Muriel Anderson

Muriel Anderson
Born 1960
Downers Grove, Illinois, U.S.
Genres Classical, folk, bluegrass, flamenco
Occupation(s) Musician
Instruments Guitar, harp-guitar
Years active 1989–present
Labels CGD
Website www.murielanderson.com

Muriel Anderson (born 1960) is an American fingerstyle guitarist and harp guitarist who plays in many genres. She is the first female to win the National Fingerpicking Guitar Championship.

Biography

Muriel Anderson was born in Downers Grove, Illinois, and is of Finnish descent: her great grandparents had emigrated to the United States from Finland.[1] Her grandfather played saxophone in the John Philip Sousa band. She learned piano as a child. When she was 8, she was given a guitar from a family friend who was going to throw it away. In her early teens she took lessons at Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago. In high school she was a member of the jazz band and a bluegrass band, which she helped create, that performed locally through her college years. She attended DePaul University on an academic scholarship. At DePaul she took mandolin lessons from Jethro Burns, brother-in-law of Chet Atkins. Burns introduced her to Atkins, who became a lifelong friend and mentor. She took master classes with classical guitar virtuoso Christopher Parkening.[2]

Anderson is founder of the All Star Guitar Night, which donates its money to the Music for Life Alliance, a charity she founded. Her music can be heard in Woody Allen's film, Vicky Cristina Barcelona. Her album Heartstrings accompanied astronauts on the space shuttle Discovery.[3]

Her double CD, "Nightlight Daylight" won top honors in 11 national and international awards. It is the first CD to use interactive fiber optics in the packaging, her concept (first registered with the PTO in 2005).[4]

With the German duo Tierra Negra she recorded New World Flamenco.[5]

Anderson has released more than a dozen solo albums and teaching DVDs through Truefire and Homespun, and guitar books published by Hal Leonard, Mel Bay, and Zen-On Japan. Her compositions include commissioned classical works for the Nashville Chamber Orchestra and Vox Caelestis Women's Choir, as well title tracks for three albums by various artists. Muriel Anderson is a member of the advisory board for Mel Bay Publications.

Discography

External video
Anderson on Music for Life July 16, 2009, NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) Oral History Library]

Compilations

Video

Concert DVDs

Instructional DVDs

Books

Compilation books

References

  1. ↑ FINNISH-AMERICAN MURIEL ANDERSON ALWAYS LONGED FOR A HARP GUITAR Culture for Friends
  2. ↑ Edwards Gehrt, Vicky (4 September 1994). "A Guitar Picker's Guitar Picker". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
  3. ↑ "Strings of Her Heart". Retrieved 2015-10-04.
  4. ↑ /
  5. ↑ d'Souza, Jerry (11 February 2010). "CD/LP Review: New World Flamenco". All About Jazz. Retrieved 5 October 2010.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 12/4/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.