Formed in 2009, GRAMMY™-nominated Texas Guitar Quartet has been hailed as “Impeccable in every respect” by Classical Guitar Magazine. Throughout the United States, Central America, Spain, and China, audiences have embraced the quartet for their daring programs, dazzling virtuosity and joyful music making. Recent highlights include performances for the Encuentro Internacional de Guitarra 2016 (Nicaragua), Victoria Bach Festival, Guitar Foundation of America Convention, Festival Internacional del Noreste (Mexico), and Texas Music Festival. During the summer of 2015, the quartet presented a series of concerts in historic cathedrals along the Camino de Santiago, Spain.
The TxGQ premiered a landmark new work by lauded American composer Nico Muhly in collaboration with Grammy-winning chamber choir Conspirare, Grammy-winning Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, and the Dublin Guitar Quartet. The group continues to push the boundaries of the guitar quartet medium by premiering exciting new works by Joseph Williams II, Peter Lieuwen, Aureo Puerta Carreño, Benoit Albert, and John Truitt and creating daring arrangements of orchestral works by Mozart, Beethoven and Ravel.
Red, the quartet's first album, was released to critical acclaim and was praised by Guitar International as a “tremendous accomplishment for the classical guitar...the TxGQ perform with virtuosity, clarity, balance, and a refined character which will no doubt help to establish them as one of today’s leading guitar quartets.” Their follow-up album, ICON, features the complete 40th Symphony by Mozart and was released in 2017.
The TxGQ has been featured in concertos with the Brazos Valley Symphony Orchestra (Maestro Marcelo Bussiki), Camerata Bach and Nicaraguan Youth Symphony (Maestro César Bermúdez Rodriguez), Sam Houston State University Symphony Orchestra (Maestro Zachary Carretin), Abilene Philharmonic (Maestro David Itkin), and the Columbus Symphony Orchestra (Columbus, GA). Their commitment to performing outreach concerts led them to be part of the Texas Commission on the Arts Texas Touring Artist Roster from 2010 to 2018. The TxGQ is Isaac Bustos, Joseph Palmer, Jay Kacherski, and Alejandro Montiel.
Isaac Bustos
A top prize-winner in thirteen international guitar competitions, Isaac enjoys an extensive performing career that has taken him all over the world.
Isaac holds a Bachelor of Music degree in guitar performance from the University of New Hampshire, where he was the only guitarist to ever hold a full scholarship, a Master of Music degree from the University of Texas at Austin where he also completed a Doctor of Musical Arts degree under the tutelage of world-renowned American guitarist Adam Holzman.
Dr. Bustos is on faculty at University of Texas - San Antonio where he is Director of Guitar Studies. Additionaly, Isaac directs the UTSA International Guitar Symposium & Competition.
Joseph Palmer
Award-winning guitarist, Joseph Palmer, has earned a reputation as one of the most highly engaging and dynamic performers on the American guitar scene. His performances have captivated audiences in cities throughout the U.S and abroad.
He has won seventeen top prizes in international guitar competitions including the World Guitar Competition and Guitare Montreal. Joseph holds degrees in Music Performance from Columbus State University and the University of Texas at Austin.
In recent years, Dr. Palmer has passionately devoted himself to sharing classical music with diverse populations. As the “Performance Engagement Artist” for Austin Classical Guitar, he gives over 50 interactive concerts each year throughout the public schools and under-served communities.
Alejandro Montiel
Described by Soundboard Magazine as a "flawless musician, filled to the brim with polished technique," guitarist Alejandro Montiel enjoys a performing career that has taken him throughout the United States, China, Mexico, Central & South America, and Europe. He holds graduate degrees from the Peabody Conservatory and the University of Texas at Austin.
In addition to performing, arranging and recording, Dr. Montiel is on faculty at University of Texas San Antonio and Lone Star College Montgomery. Additionally, he is a highly sought after chamber musician in Texas.
Jay Kacherski
"Virtuosismo" and "technical dominance" are the words used by the press to describe American guitarist and Fulbright Scholar Dr. Jay Kacherski. A native of New York, Kacherski has performed around the world as a soloist, member of the Texas Guitar Quartet and other chamber ensembles. He is currently on the guitar faculty at Loyola University of New Orleans, the University of New Orleans, and McNeese State University, as well as NOCCA, the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts. He is also the Artistic Director of the Houston Classical Guitar Festival and Competition and the Loyola Guitar Festival. Jay holds degrees from the Eastman School of Music, Florida Southern College, and the University of Texas at Austin.
