About

 ROBERT SECRIST,  award-winning classical guitar virtuoso and internationally acclaimed recording artist, has impressed audiences and critics alike with his captivating lyric and dynamic musicianship since he made his New York debut at Carnegie Recital Hall at the age of 21. New York Times journalist, Raymond Ericson, has hailed Secrist as a performer with, “a natural grace that never loses sight of a rhythmic base … extraordinarily poetic.”   
 Guitar & Lute Magazine reports, “The United States presents a world-class guitarist and major interpreter. Secrist is Bream’s peer.”  His teachers have included celebrated Italian guitarist, Oscar Ghiglia, world renowned Russian violinist, Leonid Bolotine, and the legendary Spanish master, Andres Segovia.   
 Secrist graduated from the Mannes School of Music with the “best performance award,” the only guitarist in the school’s history to receive this honor. His artistry earned him an appointment to the faculty immediately upon graduation. Holding the further distinction of being the first North American to win the IV International “Alirio Diaz” Competition in Caracas, Venezuela, Secrist received high personal praise from the esteemed composer/guitarist Laurindo Almeida. His recording credits include two albums for the Musical Heritage Society label garnering praises from Stereo Review --- “Secrist seems to make the music come more alive with effective phrasing, dynamics, technical wizardry and panache.”
 Under his own recording label, founded in 2017, BE NICE OR LEAVE RECORDS, Secrist is building a unique library of projects which include the titans of the classical guitar repertoire, yet go above and beyond the realm of traditional literature to include one-of-a-kind arrangements of 20th and 21st century music of diverse genres and geographies.   
 Currently, Secrist has a spotify fan base with listeners in more than 60 diverse countries around the world including the UK, Japan, India, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Germany, United States to name just a few.
 Secrist's all-Bach album entitled, “BACH TO THE COUNTRY” features two transcribed Lute Suites; Prelude, Fugue & Allegro; plus one of the most demanding masterworks in the classical guitar literature --- the incomparable Chaconne from Violin Partita (BWV1004).    
 “SONGS WITHOUT WORDS (Part 1) features one of a kind gems of Secrist's signature arrangements from the great American Song Book, beloved jazz standards and contemporary songs. The album is dedicated to the astonishing biodiversity and beauty of our natural world; to the vibrating throng of rhythm and sounds expressed by all creatures great and small.   
 “ROBERT SECRIST PLAYS CONTEMPORARY SPANISH & LATIN AMERICAN GUITAR MUSIC” is one of the very first state-of-the-art digital recordings from the early 1980's which has now been re-released under the BE NICE OR LEAVE RECORD label. With the perspective of four decades since it's original release, many seasoned guitarists and musicians have called Secrist's interpretation as a definitive performance.
 Currently, Secrist is working on an album entitled, “FROM HERE TO ANTIQUITY” featuring  classical guitar works spanning 500 years of music. Concurrently, Secrist continues with the “SONGS WITHOUT WORDS” project Part 2 dedicated to Sir David Attenborough.