Rupert Boyd
New York-based Australian classical guitarist Rupert Boyd has been described by The Washington Post as “truly evocative,” by Gramophone as “a very fine musician,” and by Classical Guitar Magazine as “a player who deserves to be heard.” His performances have taken him across four continents, from New York’s Carnegie Hall, to the Barcelona Guitar Festival in Spain, Strings-139 Festival in China, Festival de Musique Classique in France, Gharana Music Festival in Nepal, and every state and territory in Australia.
Rupert Boyd gave his Carnegie Hall debut as part of the D’Addario Music Foundation’s “International Competition Winners in Concert” Series, and has performed at the Newport Music Festival, National Gallery of Art (D.C.), Music in the Strathmore Mansion, Marlow Guitar Series, Grand Canyon Guitar Society, Boston Guitar Society, University of Denver, University of Hawaii, and has given concerts in the U.K., France, Spain, New Zealand, India, Nepal and the Philippines. In New York, Rupert Boyd has performed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City Classical Guitar Society, Merkin Concert Hall, Trinity Wall Street, Bargemusic, (Le) Poisson Rouge, SubCulture, and with a diversity of groups such as New York Festival of Song and Moving Theater Dance Company.
“Remember the name Rupert Boyd. While there may never be another classical guitarist like Segovia, this young Australian left his audience with the impression that someday there may not be the likes of him again, either.”
— The Washington Post
Rupert Boyd has released three solo recordings: The Guitar (Sono Luminus) was described by This Is Classical Guitar as “a must-have album of 2019”, and received the following praise in The Weekend Australian: “Instantly one’s ears are pricked up by Boyd’s interpretive directness and a sparkling technique”; Fantasías (Little Mystery Records) was selected by American Record Guide as “Critic’s Choice” of 2016, and was described by Classical Guitar Magazine as “a triumph of brilliant assured playing”; Boyd’s debut recording Valses Poéticos received the following review in Soundboard, the Guitar Foundation of America’s quarterly publication: “Boyd’s playing is beautifully refined, with gorgeous tone… musically and technically flawless… the album is first-rate.” Soundboard also described the eponymous work by Granados as “one of the best recorded performances of this work on guitar.”
Active as both a soloist and chamber musician, Rupert Boyd regularly performs throughout the world as part of the Australian Guitar Duo with guitarist Jacob Cordover, and in Boyd Meets Girl, with cellist Laura Metcalf. The Australian Guitar Duo was a prizewinner of the Chamber Music section of the Australian Guitar Competition, and its debut CD Songs from the Forest was described as “wonderfully entertaining” by Classical Guitar Magazine, and “very impressive” by Soundboard Magazine. Boyd Meets Girl’s debut album, released in 2017 on the Sono Luminus label, reached #3 on the Billboard Traditional Classical charts, and received the following review in GramophoneMagazine: “they play like one, with a harmony of purpose as sure as their intonation.”
Rupert Boyd holds a Bachelor of Music (First Class Honours) from the Australian National University School of Music, a Master of Music from the Manhattan School of Music and an Artist Diploma from the Yale University School of Music. His major teachers have been Timothy Kain, David Leisner and Benjamin Verdery. In addition to winning the Andrés Segovia award from the Manhattan School of Music, Rupert Boyd was also a winner of the Lillian Fuchs Chamber Music Competition and winner of the Eisenberg-Fried Concerto Competition.
Rupert Boyd is also co-artistic director of GatherNYC, a revolutionary weekly concert series in New York City. For further details, please visit: www.GatherNYC.org
Rupert Boyd lives in New York City and exclusively plays D’Addario Strings.
