Biography
Nicholas Ciraldo is a leader among his generation of American classical guitarists. He won awards at several prestigious solo competitions, including the Tredrez-Locquemau International Guitar Competition (France), twice at the MTNA Guitar Competition (USA), the Gaetano Zinetti International Chamber Music Competition (Italy), the GFA Solo Guitar Competition (USA), and the Portland International Guitar Competition (USA). He performed in masterclass for Paul Galbraith, Ricardo Cobo, Manuel Barrueco, Benjamin Verdery, Eliot Fisk, and others. Mr. Ciraldo enjoyed numerous solo performances throughout the United States and Europe, from Boston's Jordan Hall to Berlin's Berliner Dom.
Nicholas Ciraldo's chamber music interests prompted collaborations with many fine musicians, including harpist Franziska Huhn, flutist Thomas Robertello, and guitarist Eliot Fisk. He is co-founder of the Quadrivium Guitar Quartet. Currently, Dr. Ciraldo enjoys a busy concert schedule with his wife, flutist Rachel Taratoot Ciraldo, as The Ciraldo Duo. Their concert venues include the Hampden-Sydney Music Festival, where the Richmond Times-Dispatch praised them for their "distinctive readings of the music of Astor Piazzolla," the Simsbury Chamber Music Festival, the Boston Classical Guitar Society Festival, the National Flute Association Convention, and the St. Paul's Chamber Music Series.
Always striving to be a participating member of the arts community, Nicholas Ciraldo has held diverse positions with several arts organizations. Among others, he was Artistic Director of the Boston Classical Guitar Society and Vice President of the Austin Classical Guitar Society.
Dr. Ciraldo is founder of the Hammer/Nail Project, a program that links composers and guitarists to help show how to write for the guitar in the most idiomatic way possible. As a result of last season's efforts, six new works for solo guitar were completed and premiered at the University of Texas at Austin.
One of Dr. Ciraldo's latest activities is as artist/teacher. The Quadrivium Guitar Quartet performed as artists-in-residence throughout rural Kentucky under the auspices of Louisville's New Performing Arts, teaching and playing for over two thousand children, in over forty schools. The Ciraldo Duo twice was invited by the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra to be artists-in-residence for their Community & Education program. The Austin Classical Guitar Society presented the Ciraldo Duo as artists-in-residence for their Education Outreach program.
Nicholas Ciraldo holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Indiana University School of Music, where he studied with Ernesto Bitetti and Luis Zea. He also holds a Master of Music degree from The New England Conservatory of Music, where he studied with David Leisner and Eliot Fisk. He holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from The University of Texas at Austin, where he studied with Adam Holzman and held the Freeman Fellowship.
Now, Nicholas Ciraldo is Assistant Professor of Guitar at the University of Southern Mississippi. His program enriches a large studio of students, who pursue degrees ranging from bachelor to doctoral. Dr. Ciraldo also coaches diverse chamber groups including the guitar. He resides close to campus, in the town of Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
Please visit the Contact Page to learn how to get in touch with Nicholas Ciraldo.
