Christopher Ladd is an award winning guitarist known throughout North America and abroad as one of the most promising classical musicians of his generation. Fingerstyle Guitar hails his performances as being “… rendered confidently and expressively.” Praised as “… an exercise in extremes.” by Soundboard Magazine, he is highly sought after as a soloist and chamber musician. His performances of note include Mengi and the Kaldalon Theater at Harpa in Reykjavik, Iceland, the DiMenna Center in New York City, the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., the Viennese Opera Ball hosted by the Austrian Embassy, the historic Byrdcliffe Theater in Woodstock, NY and performance for former vice-president Al Gore at his residence in Washington, D.C.
Active also as a chamber musician, Mr. Ladd is a founding member of The Pandora Duo which features acclaimed flutist Janet Arms, and The Amaranth Duo with Icelandic violinist Asa Gudjonsdottir. In addition to performing pieces of standard repertoire, Mr. Ladd has premiered numerous new works by composers such as Kenneth Steen, Robert Carl, Nolan Stolz, Lief Ellis, Kathryn Swanson, Ty Alan Emerson, Ernst Bacon, Phillip Houghton and Frank Wallace. Recently he had the opportunity to work with Grammy and Academy Award winning composer John Corigliano, in a performance of his work Troubadours for guitar and chamber orchestra conducted by Edward Cumming.
He has appeared on numerous projects for feature film, theater and the stage. His performance of Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez can be heard on the documentary The Real Royal Trip directed by Sangh Kim and his performance of J.S. Bach’s Prelude, Fugue and Allegro, BWV 998 can be heard in The Asylum’s cult-hit Megashark vs. Giant Octopus. He also contributed to the 25th Anniversary of the epic metal band While Heaven Wept’s newest release “Suspended at Aphelion” on Nuclear Blast Records which was released in late 2014. Most recently, his world-premiere recording of Robert Carl’s Concerto for Guitar and Chamber Orchestra entitled The Calm Bee in the Busy Hive was released on A Geography of Loss from New World Records in August 2016.
Ladd has been a prize winner in numerous competitions including the Appalachian Guitar Festival Solo Competition, American String Teachers Association Solo Competition and was twice a semi-finalist in the prestigious Guitar Foundation of America International Competition. He currently serves on the faculty of The Hartt School in West Hartford, Connecticut, as an Artist/Teacher, Director of The Hartt School Guitar Festival, and as the Chair of the Guitar and Harp Program. |