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Daniel McKay began his musical studies at an early age under the guidance of his parents, both of whom are practicing music teachers. Moving to the Blue Mountains (NSW) in the early 1980's, Daniel became well known as a multi-instrumentalist performing within a myriad of popular and jazz styles. During this period, Daniel made many recordings for both commercial and independent release. Active in both guitar education and performance, Daniel has studied extensively in both these areas with two of Australia's most highly respected guitar teachers, Greg Pikler and Timothy Kain, as well as master classes with John Williams, Remi Boucher, Maximo Diego-Pujol and Pavel Steidl. Under Timothy Kain's guidance Daniel graduated from the Australian National University School of Music with a Bachelor of Music (1st Class Honours) and subsequently attained the degree of Master of Music (Hons). Daniel has been a major prizewinner in many competitions, including the 2002 Australian Guitar Competition, and has been heard in numerous live and pre-recorded broadcasts for ABC radio in solo (including his prizewinning performance in the Australian Guitar Competition), duo and quartet performances. In recent years Daniel has given many solo and chamber music recitals in most of the capital cities and regional centres of Australia Daniel's debut solo CD featuring works of Dusan Bogdanovic, Leo Brouwer, Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Alexandre Tansman and Astor Piazzolla has been receiving great airplay and reviews, UK publication 'Classical Guitar' writing 'Daniel McKay here performs an invigorating and very listenable program of 20th century music, which, of all the "private release" CDs I have reviewed is one of the best, if not the best: McKay is certainly a most technically-capable guitarist, and not only that, he is musical with it. His playing has a beautiful clarity and crispness and he has a superb innate sense of phrasing allowing him to get to the heart and soul of everything he performs'. A disc of works by Australian composers is in preparation, due for release in 2005. Daniel is considered one of Australia's finest guitarists of the younger generation. This, along with his interest in contemporary Australian music and considerable ensemble playing skills, led in 1998 to an invitation to join Guitar Trek, widely recognised as among the very best of Australia's chamber ensembles. Engagements have included several recitals for Musica Viva, the Sydney Festival, the Canberra International Chamber Music Festival, the Darwin International Guitar Festival, highly successful tours of Europe in 1999 and 2002, and a tour of Vietnam in March this year. In demand as a teacher, Daniel was recently invited to teach at the Sydney Guitar Society's annual Summer School which featured guitarist Carlos Bonell (London) as the principal tutor and residencies by Australian composers Phillip Houghton and Richard Charlton. He has also been a guest tutor at some of Australia's leading music institutions. Daniel is currently teaching in the pre-tertiary area of Australia's leading guitar department at the Australian National University, School of Music. Check out the artist's website: http://www.danmckay.net Track List: 1. Leo Brouwer - Sonata 'Fandangos y Boleros' 2. Leo Brouwer - Sonata 'Sarabanda de Scriabin' 3. Leo Brouwer - Sonata 'La Toccata de Pasquini' 4. Alexandre Tansman - Ballade [Hommage a Chopin] 5. Dusan Bogdanovic - Book of the Unknown Standards 'Monk-a-ning' 6. Dusan Bogdanovic - Book of the Unknown Standards 'Esmeralda's Wa 7. Dusan Bogdanovic - Book of the Unknown Standards 'Of Odds and En 8. Dusan Bogdanovic - Book of the Unknown Standards '12-Note Samba' 9. Dusan Bogdanovic - Book of the Unknown Standards 'Steps to Hell 10. Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco - Capriccio Diabolico [Ommagio a Pagan 11. Astor Piazzolla - Otono Porteno 12. Astor Piazzolla - Invierno Porteno 13. Astor Piazzolla - La Muerte del Angel Suggested CDs:Other Genres:
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