Classical guitarist Sharon Isbin is world renowned for her technical command of the guitar, her expressive playing, and for commissioning nine works for guitar and orchestra from prominent composers. She has received three Grammy Award nominations, and in 2000, became the first classical guitarist in 28 years to win a Grammy for her solo CD Dreams of a World. Her latest CD, recorded with the New York Philharmonic, received a 2005 Latin Grammy nomination.

In addition to playing between 60 and 100 concerts annually worldwide, Isbin is an active teacher tutoring graduate students at Juilliard since 1989 and spending a month each summer in Colorado teaching at the Aspen Music Festival. At the time of this interview, Isbin had just completed a rigorous tour of 18 concerts in 21 days with the Zurich Chamber Orchestra.

With such a busy touring schedule, what has motivated you to continue teaching as much as you do?

I love being able to help young people and guide them on a path that will allow them to bring out the best in their talents and fulfill themselves. Certainly the mentors I had growing up made all the difference in my life. I want to repay the generosity from people who guided me and make a difference in the future of the guitar.

How do you arrange your schedule at Juilliard to work around the tours?

When I’m in town, I go once a week for two hours to give a master class and coach chamber music. I teach the private lessons at my home. I have kept the program very small. I usually have between five and eight students at a time.

Can you speak about the month you spend each summer at the Aspen Music Festival?

I have been the head of the guitar department there for 12 years in a row. It’s a fabulous opportunity to reach out to students of a variety of levels from all over the world. Some are as young as 15 others may be 30. I take up to 12 students and teach in a master class format so that everyone gets to hear the lessons of their colleagues. So instead of a one-hour lesson each week, they get 10 times that amount of instruction. They also get to play chamber music and give performances. This is the largest music festival in North America for the students. They can also go hear a symphony, a solo recital, an opera, or a premiere of a new piece of music. Some of the greatest musicians of our time come to play and give master classes.

When you first meet with a new student, do you assess what they need to learn or do you work on the areas they say need help?

It is a two-way street. I will hear things right away that tell me what they need to work on. As the lessons evolve, I will learn more about what they want to absorb. I’ll make suggestions about music they should work on, but I never force them to work on something they don’t want to play. It will always be music that they feel inspired by and I believe in. It has to be a dialectic where there is good communication. That allows for the best progress.

Do you feel that you learn something from teaching?

Yes, because it’s important for me to be able to explain the “why” not only the “what.” That challenges me to understand exactly what a student’s problem is and how to fix it. I love that because that’s one of the things I’m good at it.

What are your strengths as a teacher?

When students come to me, I want to help them become the best players they can be. So I give them what I feel will benefit them most. We work on gaining technical assurance, memory confidence, a solid sense of rhythm, legato playing, and lyricism. I also help them understand articulation and structure in the music and how to apply tone color in a piece. It’s great to see someone flourish and blossom. When a student starts playing really beautifully and I get goose bumps, I feel that the effort has paid off.

Sharon’s thoughts on reducing tension while performing It’s not a given that every great performer will be a great teacher. Isbin is well equipped to teach. She benefited from lessons with Oscar Gighlia, Julian Bream, Andres Segovia, Alirio Diaz, and others, and further honed her technique using a mirror and a tape recorder. She has published many of her thoughts on technique in The Classical Guitar Answer Book.

With her students, Isbin stresses the importance of being as relaxed as possible while playing. Proper sitting position and hand position are keys to minimizing tension. “You must feel relaxed from your toes to the top of your head,” she says. “Tension in the legs, feet, back, and shoulders will always translate into the hands.”

Isbin helps her students find the position of their arms and hands that will work best for them. “I have them observe the natural fall of their right hand when they raise the arm,” she says. “For the left hand, it’s important to let gravity work with you. Instead of allowing your elbow to stick out, let it fall naturally with gravity and find a graceful position that permits you to play on the fingertips with the fingers well rounded and the knuckles perpendicular to the strings in the higher positions. A gentle curve of the wrist allows the best flow of energy.”

There are a variety of approaches to right-hand technique in classical guitar playing, and the advanced students Isbin teaches generally have already established a pattern. “I make sure that the position of the hand is natural and that no energy is being expended forcing it to go somewhere it shouldn’t go, producing tension. The bottom line for everyone is minimal hand motion and maximum relaxation to produce the best possible results.”