Adam Cicchillitti & Steve Cowan
Biography Adam Cicchillitti & Steve Cowan
Adam Cicchillitti
There were several media accolades over the past years for Montreal-born guitarist Adam Cicchillitti. The renowned American magazine Classical Guitar called him “a virtuoso at the top of his game” and CBC Music described him as an “ardent ambassador for classical guitar,” including him on their list of the top 30 musicians in Canada under 30 years old. Adam has commissioned over two dozen new works since 2019 and recorded five albums with the Analekta, Atma, and Leaf Music record labels. His album Focus, dedicated to new Canadian music for two guitars, was awarded “Classical Recording of the Year” at the East Coast Music Awards in 2021. The follow-up album Intimate Impressions was nominated in the same category in 2022.
Adam and his duo partner Steve Cowan have won the second and third prizes at the Guitar Foundation of America International Ensemble Competition in 2023 and 2021 respectively, without a doubt the world’s most prestigious guitar ensemble competition. Moreover, he is only the second guitarist to win the grand prize of the multi-instrument Canimex concerto competition in Canada and has been a finalist and multiple prize-winner in over a dozen national and international competitions.
Adam has set a benchmark in classical guitar with his award-winning recordings, competition performances, arrangements, and teaching. He regularly collaborates with many of Canada's most esteemed soloists and orchestras, including guitarist Steve Cowan, flutist Lara Deutsch, baritone Philippe Sly, bandoneonist Denis Plante, the Orchestre classique de Montréal and Forestare. He has toured Canada and the United States several times and has been represented by prestigious touring agencies such as Prairie Debut, Debut Atlantic, and Jeunesses Musicales. In 2022, he commissioned six new guitar concertos with the Thirteen Strings orchestra of Ottawa, again with Cowan. The works will be recorded as world premieres in 2024.
Adam is lecturer of guitar at Mount Allison University in New Brunswick, Canada. He holds a doctorate in guitar performance from McGill University and is the founder of the guitar school at Ottawa Suzuki Strings. Adam is sponsored by Augustine Strings and plays a guitar by the Canadian/Dutch luthier Sergei de Jonge.
Steve Cowan
Described as “an elegant musician whose strong, crisp sense of rhythm under-pins his colourful interpretations” (American Record Guide), the Canadian guitarist Steve Cowan has performed throughout Canada, the United States, Europe, and New Zealand. International highlights from recent seasons include concerto performances with Ensemble Del Arte (Germany), the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra (New Zealand), and two solo albums with HR Recordings (Spain).
As a chamber musician, Steve performs regularly with Forestare, a Montréal-based string ensemble. His duo with guitarist Adam Cicchillitti has premièred 21 new works and released an album of Canadian music titled FOCUS (Analekta, 2019), which won Classical Recording of the Year at the 2021 East Coast Music Awards. Their next recording, Impressions intimes (Analekta, 2021), features original arrangements of Debussy, Ravel, Mompou and Tailleferre. As of 2022, Steve is also the newest member of the renowned Canadian Guitar Quartet.
Steve has won awards at ten national and international competitions, eight of which are first prizes. Most recently, he won First Prize at the Tallinn Guitar Competition in Estonia, making him a EuroStrings touring artist for the 2021 season. Also a distinguished teacher, Steve has given public masterclasses at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, the Royal Danish Academy of Music, the University of Victoria, the New Zealand School of Music, and more.
Originally from St. John’s, Newfoundland, Steve Cowan holds degrees from Memorial University, the Manhattan School of Music, and McGill University. His teachers include Sylvie Proulx, David Leisner and Jérôme Ducharme. Since 2019, he has been a guitar instructor at the Schulich School of Music of McGill University.
