Daniel Bolshoy: “I am deeply honoured to have been the recipient of a beautiful, evocative and deeply satisfying new work (Next Year) by the wonderful composer Michael Karmon. I have had the pleasure of performing this piece in many concerts, and the music always draws a great reaction from the audience. The music is fresh, but immediately appealing, it is very evocative, five brief movements that make a wonderful suite. There is ample opportunity for expression and the music invites the performer to play it differently each time. I love this piece and am happy to play it whenever I have the opportunity! I hope many more guitarists pick it up, and expose this wonderful music to as wide an audience as possible, this is music worth getting excited about!”

Nemanja Ostojic: “Speed was inspired by my passion for cycling, and I am very impressed by how Michael was able to translate the kinetic energy and momentum of cycling into the music. I am very much pleased to be the sole performer of this wonderful work, and I am beyond happy that I identify with it so well, and that I am finding meaning in each note.”

Amanda David: “Lotta’s Story is absolutely beautiful. Thank you so much for putting so much thought, emotion and skill into this.”

Mark Clifton-Gaultier: “For me, one of the great highlights of 2011 was receiving a wonderful and evocative new work (Songbook) from Michael Karmon. An ocean between us, we had initially “met” a year or so earlier, engaging in an online discussion of printed fingerings in guitar music and its possible impact on sight-reading.

Realizing that we shared some common ground I investigated four or five of his works and soon discovered an affinity with this beautiful, lyrical music. Michael generously gave up his time to discuss some questions I had regarding one or two passages, offering both his own observations and at the same time expressing the same equitable spirit in embracing my own ideas as a performer. A couple of exchanges later and the suggestion of a piece written specifically for me arose.

As simply as that, the seed was sown; there followed a brief exchange of suggestions regarding both of our aspirations for the work, its possible inspiration, its stylistic nature – Michael gently leading the way, always open, creative and engaging. Then, “silence, artist at work” as the signs say …

… now and then an update would appear, unsolicited, arriving quietly without any fuss. Simple statements like “I’ve started” and, observationally, “it looks like a suite” until, just six months later on an otherwise perfectly ordinary day, “Here it is!“.

The five movements of “Songbook“, by turns passionate, playful, tender and powerful – occasionally simply joyful, display Michael Karmon’s unmistakeable voice in characteristically lyrical manner. It is an enormous privilege to be able to say that, in a very small way, I was party to their creation.”

James Day: “Rain is a tremendously rewarding piece to study and perform.  Mr. Karmon fits this music beautifully to the guitar, making clever use of open strings within textures, employing rich melodic lines, full-voiced chords, and diverse timbres. The melodicism of this piece is very appealing to audiences and allows for a certain directness and simplicity that many listeners love.  It is programmatically versatile and can be played in various combinations of 1-4 movements.  It also allows for spontaneity: is the season in full swing or has it recently rained?  Add a surprise movement of Rain to your program that evening. I am grateful that Mike has contributed this wonderful piece to our repertoire.  Rain deserves the attention of professional guitarists everywhere—your audiences will love it.”

Pablo Rodriguez: “Ocean Nocturne is simply genius… so beautiful, so powerful… and me, well I’m simply fascinated with it… very anxious for working up!!! Thanks so much for such a great music dear Mike!!! Big hug!!!”

Michael Gilsinan: “Commissioning music (All in a Day’s Work) from Michael Karmon was a remarkable endeavor. His music was smart, expressive and a whole lot of fun to play.  Michael really captured the spirit of the type of piece we were looking for and ran with the idea further than I could have imagined.  Professionally speaking Michael was easy to work with, he was very responsive when I had questions about the music and made the entire commissioning venture a wonderful experience.”

Alan Rinehart: “In Dreams Laid Down Michael Karmon has created a wonderful suite of pieces based on Janice Notland’s poetry that are extremely well crafted, appealing and, most important, reflect the chosen poems beautifully.”

Randall Wright: “When I first posted on the Classical Guitar Forum about commissioning contemporary composers, I wanted to make the point that it did not need to be a daunting experience. Your involvement in our group project (Backpack Pieces) not only proved that, but resulted in a wonderful and diverse set of pieces that are a joy to play. Thank you for rising to the challenge in such an open and accessible way.”