Jose Lezcano

Private lessons with Jose are available for a limited number of private lessons depending on his performance schedule. 

At Keene State College, Dr. Lezcano’s guitar students have been frequent winners of the Department’s and College’s highest awards and scholarships, including Jesse Davis, Distinguished Alumni, Instrumentalist of the Year, and Four-Year Talent Scholarships. His pedagogy draws from two great influences:

(a) Aaron Shearer’s method which emphasizes minimizing muscular tension through ergonomic seating, positioning, and movement; the cultivation of effective practice habits for technical security; and musical performance as the goal of all study;

(b) Jose’s studies with Cuban Maestros Jose Costa, Juan Mercadal, and Leo Brouwer, and the Cuban school’s emphasis on clarity, projection, and beauty of tone and phrasing.

Jose believes that each student is an individual and he tailors instruction to the students’ capabilities and musical tastes, drawing on a deep knowledge of literature and etudes acquired during 35 years of playing and teaching. While he does believe in a core or “standard repertoire” that students should know and play, he respects individual students’ repertoire preferences as they advance in the program. He believes that all musical material, from beginner etudes to virtuoso pieces, should be of the highest musical quality. Works by Carcassi, Sor, Brouwer, Villa-Lobos, Tarrega, Lauro, Bach, etc. are among the pieces frequently assigned for student advancement.

For both the avocational student, and the serious student contemplating a musical career, Jose will help you meet your goals given your practice schedule and personal ambitions. Jose has great experience teaching a wide range of ages, from 9 to 80. You, or your son or daughter, will receive excellent, careful, supportive, and humane instruction in guitar-playing and musical study. Jose also teaches private lessons in composition and musical theory and is a highly-regarded composer with works recorded by leading musicians, nationally and internationally. He is a twice Grammy-nominated composer and performer, and has been described as an “excellent guitarist and imaginative composer” by Fanfare magazine (2012). His work has been performed and/or recorded by leading musicians including William Bennett, William Feasley, Stephen Aron, Antigoni Goni and Laura Gilbert,

My teaching style is supportive and structured, and informed by a lifetime of experience with both avocational students and students aspiring to a professional degree and success as a live performer and teacher.