tim sparks

Accomplishments & Awards
Partial Listing

 


2003


Recorded Masada Guitars with Bill Frisell and Marc Ribot for Tzadik Records. - Released January 21, 2003.

Concert tours of Japan, France, Belgium, Austria and Hungary.

At the Rebbe's Table named one of top CDs of 2002 by Acoustic Guitar Magazine.


2002


Concert tour of Japan with Isato Nakagawa and Sandor Szabo - March 2002

Recorded At the Rebbe's Table for Tzadik Records. - Released April 2002.


2001


Nominated for Best Folk Artist, 2001 Minnesota Music Awards


2000


Concert tours of Italy and Switzerland - December 2000

Recorded Tanz for Tzadik Records. - Released October 2000.

Featured in Fingerstyle Guitar Magazine, May/June 2000.


1999

Earned a McKnight Fellowship to notate and edit the arrangements on Neshamah for publication.

Recorded One String Leads to Another, a CD of original compositions for Acoustic Music Records - Released November 1999.

Recorded Neshamah, Songs from the Jewish Diaspora for Tzadik Records. - Released August 1999.

Published The Guitar of Tim Sparks, a folio of compositions from Guitar Bazaar for Mel Bay Publications.


1996

Published a folio of compositions including Balkan Dreams Suite for Mel Bay Publications.

Minnesota Music Award for Best World Folk Artist.

Concert tours of California, Germany and Italy, with festival appearances at the Chet Atkins festival, Winnipeg Folk Festival, Dresden Guitar Festival, Cultura de la Confine - Bologna, "Mamachitarra" Fest - Padova, among others.


1995

Recorded Guitar Bazaar, a CD of original compositions for Acoustic Music Records - Released October 1995

Published a folio of songs included on Guitar Bazaar CD, Acoustic Music Publishing - Osnabruck, Germany.

Recipient Jerome Foundation Travel and Study Grant

Tour of Israel with Crossing Borders, with whom I performed on Oud.


1994

Recipient Minnesota State Arts Board Fellowship.

Concert tour of Germany, including Edenkoben Festival, Jazz Guitar teaching residency in Lisbon.


1993

Recorded Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite, exerpts from Balkan Dreams Suite, arrangements of solo guitar adaptations of traditional folk dances for Germany's Acoustic Music Records.

National Fingerstyle Guitar Championship - awarded at national competition in Winfield, Kansas for performance of exerpts from my solo guitar arrangement of Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite.


1991

Commission to compose music for Tienanmen, a ballet depicting the student uprising in China, for Myron Johnson's Ballet of the Dolls.

Minnesota Jazz Society Award for Best Latin Jazz Guitarist.


1990

Commission to arrange Carla Bley's Jesus Maria for guitarist Leo Kottke.

Debuted Balkan Dreams Suite arrangements at Guthrie Theater.


1989

Minnesota Music Award for Best Jazz Guitarist.

Commission to arrange Russian Folk Music for Guthrie's Adaptation of Uncle Vanya.


1986

Published solo guitar adaptation of Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite - Solo Guitar Publications.


1985

Traveled in Europe for two month including extended visits to Hungary and Yugoslavia, where I first became interested in Balkan music.


1979

Minnesota Music Society Award for Best Acoustic Guitarist.



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