Guitar Lessons in Hickory, NC - Youth Through Adults

                                                                                 

Concert classical and Fingerstyle guitarist, Fred R. McKinney, brings his passion for folk, jazz and traditional Celtic music into his vibrant and sensitive performances. His repertoire includes his compositions in DADGAD tuning with tonal combinations that highlight the Celtic influences, and classical guitar repertoire by other composers ranging from renaissance to contemporary. He has performed in several large venues in North Carolina including the Stephens Center, the High Point Theatre, Greensboro’s Music in the Park, the Fiddle and Bow Traditional Music series, the Pine Cone series in Raleigh and numerous folk and Celtic festivals. He was a founding member of the Celtic band Gaelwynd with singer Rhiannon Giddens. Gaelwynd released two CDs: “Out on the Ocean” and “Northern Lights”. He also recorded with hammered dulcimer player Susan Vincent Sherlock and performed with The Bruce Long Jazz Orchestra and the contra-dance band Reel Shady.

Fred McKinney holds a BM from the University of North Carolina in Greensboro where he studied with Michael Craddock and Mark Mazzatenta. He is currently completing a Master’s degree in guitar performance at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem, NC where he studies with Joe Pecoraro. In addition to performing, he is passionate about providing quality guitar instruction to children through adults. He is a registered Suzuki guitar teacher and in addition to his private teaching, he has taught at the Greensboro Day School in Greensboro, NC and the Suzuki School of the Arts in Hickory, NC. He has also taught regional Suzuki guitar workshops in Greensboro, NC and the Virginia Suzuki Institute in Emory, VA.