| Biography | The American guitarist, Andrew Schulman, is the founder and music director of the Abaca String Band. He made his New York debut in 1982 on the Guitar-N.Y. series at Carnegie Hall, and his London debut in 1985 at The Purcell Room. Since then, this internationally acclaimed 8-string guitarist has performed throughout Europe, and appeared as a soloist at the Royal Albert Hall in London, Alice Tully Hall, Merkin Concert Hall, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He also performed as a soloist for the Christmas Candlelight Tour at The White House in December 1999. He appeared Sundays, from 1999 to 2005, playing as the first solo guitarist in the history of the legendary Palm Court at the Plaza Hotel in New York City. With the closing of the Plaza for several years of renovation, he now appears on Sundays at The Mark Hotel in NY. His combination of instrumental virtuosity and humor made him popular in the NY comedy clubs such as The Improv, Catch a Rising Star, and Dangerfield's. His use of humor on the concert stage gives his solo and chamber performances an unexpected spin on traditional classical music.
In 1991 Andrew Schulman founded the Abaca String Band. Their unique instrumentation, consisting of Eight-string Guitar, Mandolin, Violin, Viola, and Double Bass, is well suited to their own arrangements of a repertoire that ranges from Bach to the Beatles via Mozart and Gershwin. The group began performing for membership events at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in 1991, and continues to do so. They performed from 1995 to 2000 on the Carnegie Hall Neighborhood Concert Series and returned to the series in 2002. They have performed throughout the USA; appearances have included the White House, Lincoln Center, the Newport Music Festival, the Library of Congress, Troy Music Hall, USDAN Center, and Chautauqua Institution, among others. Their debut CD, "Live From Chautauqua", was broadcast nationwide by Public Radio International, and they return for another concert/broadcast at Chautauqua Institution in 2003.
ve received popular and critical acclaim, as well as extensive international radio play. |