Photo by Patrice Lumumba Jones
Christopher Freitag is a classical guitarist from South Dakota who now lives in Chestnut Ridge, New York. He first picked up a guitar at age 12, teaching himself folk, rock, and bluegrass styles and performing in various bands and combos. He began his formal study of classical guitar at the age of 20 with Manuel Estevez Cano. He went on to receive a Bachelor of Music in Guitar Performance from the University of South Dakota where he studied with Christopher Johnson. He received a Master of Music degree from Temple University in Philadelphia where he studied with the late Peter Segal.
In 1981, Chris won state and regional competitions before advancing to the national finals of the Collegiate Artist Competition sponsored by MTNA. He has performed on master classes for Demetrio Ballesteros, Jeffrey Van, George Sakellariou, Oscar Ghiglia, Sharon Isbin, and Jason Vieaux. Recent recital appearances include the University of South Dakota, Grace Church in Ridgewood, NJ, and Lafayette College in Easton PA.