Zane Forshee (MM ’01, GPD ’03, DMA ’11, Guitar), chair of the Peabody Preparatory Guitar Department, was awarded the Preparatory’s Excellence in Teaching Award on Sunday, June 5.
Described as “…one of his generation’s finest guitarists,” (Fingerstyle Guitar Magazine), Zane Forshee is active both as a soloist and chamber musician. Recent concert engagements have taken him across North America, Europe, and Asia, where his live performances have been noted for possessing “a beautiful ever-flow that held the audience captivated” (Retriever Weekly). Featured as a soloist at the Palacete de Amezúa (Madrid), the Joseph Joachim Konzertsaal (Berlin), the Library of Congress (Washington, D.C.), the New York City Classical Guitar Society, and the Chimei Museum (Taiwan), Mr. Forshee continues to delight audiences worldwide while developing an ever expanding and vibrant repertoire.
Raised in the Midwest, Mr. Forshee’s exposure to various forms of music, both classical and popular, inspired his interest in developing diverse programs for the guitar. Guided by a desire to give performances that cross centuries and cultures, Mr. Forshee draws from the music of Renaissance composers such as Francesco Da Milano, Gaspar Sanz, and John Dowland to living composers writing for the instrument today. His broad musical range and openness to collaboration has led him to work with an array of distinct artists from Opus 1 Contemporary Dance Company to composers David Revill, Luke Bedford, and Gene Koshinski.
With his first album, Initial, Mr. Forshee offers works from three contrasting composers: Baroque Italian harpsichord virtuoso Domenico Scarlatti, Cuban guitarist Leo Brouwer, and 19th-century Spanish pianist Isaac Albéniz. The album has been praised for its “…superb musical and technical skill,” by Minor7th.com, while Classical Guitar Magazine states Mr. “Forshee immediately establishes his credentials as an excellent player, with clarity, precision and an abundance of fine technique.”
Mr. Forshee is currently recording his second album in Berlin, Germany, on the Artist’s Recording Collective label (ARC). Tracing the evolution of 20th-century Valencian composers who were writing for the guitar, the album draws upon Mr. Forshee’s extensive original research gathered while living in Spain as a Fulbright grant recipient. The album will be released in 2017.
Mr. Forshee holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree, Master of Music degree, and Graduate Performance Diploma from the Peabody Conservatory of The Johns Hopkins University. His awards include first prize in the National Guitar Workshop International Solo Guitar Competition and top prize in the Montpelier Artist Recital Competition among others. Mr. Forshee serves as the chair of the Guitar and Harp Departments of the Peabody Preparatory. He also serves on the faculty of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
Zane Forshee is a D’Addario artist and plays on D’Addario strings.
