NCMA Classical Guitar Summer School 2027

English guitarist Vincent Lindsey-Clark is well known for his compositions for the instrument. He writes music for both students and professionals, much of which, has been used extensively by the major exam boards and performed all round the world. He has also written two guitar concertos. Distinguished performers who have played his music include The English Guitar Quartet, David Russell, Gary Ryan, Craig Ogden Amanda Cook, Detlev Bork, Davis Owen Norris, Roland Gallery, Roland Chadwick, Duolism, John Couch, The Trio Jackson, Rachel Scott and The Agostino Duo and many more.

His debut was at the Wigmore Hall, London in 1983. He then became a member of the Segovia Trio in 1987 and currently the Modern Guitar Trio. He has travelled extensively around the world performing his own music. His composition ‘Fiesta Americana’ was written for Berta Rojas, who’s recording of the work was nominated for a Latin Grammy Award. In 2003 his work March on the Red Planet was performed by 100 guitarists at London’s Royal Albert Hall.

Vincent has been a regular tutor and performer at the Sydney Guitar Summer School in Australia and was invited to the Taranaki Guitar Summer School in 2016. He has tutored at two previous Nelson Festival/Summer Schools  in New Zealand’s beautiful South Island.

He currently has positions at London’s Centre for Young Musicians, The University of Southampton and England’s most famous school, Eton College.

…Lindsey-Clark has an extensive knowledge of repertoire to fuel a very inventive compositional engine. Lindsey-Clark seems to revel in the guitar’s most vital qualities. He uses dissonance only when needed and as with greats such as Maurice Ravel the form of these miniatures is always concise….Tim Panting Classical Guitar Magazine.

Sam Rodwell completed his undergraduate studies at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, graduating with First Class Honours under the tutelage of Craig Ogden. He went on to complete a Masters in Performance at the RNCM with Distinction, after which the college appointed him as an Associate Guitar Teacher.

In his first term as an undergraduate, Sam won the RNCM String Department ‘Salon Prize’, becoming the first guitarist to do so in nearly 30 years. He later became a finalist in the RNCM Gold Medal competition, as well as the New Elizabethan Award 2022, the Ivor Mairants Guitar Competition and the Royal Overseas League Strings Section.

Sam has given recitals in major UK venues including St Martin-in-the-Fields, Bridgewater Hall, the RNCM Concert Hall, Buxton Pavilion and De Montfort Hall, where he performed a solo recital to an audience of 1,500. He has appeared at festivals across the UK and internationally, including the World Saxophone Congress in Zagreb, where he premiered a new work with his saxophone and guitar duo, Duo Antipodes.

In 2016, Sam made his television debut on Sky Arts’ Guitar Star, reaching the final eight and appearing in six of the nine episodes. He has also been an ambassador for Yamaha (UK) and has performed in masterclasses for artists including David Russell, Miloš Karadaglić and Gary Ryan.

Sam performs regularly as a chamber musician, including harp and guitar with Duo 53, violin and guitar with The Rodwell-Howard Duo, and with the Roth Guitar Duo. He has also performed with a number of British orchestras, including the Manchester Camerata.

Sam is the creator and conductor of the Royal Northern Youth Guitar Orchestra and regularly works with young musicians through workshops and youth music programmes across the UK. He also serves as Artistic Director of the Tameside Concert Society.

Sam plays a 2006 Christopher Dean guitar.

Described as a “tour-de-force of artistic multi-tasking” (Soundboard Magazine), guitarist and performer Lynn McGrath has built an international career spanning four continents through her synthesis of expressive musicianship, Spanish literature and theatrical storytelling. Her celebrated solo performance of Platero y yo—featuring the poetry of Nobel laureate Juan Ramón Jiménez set to music by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco—showcases McGrath in the dual roles of guitarist and narrator and has captivated audiences worldwide.

Her recent solo projects continue this spirit of artistic exploration, presenting works by historically underrepresented composers including Luisa María Anido, Ida Presti, Louise Walker and Liu Zhuang, alongside music written in tribute to pioneering women of the 20th and 21st centuries.

As a member of the Tantalus Guitar Quartet and former member of the Rio Grande Guitar Quartet and Trio Presti, McGrath has toured extensively across the United States, presented masterclasses, and premiered and recorded new works. Her collaborative credits include performances with orchestras and ensembles such as the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, the Santa Fe Opera and the Orchestra of Northern New York.

An advocate for education and community engagement, McGrath has performed as a soloist throughout New Zealand, the U.K., the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Peru, and has conducted youth and community guitar ensembles at festivals and events. She has served as an adjudicator for major national and international competitions and, for over a decade, was Artistic Director of the Guitar Foundation of America’s Youth Competitions.

A dedicated teacher and mentor, McGrath holds degrees in Spanish Language and Literature and Education, a BM in Guitar Performance, and MM and DMA degrees from the University of Southern California. Since 2017, she has served as Senior Instructor of Guitar at the Eastman Community Music School (Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester), where she works with students of all ages and directs multiple ensembles and intensive programmes.

Miles Jackson is one of New Zealand’s most accomplished guitarists. He began his musical training on the violin, changing to classical guitar in 1965. He has studied with a number of distinguished teachers and several periods in Spain have allowed him to explore and develop considerable expertise in Flamenco techniques. An intense period of study with world-renowned Czech guitarist Vladimir Mikulka took place in the summer of 1982. This was followed with three years of study with the English master guitarist John Mills, which has provided Miles with a technical facility and musicianship of the highest standard.

He has been working as a professional musician since 1972. Apart from solo performances, he has performed with many different chamber music groups and has been a member of the John Mills Trio and the Delphinos Guitar Duo. However most of his work has been with violinist Margarita Jackson as Duo Jackson. They have given concerts and workshops in many countries, made numerous TV & Radio broadcasts and recorded many albums of their music. Miles founded the Goya ensemble – strings and guitar- and has given many concerts featuring chamber music for guitar. More recently his focus has been on Trio Jackson – two violins and guitar.

Miles has always had a keen interest in raising the levels of the teaching and performance of the classic guitar in New Zealand and since 1974 has been actively involved in creating and pioneering ways to achieve this goal. He attaches a special importance to the teaching of technique. A priority for Miles is to bring students together to make music in enjoyable ensemble situations and to perform as often as possible.

He has introduced and tutored classic guitar courses at:

• The Kerikeri music schools
• The Dunedin University music schools
• Nelson School of Music winter music schools
• The Nelson summer festival
• The Nelson Centre of Musical Arts
• The Southland Polytechnic
• The Rotorua Music School
• The University of Singapore
• The Taranaki Classical Guitar Summer School

Director of The Inaugural NCMA Classical Guitar and Flamenco Festival / Summer School 2019, 2021 and 2023 Classical Guitar Festival.

In 1974 he was a founder and Vice President of the New Zealand federation of Classical Guitar Societies and its President from 1979 -1984. During this time he has also been a founding member of the Classical guitar society of Auckland, and founded the Guitar Societies of Dunedin and Nelson. He has been Musical director and organiser of four New Zealand Federation summer music schools. He has also organised concert tours and workshops for many outstanding Guitarists from other countries.