Brian Head (composer)

Brian Head (born October 14, 1964 in Washington, DC) is an American composer, guitarist, and music theory and composition lecturer.

He performs frequently as a soloist and collaboratively with numerous groups, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the New World Symphony Orchestra, Le Rossignol, inauthentica, Jacaranda and Xtet. His compositions have been widely performed throughout the U.S. and abroad.

Brian Head holds an unusual dual appointment at the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California, where he is a member of both the Classical Guitar and the Composition faculties, positions he has held since 2001. He maintains an active guitar studio there, lectures on a wide range of subjects, and directs the undergraduate music theory program.

Since 2004, Head has led the Guitar Foundation of America, as its president.

Training

Raised in Adelphi, Maryland, Brian Head is the son of the noted trumpeter Emerson Head and his first wife Linda Head, a piano teacher and professional accompanist. He received undergraduate degrees from the University of Maryland in both Music and Math, and dual masters degrees from the University of Southern California, one in guitar performance and the other in composition.

Notable guitar teachers include Anthony Norris, William Kanengiser, and James Smith.

Notable Compositions

* Sketches for Friends (1994)
* John McLaughlin: We Know You Know: Reverie for Mahavishnu (2005)

External links

* [http://www.usc.edu/schools/music/private/faculty/head.php USC faculty]
* [http://www.guitarfoundation.org/drupal/personnel/board-of-directors Guitar Foundation of American Board of Directors]