Kim Perlak

In January of 2009, Kim will join the faculty of Concordia University here in Austin, TX. She will continue to teach at Austin Community College, Austin Guitar School, and the National Guitar Workshop.
Kim Perlak is a classical guitarist whose versatile and inclusive approach to both traditional and new music for the instrument has made her a sought-after performer, collaborator, educator, and academic lecturer in the field of American music. From university concert halls to the stage at the National Guitar Workshop, audiences are put at ease by her joyful, relaxed stage manner and captivated by her soulful interpretations of a diverse repertoire. Her eclectic tastes have led to acclaimed performances on series and programs throughout the country including National Public Radio, CBS Sunday Morning, Chamber Music at Yale, Elisabet Ney Guitar Series-Austin, Vivaldi Festival at Stetson University, and the National Guitar Workshop Faculty Concert Series. An avid chamber musician, Kim frequently collaborates with musicians rooted in the varied styles of classical music, jazz and American traditional music. These collaborations have resulted in performances with Yale Opera, Stetson Chamber Orchestra, The US/Mexico Guitar Orchestra, flutist Mariana Stratta, violinist Jeanine Wynton, jazz guitarist Jeff Peretz, and slide guitarist Kirby Kelley. Kim has performed and recorded with cellist Cathy Anderson and flutist Yong Clark, and has premiered works by acclaimed composers Suzanne Farrin and Sebastian Zubieta. The 2002 Iron Mountain Music recording “Remembrance: A Tribute to America’s Veterans” includes several of Kim’s arrangements of American traditional songs. An Austin reviewer wrote, “Kim’s version of “God Bless America” was very tentative, sweet and moving…It may have been the most patriotic thing I’ve experienced in many months”. Kim’s academic research on the development of American music for the guitar has resulted in recent appearances as a guest lecturer at Concordia College, the University of Texas, the 8th Annual Conference on Race, Gender, Nation at UT Austin, and the Roundtable discussions at the Conference for the 40th Anniversary for the NEA, held at the LBJ Presidential Library.
Kim received a Bachelor of Music, magna cum laude, from Stetson University in 1998, and Master of Music from Yale University in 2001, where she was awarded the Eliot Fisk Prize for “outstanding guitarist”. During these years, she studied with some of the world’s most respected teachers and performers including primary teachers Stephen Robinson and Benjamin Verdery, Sergio and Odair Assad, the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, Roland Dyens, Eliot Fisk, Seymour Bernstein, Syoko Aki and Willie Ruff. In December of 2008, Kim was awarded a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Texas at Austin. Her treatise, completed under the guidance of guitarist Adam Holzman and musicologist Lorenzo Candelaria, has been nominated for the UT-Austin 2008-2009 Outstanding Dissertation Award.
Currently, Kim is active as a scholar, performer and teacher. Her current scholarly work on American guitar culture identifies the American guitar vernacular in performance practice and composition by focusing on the works of guitarist/ composers Andrew York, Benjamin Verdery, Bryan Johanson and David Leisner, and the perspectives of players from a variety of styles, including John Knowles, Adam Levy and David Hamburger. With the contributions of contemporary players as primary source material, this research explores the dynamic creative process that takes place in the professional communities of players who have devoted themselves to this "American" instrument, and discusses the impact that two seminal classical players - Justin Holland (19th century - American), and Andres Segovia (20th century - Spain) - have had on the American guitar sound. This core work has inspired grant funded lecture and outreach programs throughout the country, including: "The Holland Guitar Project", which introduces the classical guitar and its African-American history to students in Title 1 public schools, and multi-stylistic technique and interpretation workshops for young guitarists.
As a performer, Kim gives concerts throughout the United States. She performed recently at the University of South Carolina at Columbia, Loyola University at New Orleans, Yale University, Niagra County Community College, and the National Guitar Workshop. She has been featured on National Public Radio and CBS Sunday Morning.
As an educator, Kim works with students of all levels in classical music and a variety of styles. In 2002, she co-founded the Educational Outreach Program of the Austin Classical Guitar Society. She developed the 'Beginner Intensive Seminar' for NGW in 2002, and was named Intern Program Coordinator in 2007. At NGW, Kim has taught classes with special guests Andrew York and Benjamin Verdery, and was part of the 2007 Classical Summit faculty. In 2005, Kim authored 'The Ultimate Manual of Guitar Basics', which remains self-published. Her new 2008 publication - "The Essentials of Classical Technique for Classical and Improvising Guitarists" - is available from her directly. Kim is on the faculties of Concordia University, Austin Community College, the Austin Guitar School, and the National Guitar Workshop.
Kim Perlak performs and records on guitars made by Thomas Humphrey, New York. She plays two Mileniums, a 2003 and a 1990, both 640 scale.