Biography

SA photo Classical Guitarist Stanley Alexandrowicz is quickly becoming one of the most highly praised and sought-after musical artists of his generation. A native of New Jersey, he began his musical studies at the age of eight, and was soon receiving both awards and accolades--among these, the New Jersey Classical Guitar Society's "Award for Excellence," and the Princeton Classical Guitar Society's "Achievement Award for Musical Interpretation."After beginning his early training with Michael Newman, he entered the Manhattan School of Music at the age of sixteen, wherein the influence of his major teacher and mentor Manuel Barrueco profoundly influenced his musical outlook.

Concerts, radio broadcasts, and recordings followed, and in addition an extensive schedule of recitals and chamber-music performances, an in-depth overview of the complete lute-song ouveres of John Dowland with tenor David Fullen marked a special highlight. Not content to merely perform in the solo milieu, he has also explored the concerto repertoire in appearances of the rarely-performed 'tour-de-force' Tres Grafficos for Guitar and Orchestra by Maurice Ohana, and, To the Edge of Dream -- a tone-poem for guitar and orchestra by Japan's most famous 20th century composer Toru Takemitsu. The dedicatee of numerous works by composers from Europe, Asia, and America, Stanley Alexandrowicz has recently given the world-premieres of Carlton Wilkinson's Division by Four Moons, Kendall Kennison's Bermuda High, and Timothy Moes' Three Concert Etudes.

An eclectic and catholic taste in music has encouraged him to embrace a wide repertoire in his concert programs--these ranging from the lute music of Renaissance virtuosi John Dowland and Francesco Da Milano, to discoveries of neglected modern masterpieces by Hector Angulo (Cuba) and Vaclav Kucera (Czechoslovakia), to his own arrangements and transcriptions of pieces by composers as diverse as Mozart, Benjamin Britten, Felix Mendelssohn, and Witold Lutoslawski .

An intense interest in early music has led to work with the renowned American harpsichordist Kenneth Cooper, and, a desire to address the interpretive exigencies of the neglected 19th century Romantic repertoire for the guitar produced a detailed investigation of the performance practices employed by the "Golden Age" pianists.

Dr. Alexandrowicz had been Director of the Bronx House Music School from 1999 to 2002, and had been on the faculty of Mercy College (1998-2002), where he taught music history, theory, form and analysis, and ear-training skills. Additionally he maintains an active 'master-class' and private teaching schedules. Having received his DMA degree from the Manhattan School of Music, he continued to function there as a graduate tutor and doctoral thesis adviser. Concerned as an educator for a broadening of the musical learning process and, the audience appreciation of both old and 'new' music, Dr. Alexandrowicz had contributed to scholarly journals, written numerous program notes (for Carnegie Recital Hall among others), and functioned as 'Editor-in-Chief' of the Manhattan School of Music newspaper "MSM Notes."