From the first notes of Laura Snowden\u2019s March 2024 concert for the Boston Classical Guitar Society, it was clear that the audience was not in for a typical recital. The guitarist opened by singing and accompanying herself in the folk song \u201cBlack Is the Colour\u201d before segueing into her transcription of Fran\u00e7ois Couperin\u2019s evergreen Baroque harpsichord work, \u201cLes Barricades Myst\u00e9rieuses.\u201d What followed was a showcase for Snowden\u2019s versatility and virtuosity in music by J.S. Bach, Heitor Villa-Lobos, Agust\u00edn Barrios, Mar\u00eda Luisa Anido, three originals, and two of her instrumental folk song arrangements. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Perhaps the most striking aspect of the program was the inclusion of her voice in imaginative ways. Snowden sang lyrics and wordless syllables, and recited spoken-word texts she\u2019d written, to guitar accompaniment. The concert provided a glimpse of her multi-dimensional musical gifts, imagination, and fearless artistic sensibility. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Snowden, 35, grew up in England, where she studied with classical guitar master Julian Bream and launched an international career that has established her as a rising star of her generation. In a conversation at a local cafe during her Boston visit, Snowden shared reflections on her education as a guitarist, the extramusical disciplines that inform her practice regimen, and her adventurous work as a composer-arranger, among other topics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Snowden was born in York, England, to a French mother and British father, and grew up singing and playing Celtic folk music before building a sterling classical guitar r\u00e9sum\u00e9. After receiving a scholarship to the Yehudi Menuhin School at 16, she became the first guitarist to graduate from the music boarding school in Surrey, England. From there, it was off to London and the Royal College of Music, where she earned her master\u2019s degree. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A most emphatic endorsement of Snowden\u2019s guitar prowess came when she was awarded a scholarship to study with Bream. Subsequently, the maestro invited her to perform for the 2015 and 2017 Julian Bream Trust concerts at London\u2019s venerable Wigmore Hall. Snowden had the extraordinary opportunity to work for four years with Bream on the repertoire. The solo recital programs featured her in world premieres of works by Julian Anderson and Olli Mustonen, and repertoire either commissioned by or associated with Bream. The appearance of Benjamin Britten\u2019s towering Nocturnal<\/em> and Lennox Berkeley\u2019s Sonatina<\/em> in the 2015 program testifies to the level of sophistication and confidence Snowden attained while only in her 20s. The reviews were glowing and her visibility increased in the classical world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When Snowden worked with Bream on Britten\u2019s Nocturnal<\/em>, she recalls, \u201cThe way he taught was to say, \u2018This is how I would do it, and this is why.\u2019 That was good because he wasn\u2019t telling me what I must do or not do. He would give me really good reasons for why he did things a certain way. For instance, he might say, \u2018If I were you, I\u2019d get quieter in this part because the line is going down and has a melancholy, weary feeling.\u2019 The important part was him saying \u2018melancholy\u2019 and \u2018weary.\u2019 That was the bit you remember. Getting quieter was incidental. He wasn\u2019t just giving a list of instructions; he was giving really interesting ideas that you could hold onto.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n