bosque Chamber Music Society
-
Member of
flute and guitar duo DUOLOGUE who have commissioned works by many of
the nation's leading composers
-
Fourth
generation of musicians dating back over 130 years and involved with
La Scala, Julliard, Yale, among others
-
I only
accept 5 private students
He is an Artistic
Director and co-founder of GUITAR Albuquerque.
