Adrian Verdejo is a classical and electric guitarist based in Victoria, Canada. Born into a musical family in Regina, Canada, Adrian began studying the guitar and the piano at the age of eight. His early teachers were guitarists Raymond Bell and Michael Holzer at the Regina Conservatory of Music. He later studied with Stephen Boswell at Capilano College in Vancouver. In 2004, he earned his Bachelor of Music degree with distinction from the University of Victoria studying under Dr. Alexander Dunn. In 2007 he received his Master of Music degree from the University of Ottawa, where he studied with guitarist/composer Patrick Roux. He has also performed in the master classes of such legendary classical guitarists as Pepe Romero, David Tanenbaum, Roland Dyens, Nigel North, Paul-Andre Gagnon, Michael Partington, Brian Johanson, Ron MacFarlane, William Kannengeiser, Adam Holzman, Fabio Zanon, Benjamin Verdery, Judicaël Perroy, Philip Candelaria and the Canadian Guitar Quartet.
As a soloist, Adrian Verdejo has won top prizes in music competitions in Canada and the United States and he has been the recipient of numerous scholarships. In 2008, he received third prize in the Northwest Guitar Festival Solo Competition in Seattle. Adrian Verdejo has performed many of the major solo works in the classical guitar repertoire and specializes in the interpretation of contemporary music; he has been involved in a number of contemporary ensemble works featuring the guitar. Adrian performs with his sister Meghan Verdejo, violist, in Duo Verdejo and with Michael Dias and Bradford Werner in the Victoria Guitar Trio. He also has an ongoing collaboration with flutist Diana Lam. He plays a classical guitar custom made in 2005 by Boston luthier, Stephan Connor.
Adrian Verdejo is equally fluent in electric and steel-string guitar styles; he has played electric guitar in groups for many years and regularly improvises in a variety of styles. He interprets contemporary music scored for electric guitar in solo and chamber settings. In his spare time he pursues interests in electronic music and experimental sound design and is a contributing writer for the Encyclopedia of Music in Canada, online edition.
Adrian currently resides in Victoria, Canada where he is a faculty guitar instructor at the Victoria Conservatory of Music and a busy freelance musician. He is a devoted and enthusiastic music teacher who teaches a wide variety of styles, ages, and levels.
In his many performances and with his students, Adrian Verdejo hopes to communicate his lifelong passion for music and the guitar.
