Christopher Ladd

Education

AD, The Hartt School, University of Hartford

MM, Shenandoah University;

BM, Shenandoah University

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Award winning and internationally renowned classical guitarist Christopher Ladd is recognized throughout North America and abroad as one of the most promising classical musicians of his generation.  Fingerstyle Guitar hails his performances as being  “… rendered confidently and expressively.” Praised as  “… an exercise in extremes.” by Soundboard Magazine, he is highly sought after as a soloist and chamber musician. 

Most recently Mr. Ladd was a featured performer at the 2017 Sarajevo International Guitar Festival and the 2018 Summartónar Festival in the Faroe Islands.  Noteworthy performances include appearances at the Vijećnica in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzgovina, Mengi and the Kaldalon Theater at Harpa in Reykjavik, Iceland, the DiMenna Center in New York City, the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., the Viennese Opera Ball hosted by the Austrian Embassy, the historic Byrdcliffe Theater in Woodstock, NY and for former vice-president Al Gore at his residence in Washington, D.C.  Active also as a chamber musician, Mr. Ladd is a founding member of The Pandora Duo which features acclaimed flutist Janet Arms, and The Amaranth Duo with Icelandic violinist Asa Gudjonsdottir.

In addition to performing pieces of standard repertoire, Mr. Ladd has premiered numerous new works by composers such as Kenneth Steen, Robert Carl, Nolan Stolz, Lief Ellis, Kathryn Swanson, Ty Alan Emerson, Ernst Bacon, Phillip Houghton, Kristian Blak and Frank Wallace.  Recently he had the opportunity to work with GRAMMY and Academy Award winning composer John Corigliano, in a performance of his work Troubadours for guitar and chamber orchestra conducted by Edward Cumming.

As a recording artist Mr. Ladd’s multi-faceted career exemplifies his continual search for new ways to present the classical guitar.  He has appeared on numerous projects for feature film, theater and the stage.  His performance of Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez can be heard on the documentary The Real Royal Trip directed by Sangh Kim and his performance of  J.S. Bach’s Prelude, Fugue and Allegro, BWV 998 can be heard in The Asylum’s cult-hit Megashark vs. Giant Octopus.  He also contributed his skills to the 25th Anniversary of the epic metal band While Heaven Wept’s newest release “Suspended at Aphelion” on Nuclear Blast Records which was released in late 2014.  Most recently, his world-premiere recording of Robert Carl’s Concerto for Guitar and Chamber Orchestra entitled The Calm Bee in the Busy Hive was released on A Geography of Loss from New World Records in August 2016.

Mr. Ladd has been a prize winner in numerous competitions including the Appalachian Guitar Festival Solo Competition, American String Teachers Association Solo Competition and he was twice a semi-finalist in the prestigious Guitar Foundation of America International Competition.

Mr. Ladd currently serves on the faculty of The Hartt School in West Hartford, Connecticut, as Director of The Hartt School Guitar Festival and as the Chair of the Guitar and Harp Program.