The 2019 Classical Guitar Series begins with a performance by Lawrence Ferrara.  Suggested donation of $10-$20 at the door, but no one will be turned away due to lack of funds.  Equally talented on the stage or in the classroom, Lawrence has dedicated his life to the performance and teaching of the guitar.  He has the interesting distinction of being the first guitarists to receive a master’s degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.  He currently teaches at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, San Francisco State and the City of College of San Francisco.

Lawrence has performed major recitals in San Francisco, Los Angeles and at the Carnegie Recital Hall in New York.  Additionally, he has performed with the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra, the Bay Area Symphony, the Classical Philharmonic and the San Francisco Conservatory’s Chamber Orchestra and New Music Ensemble.  Internationally he has performed in Barcelona, Spain; Toronto, Canada and Sydney, Australia.

His playing was described by The New York Times as “subtle, intimate and inherently musical.”  The San Francisco Chronicle commented, “Ferrara has an exceptional style, pure and sweet, rhythmically precise yet supple … playing everything with elegant grace and a notably serious feeling for introspection.”

He has a released a solo CD under the VGo Recordings label titled American Guitar Music.  The compilation includes works by Scott Joplin, George Gershwin, Leonard Bernstein, Dusan Bogdanovic, Ned Rorem, Andrew York and Aaron Copland.

Lawrence has been a two-time prize winner at the Carmel Classical Guitar Competition and has served on the Music Advisory Panel to the National Endowment of the Arts.  Recently, his course on Music Appreciation was awarded “Best Online Teaching Website” by the California Virtual Campus (CVC).

Lawrence is the author of The Student Repertoire Series for Guitar, Volume 1 and 2, and performs on the accompanying CDs.  The Series is published by Guitar Solo of San Francisco.