William Kanengiser

William Kanengiser has forged a career that expands the possibilities of the classical guitar. A prize-winner in major competitions (1987 Concert Artists Guild International Competition, Toronto Guitar ’81) he has toured throughout North America, Asia, and Europe with his innovative programs and expressive musicianship. He recorded four CD’s for the GSP label, playing music as diverse as Caribbean, Eastern European, and jazz. A member of the guitar faculty at the USC Thornton School of Music since 1983, he has given master classes around the world and produced two instructional videos. Most recently, he performed the U.S. premiere of “Folk Concerto” by Clarice Assad, with fellow LAGQ member Scott Tennant, and the Albany Symphony conducted by David Allan Miller.

An active proponent of new music, he recently received a grant from the Augustine Foundation for his “Diaspora Project,” commissioning seven new works focusing on issues of migration and assimilation. It includes new pieces by Sergio Assad, Dusan Bogdanovic, Golfam Khayam, and others. An advocate for musicians, wellness, he serves as Chair of the Thornton Musician’s Wellness Committee, curating their Wellness Initiative with health screenings and a lecture series, as well as creating a Musician’s Wellness course.

A prolific arranger, he has created dozens of transcriptions for solo guitar and guitar quartet, and composed a number of works for four guitars. In 2009 he created the stage production “The Illustrious Gentleman Don Quixote” for narrator and guitar quartet, writing the stage script and adapting music from the Spanish Renaissance. It was premiered with Monty Python member John Cleese, and extensively toured with Firesign Theater founder Phil Proctor.

As a founding member of the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, William Kanengiser has given hundreds of recitals and concerto appearances around the world, and has recorded over a dozen releases. Their Telarc release “LAGQ Latin” was nominated for a GRAMMY®, and it was their Telarc title “LAGQ’S Guitar Heroes” which won a GRAMMY® in 2005 as the best classical crossover recording. Most recently, their recording of the title work on Pat Metheny’s “Road to the Sun” hit #1 on the Apple Music Classical chart.