Anthony Glise - Biography

Biography

His musical training began at a very early age under tutelage from his mother (a piano teacher) and father (an amateur baritone vocalist). Glise's musical studies continued from that time and he ultimately matriculated from New England Conservatory (Boston, US, 1983) with a Master of Music in Classical Guitar Performance.

While in Boston, he pursued studies in classical guitar, composition, musicology, early music performance practice and historical dance, under Robert Paul Sullivan, Benjamin Zander, Daniel Pinkham (a private student of Parisien pedagogue, Nadia Boulanger who also taught Aaron Copland, Leonard Bernstein, Elliot Carter, et al.) and Julia Sutton (a private assistant to musicologist, Donald Grout). During this time (1980-83) Glise was also a lutenist and dancer for the Boston historical dance troupe, "Terpsichore."

While finishing his degree at New England Conservatory, he simultaneously studied business management and administration at Harvard University (Cambridge, US) and shortly thereafter briefly studied medicine, earning a license as an EMT (Emergency Medical Technician).

From the early 1980s Glise struck up a cordial written friendship with the famed American poet, Chad Walsh (cf. attached letter), a colleague of W. H. Auden and close friend of (by then) the late C. S. Lewis. Much of the correspondence between Walsh and Glise focused on exchanging ideas about their respective poetic writings and the integral relationship between poetry and music although none of Glise's extant poetry is known to have been published as of this writing.

Following studies in Boston, Glise moved to Vienna, Austria (1983) to study music at the Konservatorium der Stadt (classical guitar performance) and simultaneously at the University of Vienna (Universitaet-Wien) where he earned a diploma in German Language.

Glise's other diplomas and awards during this period include matriculation from the Universite Catholique de Lille (Lille, France, in French Language and Civilization), ARCUM (Rome, Italy, in 19th-Century Musical Performance Practice) and additional awards from the IX Nemzetkozi Gitarfesztival (Esztergom, Hungary, for musical composition), Ville Sable-sur-Sarthe (France, for musical composition), et al.

After his studies in Vienna, Glise took a teaching post in Nenzing, (in the western Austrian state of Vorarlberg while living in Bludenz), followed by posts and professional activities in Northern France (Lille), in Italy at the "Academy for the Study of 19th-Century Music" (Vigevano) and Southern Germany (Schwäbisch Gmünd).

While living in the Alps, Glise was, for a time, involved in free solo climbing. During his last ascent (in Piedmont, Italy) he was leading a climb, "on-sight" (soloing a face that hasn't been scouted), and the face went slick at roughly 5 meters from the top as heavy cloud cover moved in. (The girlfriend of his second was on an adjacent cliff and, unaware that there was a problem, took the attached picture with a telephoto lens.) Eventually Glise and Abrile, talked each other back down the face in a grueling and somewhat miraculous descent. This was the last time Glise solo climbed.

From 1989-90, Glise was script writer and host of the first internationally-syndicated guitar radio program, "Glise on Guitar" which featured music and personal interviews with some of the world's leading musical figures including Pepe Romero, Sharon Isben, Christopher Parkening, Paul O'Dette, Sir Neville Marriner, et al. Satellite distribution of that program included the US via PRI (Public Radio International) and Europe, South America and the Far East via AFN (Armed Forces Network).

In 1991 Glise became the only American-born guitarist to win First Prize at the International Toscanini Competition (Italy), with an unprecedented unanimous vote from the competition jury. That competition was held in the town of Stresa on Lago Maggiore, and the ceremonial award concert was performed on the island, Isole dei Pescatori.

During this same time Glise also acted as artist-in-residence and touring artist for over a dozen US state arts councils and similar European programs. These residencies involved work as a performer, composer and educator and included time that Glise spent in Fort Yates (North Dakota) on the Standing Rock Sioux Indian Reservation (the final resting place of murdered, Lakota Holy Man and Chief, Sitting Bull). This period made a deep impression on Glise, due in part to his respect and affinity to the tribal community and his participation in Native American sacred rites.

His professional activities continued to expand from this time (particularly in Europe) and in 2006 Glise was invited to the board of an on-going project of the French national organization, Domaine Musique, to help develop better relations between French composers and feature film directors. He is the only non-French ever invited to that prestigious assembly.

More recently, Glise founded and currently directs various music festivals, including the "St. Joseph International Guitar Festival and Competition" (US), "Six Strings and the Spirit" (Chartres, France), sponsored by the Catholic order, Communaute du Chemin Neuf, et al.

He has recorded for a number of international labels including Young Recording Artists, Dorian Recordings (US), CEH (Hungary) and most notably for the French label, Eclipse (a subdivision of The Aevia Group, Ltd.) which Glise took over as acting CEO in the early 1990s.

In addition to over a dozen CDs, DVDs and over 30 original published compositions, Glise has published many historical and Urtext musical editions for Willis Music Company (Cincinnati, US), under the series, "The Anthony Glise Critical Editions," and a number of books and editions for Mel Bay Publications (Pacific, US), under the series titled "The Anthony Glise Urtext Editions" (cf. list below).

The best-known of these publications include: "The Complete Guitar Sonatas of Sor, Giuliani and Diabelli in Urtext," "Handbook for American Musicians Overseas" and the university textbook, "Classical Guitar Pedagogy - A Handbook for Teachers," which has become the standard guitar pedagogy text used throughout the US, Canada and Australia as well as the leading international musical schools worldwide.

Glise continues to compose, write, concertize and teach throughout Europe and occasionally in the US and works with arts organizations to develop programs for children and international exchange programs between the US and Europe. He is particularly active in sailing, fly fishing, fencing (foil and épée), foreign languages (he is fluent in English, German and French) and culinary arts (specializing in cuisine of the Flanders region in France).

Glise lectures at Missouri Western State University in his home town of St. Joseph, Missouri (US) where he teaches guitar, Renaissance lute, guitar pedagogy, guitar history, guitar ensemble, career development and is a fencing coach (foil) for the university fencing team. Since 1995 he has lived predominantly in the small French Flanders village of Sainghin-en-Melantois on the outskirts of the city of Lille.