Sharon Isbin
August 2010 - Acclaimed classical guitarist Sharon Isbin on her Korg AW2G- "The Korg AW2G tuner is spot on accurate, versatile, and beautifully designed. It makes tuning for performances and recordings precise and reliable. It never leaves my guitar!"
"Prior to becoming engrossed with playing classical guitar, I spent much of my time building and launching model rockets. By the time I was fourteen, I had become quite serious about the guitar. At that time, I won a contest, and the award was the privilege to play with the Minnesota Orchestra in front of an audience of 10,000. Upon walking out on stage for these concerts, I realized that performing was even more fun than sending my rockets into space," says Sharon Isbin. The average fourteen-year-old would probably feel more at home with model rockets than playing for 10,000 people. But not Sharon. This acclaimed guitarist has performed and recorded music for most of her life.
Early on, Sharon knew what her musical calling was. "I started playing guitar by accident while living in Italy with my family while on sabbatical," Sharon explains. "My older brother asked for guitar lessons, hoping to become the next Elvis Presley. My parents didn't know about his fantasy and found him a classical guitar teacher instead. My brother met with the teacher, who had previously studied with Segovia, and realized that this wasn't what he was looking for. He bowed out, and I volunteered to take his place. I really didn't have any knowledge of the classical guitar. However, folk music had always appealed to me, and I figured this couldn't be too far afield." Sharon began touring at age sixteen, and thus began her lifelong adventure. "It was a whole new world for me. It was very different from playing for forty people at the local library," she laughs.
Thanks in part to encouragement from her teachers, Sharon had the focus and drive to constantly improve her playing ability. When her teacher went on sabbatical, Sharon learned mainly from practicing and performing. "I was really self-motivated. I found that the more of myself that I put into my playing, the more that I loved it," she explains. Sharon found herself practicing five to six hours a day, often in front of a mirror, and also recording her practice sessions so that she could later scrutinize them.
Later in her career, Sharon was asked to put together a guitar festival at Carnegie Hall in New York. This afforded her the opportunity to immerse herself in a variety of musical styles. One that caught her ear in particular was Latin jazz. Her love of this style took her to a variety of international locales to perform with artists ranging from Larry Coryell to Laurindo Almeida. In fact, Sharon has collaborated with a cadre of diverse artists, including Steve Vai, Antonio Carlos Jobim and Melissa Etheridge! She has also performed with the world renowned New York Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2001, Sharon became the first classical guitarist in 28 years to win a Grammy Award when she was honored for her CD, Dreams of a World, as Best Instrumental Soloist. Sharon has also had four Grammy nominations, most recently, a Latin Grammy nomination for Best Classical Album for her CD with the New York Philharmonic.
An artist of Sharon's ability and stature strives to deliver the best performance possible. A critical part of performing is always having an instrument that is properly and accurately tuned. That is why Sharon relies on the Korg AW-1 Micro Tuner. As she tells us, "The AW-1's ease of use and accuracy is just stunning. Whenever I'm rehearsing, performing or recording, the AW-1 is an indispensable tool. The AW-1 is always clipped onto the headstock of my guitar. I never have to find a quiet environment to tune in, which saves me a great deal of time, especially when playing a session, where time is money. It allows me to accurately tune when performing with orchestras. And because the Korg AW-1 can be instantly calibrated to any pitch, I can also match European orchestras, which often tune to 441 or 442 hertz tuning instead of the standard 440 used in the United States. It's the only tuner on the market that is so accurate and simple to use. It's a lifesaver!" Coming from an artist of Sharon's standing, that's quite a testament to the accuracy and flexibility of the AW-1.
Sharon's playing truly is a marvel to hear. And be sure to check out the latest Martin Scorsese film, The Departed, in which you'll hear Sharon featured on the soundtrack written by Academy Award-winning composer Howard Shore.
Photo by Keith Smith
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