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International award-winning classical guitarist and composer, Tye Austin makes his NYC debut at Rockwood Music Hall-Stage 3 with an all Latin music program, The Art of Spanish Guitar. NBC News has proclaimed, “Tye Austin can make the guitar sing it was invented only to be in his hands.” Be sure to catch this intimate concert as Tye performs his favorite repertoire. Rockwood Music Hall is located at 196 Allen Street, New York, NY 10002 and the closest subway stop is 2nd Avenue Station in East Village. You can purchase tickets for $10 at the door or by clicking this link: http://www.ticketfly.com/event/1537513

Tye Austin Rockwood Flyer

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Finding Serenity on a Musical Afternoon

by Rita Watson

Psychology Today

December 13, 2016

Music brings us to a reflective and peaceful dimension. During these turbulent times of concerns about climate change and election hacking, we need moments of serenity. In a concert with classical guitarist and composer Tye Austin and the Back Bay String Quartet, which he founded, we drifted into reverie. The sounds of classical guitar floated in harmony with the strings.

We seldom hear the classical guitar in concert with string quartets, chamber groups, or symphonic orchestras because of the lack of repetoire. As such, the afternoon event at the Boston Athenaeum, “The Bridge Between the Strings,” was distinctive.

Performing solo and with the string quartet, Tye Austin led us into a musical embrace. One could almost see the notes drifting through the Athenaeum, over the ivy boughs laced with white lights and onto the gallery of books and paintings.

The program itself did not require Christmas carols to set the tone for this season of gratitude and merrymaking. Music selections ranged from Francisco Tarrega (1852 -1909) to Luis Bonfa (1922 -2001) and Tye Austin’s “Suite of Meditations.”

When we make the time to absorb music we are giving ourselves a gift. As Kristin Neff, Ph.D., University of Texas, Austin, tells us, “More so than self-esteem, the nurturing quality of self-compassion allows us to flourish, to appreciate the beauty and richness of life, even in hard times. When we soothe our agitated minds with self-compassion, we’re better able to notice what’s right as well as what’s wrong, so that we can orient ourselves toward that which gives us joy.” /Why Self-Compassion Trumps Self-Esteem

The Back Bay String Quartet

Tye Austin was the first place winner in the Grand Prize Virtuoso International Music Competition and was invited to makes his solo-debut at the Royal Albert Hall in London, England on December 14, 2016.  He graduated from the New England Conservatory with his Master of Music degree under the tutelage of legendary maestro Eliot Fisk (the last student of Andres Segovia). He plays a customized 2015 Steve Connor Guitar from Cape Cod, MA.

Members of the string quartet include:  Boston-based violinist Daniel Cho is a recent graduate of the New England Conservatory, where he studied with Joanna Kurkowicz, concertmaster of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra. Violist Leonid Plashinov-Johnson has performed as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral member in over fifteen countries and in venues. Cellist Peiyao Guo was a recipient of the award given by Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music Foundation during his studies in London. The work of the Boston String Quarted and Tye Austin is on YouTube.

Musical Afternoons and Exhibits

Concerts such as this one at the Athenaeum are open and welcoming to the public (www.BostonAthenaeum.org).There are a small number of privately funded libraries in the United States. However, today there are many lectures, exhibits, and musical events that non-members can enjoy. /Music and the Boston Athenaeum.

The current exhibit “Daniel Chester French: The Female Form Revealed” will be on display through February 19, 2017. It is co-curated by Dr. David B. Dearinger, Director of Exhibitions & Susan Morse Hilles Senior Curator of Paintings & Sculpture at the Boston Athenæum, and Donna Hassler, Director of Chesterwood and Administrator, Historic Artists’ Homes and Studios Program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

This exhibition is accompanied by an illustrated catalogue with an essay by Dr. Dearinger and a checklist of the exhibition’s contents, as well as an on-line version of the installation.

Copyright 2016 Rita Watson  (An academic member through Suffolk University, Department of English)

Click the link  below to read the original article.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/love-and-gratitude/201612/finding-serenity-musical-afternoon

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Local Musician Bound for London Debut

by Chris Lovett

Boston Neighborhood News

December 6, 2016

Check out Tye’s latest interview with Boston Neighborhood Network News to promote his upcoming concerts on December 9 at 8pm ($30/public) at the Guild of Boston Artists and on December 11 at 1pm ($35/public) at the Boston Athenaeum. Hope to see you there!

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Local Guitarist Prepares for International Debut

by Tanner Stening

The Boston Guardian

December 2, 2016

En route to his international debut at London’s Royal Albert Hall, New England Conservatory graduate (NEC) Tye Austin will showcase his classical guitar talent on Friday, December 9 at The Guild of Boston Artists on Newbury Street.

Austin, 27, began his musical career at age 17, which for many classical musicians, he said, is unusually late in life. It was while watching a guitar performance at a music festival in his home town of Ashland, Oregon that he had what he described as an epiphany.

“It was a ringing conviction,” said Austin, who lives near Symphony Hall in the Fenway. “I instantaneously knew this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.”

Having no background in music, and little support from his family, Austin embarked on his musical career before he even knew how to hold his instrument. Between working at a hostel and as a stagehand at the renowned Oregon Shakespeare Festival in his hometown, he paid his way to Southern Oregon University, where he was already auditing classes to learn guitar fundamentals.

“I knew I wanted to do something more creative,” Austin said. “Something that would give me the liberty to make my own schedule.”

Austin said he was drawn to the guitar because it is “one of the only instruments that you hold right against your heart.”

“You can feel it resonate with your own body,” he said. “I think that’s really special.”

Within three years of beginning college, Austin composed his first symphony and arranged a 50-student orchestra. Two years later, he won first prize in the American Protege International Strings competition, earning him a debut performance at Carnegie Hall.

Under the tutelage of virtuoso Eliot Fisk, and with funding from two private philanthropists, Austin graduated from NEC this past May with a master’s degree in music. His most recent first place finish in the Grand Prize Virtuoso International Music competition has propelled him further onto the worldwide stage with a solo performance at the prestigious Royal Albert Hall slated for Wednesday, December 14.

“His story is fascinating,” said Bill Everett, gallery director at The Guild of Boston Artists. “To have come this far in a fairly short time, it’s really quite remarkable. He has quite an innate ability.”

While a career as a classical guitarist has granted Austin the freedom he desires, it has not come without difficulties.

“Guitarists are forced to be entrepreneurs,” he said. “We don’t really have a steady income, and we don’t have a lot of salary opportunities.”

The guitar, he said, has traditionally had “no part in orchestral music.” Part of his mission is to integrate the classical guitar into more modern venues — jazz clubs, cocktail lounges and fashion shows — in order to “reach a wider demographic than the one attending classical music concerts in formal concert halls.”

With this in mind, he created the Back Bay String Quartet, which will debut at the Boston Athenaeum next weekend. The work of arranging group performances, composing music and conducting, which he does alongside teaching, keeps him very busy, and has helped him acquire a business competency that he believes made everything possible.

Tomorrow Austin will be in New York City competing in the Forte International Music competition. He is also working on a solo album titled The Art of Guitar that he plans to release in the spring.

Visit http://www.tyeaustin.com for more information and concert bookings.

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GraduationOn May 22, 2016, I officially graduated from the New England Conservatory of Music. I received my Master of Music degree in classical guitar performance under the tutelage of legendary maestro Eliot Fisk (the last student of Andres Segovia). These past two years have been a very trying time full of musical and personal growth. I came to NEC musically proficient, but technically deficient. I was challenged and intimidated beyond belief, and I often questioned the validity of my music career. Though the environment was bleak and competitive, I’m now a stronger and better musician for having endured this rigorous training. We realize our dreams by showing up for them in reality! Congratulations to the class of 2016!