Eric Henderson, Guitar

There are only a handful of artists who possess an intangible quality that allows them to reach past the boundaries of the musical style to touch our inner soul. Eric Henderson has been touching souls for many years with his unique ability to communicate with his guitar. It was clear that Eric had a calling when he first picked up the instrument at an early age. Since his mother — a classically-trained pianist — first let Eric use her guitar when he was 6 years old, playing the guitar has been Henderson’s passion. He was soon ready for his own, which he mastered so well that at 13, Eric was invited to Spain to become one of only three people to study privately with the master guitarist Andres Segovia.

Henderson spent the next four years in Spain learning the intricacies of the classical guitar, while playing as much as 12 hours a day. In addition to Segovia, Henderson has studied guitar withChristopher Parkening, Angel Romero, Ernesto Bitetti,Emilio Pujol and Antonia Morales. He has studied Baroque interpretation with Ton Koopman and Henk Dekker, and theory and composition with Aureo Herrero. While in Spain he also had the honor of studying with the composer Federico Moreno Torroba, perfecting the interpretation of Torroba’s Sonatina in A. Having logged nine European and eight U.S. tours over a period of ten years, Eric came back to California to his hometown of Laguna Beach where he began advancing his guitar technique, composing his own songs and teaching to his many students.

Over the last 20 years, Henderson has performed 17 tours across Europe and the United States. A writer and composer, Henderson also finds time to take on promising students. His composition Faceswas featured in the movie Surfers and he is currently working on a soundtrack project for Sony. Henderson has completed seven albums, including Castillian Nights, Faces, Cathedral Heights, All My Soul, Encore,Guitarra, and Flamenco Surf, featuring a variety of classical styles as well as his own unique contemporary compositions. Eric’s unusual influences, which include Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck, and Larry Carlton, thrown into a mix with Bach and other classical composers, are given a further twist when combined with his love for flamenco guitar. The creative musical ideas that flow from Henderson are a combination of European-based tradition and Southern California ease. The result is music that is thoroughly enjoyable.

Website: http://www.erichenderson.org/