Dale Kavanagh – Classical Guitarist
Between 1986 and 1988, Dale Kavanagh was a top prize winner at several major international competitions, including Spain’s Segovia Competition, Italy’s Gargnano Competition, Switzerland’s Neuchâtel Competition, as well as First Prize and Special Prize at Finland’s Scandinavian International Guitar Competition.
She studied at Acadia University, Dalhousie University, the University of Toronto, and the Banff Centre in Canada. She later completed her graduate studies with the Solisten Diplom at the Musik Akademie der Stadt Basel in Switzerland, where she studied with Oscar Ghiglia.
Performing
Dale Kavanagh performs internationally as a soloist and as a concerto soloist with orchestra. She is also a member of the Amadeus Guitar Duo together with German guitarist Thomas Kirchhoff.
She has given more than 1,000 recitals in over 40 countries and is a regular performer and teacher at music festivals throughout Europe, North and South America, and Asia.
As a guest soloist with orchestra, she has performed with ensembles including the Prague Chamber Orchestra, Gewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig, Württemberg Chamber Orchestra, the Philharmonic Orchestras of Ankara, Izmir and Antalya, the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, and the Thüringen Philharmonie Gotha.
Teaching
Dale Kavanagh is Professor of Guitar at the Hochschule für Musik Detmold in Germany. From 2003 to 2010, she held the position of Musician in Residence at Acadia University.
Recording
Since 1999, Dale Kavanagh was an exclusive artist with Hänssler Classic, recording a total of 17 CDs. She is currently an artist with Naxos, with further recordings in progress.
Her recordings have received outstanding reviews in international publications such as Acoustic Guitar, Classical Guitar Magazine, Fono-Forum, Hi-Fi Vision, Gendai Guitar, Gitarre & Laute, Les Cahiers de la Guitare, Musikblatt, Staccato, Soundboard Magazine, and Gitar och Luta.
Composing
Dale Kavanagh is also actively engaged as a composer. Her recent works include compositions written for the Marlow International Guitar Youth Competition and for artists such as Aniello Desiderio, Costas Cotsiolis, Giampaolo Bandini, Emma Rush, ChromaDuo, and Irina Kulikova.
Link: https://kavanagh.de
She retired from her professorship at the Hochschule für Musik Detmold around 2020 and remains active internationally as a performer and composer; she has been a Naxos recording artist since 2004.
