If you haven’t heard, we are having some awesome events at the shop here the last three Saturdays in April! We will be featuring some of the best classical guitar talent at the SF Conservatory of Music right here at the SF Guitarworks courtyard.
In preparation for the events, we will spotlight the talent of the events each week here on our blog until the series begin. Our first features are Roberto Borbone and Alan Lopez-Orozco. Both will be playing at our shop on April 25th!
Roberto Borbone
Born in Naples, Italy, guitarist Roberto Borbone began his studies in classical guitar at the age of nine. He completed his Bachelor of Music degree at the Conservatory San Pietro a Majella Summa Cum Laude where he studied with Maurizio Villa and went on to complete his Master of Music degree at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels with the honor of Magna Cum Laude from the studio of Antigoni Goni.
Mr. Borbone’s passion for classical guitar led him to perform as a soloist and chamber musician throughout Europe and Asia. These performances include the Musical World Tour (China, 2013), Guitar Music from Europe and South America (Italy, 2013), and The Italian Portrait (Belgium, 2014), where he was acclaimed by critics and audiences alike. He also participated in the workshop Homage to Tuhu with Maurizio Villa on the complete works for guitar by Heitor Villa- Lobos (Naples, Italy, 2008), and The Eighth Edition of the Volterra Project 2014 Summer Guitar Institute (Volterra, Italy, 2014).
Mr. Borbone has been awarded First Place in the 14th National Music Competition “Flegreo” and First Place in the National Competition “Napolinova” (Naples, Italy, 2007) in the chamber music category and won Second Place in the first edition of the National Guitar Competition “Cittàdi Forio d’Ischia” (Ischia, Italy, 2005). He has performed in Masterclasses held by world renowned guitarists including Oscar Ghiglia, Konrad Ragossnig, Sharon Isbin, Gaëlle Solal, Roland Dyens, The Beijing Guitar Duo, Denis Azabagic, Margarita Escarpa and Nuccio D’Angelo.
Roberto Borbone is currently pursuing his Professional Studies Diploma in Instrumental Performance at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music under the tutelage of Sergio Assad.
Alan Lopez-Orozco
Well-versed as a solo and chamber musician, guitarist and lutenist Alan Roberto Lopez is committed to finding and communicating the true spirit of the music to his audiences. Most recently Alan performed in the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Baroque Ensemble’s production of L’incoronazione di Poppea by Claudio Monteverdi and will be performing at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C. on May of this year to represent the school’s early music department. In addition, Alan has performed in several venues as a soloist and with his duo partner Tatiana Senderowicz around California and Mexico.
Alan’s talent and dedication have led him to receive the Vincent Constantine scholarship to study at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, a full scholarship from the Franz Liszt School of Music in Mexico and a scholarship to play at the Hispano-Americano Guitar festival in 2010. Alan has performed in master classes for Roland Dyens, Marcin Dylla, Giulio Tampalini, Roberto Limon and Martin Candelaria. In addition to this, Alan has taken several intensive courses with Rafael Elizondo and Giulio Tampalini.
Born in Mexico to a family of amateur musicians, Alan was first exposed to the rhythms and sounds of Latin American folk music through his mother who gave him his very first guitar lessons, building a strong connection with the style and the guitar.
Inspired by lutenist Tatiana Senderowicz, Alan became enthusiastic on learning how to play the early music repertoire on period instruments. It was little after that Alan formed part of the early music program at the San Francisco Conservatory of music with Corey Jamason and Richard Savino with whom he has built strong skills as a lutenist and continuo player.
His interest in both early and contemporary music has led him to build a well-rounded repertoire on the guitar and theorbo with composers dating back to the late 1500’s such as Piccinini, Kapsberger, Caccini, and Monteverdi to more contemporary composers like Benjamin Britten, Leo Brouwer, Carlo Domeniconi and Dusan Bogdanovic.
Currently, Alan is pursuing his Bachelor’s Degree at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music with the renowned guitarist, arranger and composer Sergio Assad. Past teachers include David Tanenbaum, Rafael Elizondo and Jose Ramon Aguilar.
