Richard Gilewitz, Dirt to Dust

April 6th, 2007 | Music

My 11 yo and I went to see him tonight. He was great! He’s conducting a workshop tomorrow. This is one of the songs he played. It features tapping at the end. I think I was one of the few there that recognized what it was and told them to look it up at youtube.

We heard him play, among others, Thumbsing and Synopse Collapse.

He’s sponsored by Breedlove Guitars. I’d be interested in hearing if you play a different brand or if you play this brand.

Karin

Richard Gilewitz is an uncommon soloist, fingerstyle acoustic guitarist, composer, and master teacher. Known for his ability to make one guitar sound like an entire orchestra, he combines both standard and unique tunings, and a range of musical styles from classical to blues. Richard plays C25 6-strings and J-25 12 string Breedlove acoustic guitars. His main guitar is a Limited Edition C25 from the 2006 Calendar Series - a concert acoustic in Cedar and Rosewood, with a dramatically graduated top.

He began honing his skills both as a performer and composer during the late 1970’s at the University of Alabama, playing the local coffeehouse circuit while pursing degrees in Computer Science, Mathematics, and Music. Following graduation, Richard placed his music career in the background and joined the business world of flight simulation design, telemetry and satellite systems. Soon the pull of his passion for music was so compelling that Richard left corporate life to teach and perform full time.

The 1980’s brought Richard to Florida where he released his first LP recording, Somewhere In Between. He has released four more CD recordings; Voluntary Solitary, Synapse Collapse, The Music of David Walbert and Thumbsing, plus an instructional guitar video, and a self produced solo instrumental collection. In collaboration with Mel Bay Publications, some of Richard’s new and on-going projects include regular contributions to Guitar Sessions, his new Acoustic Fingerstyle Workshop Book, an instructional/performance DVD, and inclusion in the Master Anthology of Fingerstyle Guitar Solos Volume 3.

As an educator as well as a performer, Richard is sought after for his popular Dealer Clinic Program Series on behalf of several major instrument and sound manufacturers. Crisscrossing the world for the last decade, Richard combines this concert and workshop schedule with his Meet the Artist — Music in the Schools Enrichment Program Â® as he meets in intimate class room settings and assemblies with elementary, middle school, high school and college students. Richard also continues to offer private lessons to students as well as opportunities for in-residence workshops.

He continues to be a contributing writer for Mel Bay Publications on-line magazine, Guitar SessionsÂ®, and for a number of trade magazines. International Public Radio fans often sample Richard’s wit and zany outlook on life on syndicated shows such as RTE Lyric Radio of Ireland, BBC radio of Northern Ireland, National Radio New Zealand, as well as numerous local radio shows in the United States.