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The Oregon Guitar Quartet
Exciting Portland based quartet featuring David Franzen, Peter Zisa, John Mery,
and Ian Luxtan
Saturday, June 6th, 2009
The Oregon Guitar Quartet Biography
David Franzen
David Franzen was born in Corvallis, Oregon and began his study of the classical
guitar at age ten. At sixteen, he studied with James Kline and later studied with Ian Mitchell and Scott Kreitzer at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. Mr. Franzen was
awarded a scholarship to the North Carolina school of the Arts where he studied with Aaron Shearer. Mr. Franzen was the first classical guitarist to win the NCSA Concerto Competition. He
remained at NCSA on full scholarship and received his Masters Degree in Music. After an extensive European tour, Mr. Franzen returned to NCSA and collaborated with Aaron Shearer on his
new teaching tape series, Learning the Classical Guitar. Mr. Franzen plays all the pieces and passages on these recordings sold through Mel Bay Publishing.
In 1992, Mr. Franzen won
the Northwest Guitar Festival Competition, held in Idaho. Mr. Franzen currently resides in Oregon where he performs regularly and teaches privately. He has been on faculty at Oregon State
University, Pacific University, and Marylhurst University. Currently, he is on faculty at the Portland Conservatory of Music and Portland State University where he has been the festival
competition director for two years, and teaches private and ensemble lessons.
Ian Luxton
Ian Luxton is currently a classical guitar student at Portland State University. In
2004, he won first place in the OMEA Statewide Solo and Ensemble competition in the classical guitar division. He is thrilled to be playing with the Oregon Guitar Quartet.
John Mery
John Mery was born in Santiago, Chile, grew up in the US and has lived and studied music in Europe. John began playing the guitar at an early age and, like most guitar players, was
originally interested in rock and other popular styles. He discovered the classical guitar after his family moved to Spain when he was eleven; it greatly inspired him. Upon
returning to the U.S. he dedicated himself to the study of classical guitar; he became completely absorbed in pushing the boundaries of music. His skills earned him a scholarship to the
guitar program at the University of Arizona where he went on to receive a master’s degree in guitar performance. John has performed in master classes for such distinguished guitarists as
David Russell, Abel Carlevaro, Oscar Ghilia and Christopher Parkening.
John has performed as a soloist and in ensembles across the U.S., in Europe, and in South America. He
moved to Portland, OR in 1999, where he became head of the music program at PCC. Since then, he has become a regular member of the Northwest music scene as he continues to perform in a wide
variety of genres and styles. John's other passions include gourmet cooking and traveling (he speaks four languages fluently). He also shares his time and talent with his wife and two
children.
Peter Zisa
Peter Zisa began his classical training under Guy Horn. He has performed at master classes conducted by Andres Segovia, Oscar Ghilglia, Jose Tomas and
David Leisner. Peter received a Master of Music degree in performance, from California State University of Fullerton, where his greatest artistic influence came from guitarist, David Grim. In
1979, he was awarded first place in the annual Solo Classical Guitar Competition sponsored by the American String Teacher's Association. Peter was also a semi finalist in the Young Concert
Artist Competition in 1983. In addition to his performances at universities, colleges and churches in this country and abroad, Mr. Zisa has appeared on radio and television. He currently
lives in Portland, Oregon and is presently on staff at Cascade College, Portland Community College, Marylhurst University, and Mount Hood Community College.
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