Guitar Program

Mission Statement
Our goal is to graduate guitarists with three characteristics common to all successful professional musicians

a high musical, academic and intellectual integrity
not merely exceptional guitarists but exceptional musicians
guitarists who – in spite of the tremendous competition in the field – will have the tools to succeed and make a living in the music business following graduation.

To that end we will offer our students the widest range of studies at a level competitive with any other guitar program in existence. We will target those studies to one single goal:

That the student will graduate from Missouri Western and be able to succeed in the music business at a professional, artistic, intellectual and financial level while maintaining a balances lifestyle both in and out of the business.

Those of us who teach in the program at Missouri Western have worked at a professional, international level for many years, in virtually every aspect of the music business, including performing, recording, studio work, publishing, composition and media. We sincerely want our students to take advantage of our experience because if they succeed, we have succeeded.

Instructors' Biographies

Anthony Glise
Classical Guitar Studies
http://www.AnthonyGlise.com

The only American-born guitarist to win First Prize at the International Toscanini Competition (Italy), Anthony Glise is a product of the Konservatorium der Stadt (Vienna) and the New England Conservatory (Boston) with additional study at Harvard, UniversitŽ Catholique de Lille (France) and the Accademia di Studi Superiori "L'Ottocento" (Italy). A Pulitzer Prize Nominee for composition, Anthony has performed and has been awarded diplomas at such festivals as Festival des Artes (Hautecombe, France), Festival Ville Sable (France), ARCUM (Rome) and the Nemzetkšzi Git‡rfesztiv‡l (Hungary).

In addition to traditional classical repertoire, concerts often include 19th-Century works performed on a priceless 1828 Johann Georg Staufer Viennese guitar. Anthony's commitment to the art has led to many diversified activities. His writings have been published extensively in The Soundboard (US), Guitar International (England), Gitarre und Laute (Germany), etc.

He has acted as an Artist-in-Residence and Touring Artist for a number of US state arts councils and similar European programs. He is also the editor of the internationally-acclaimed series of guitar music and books, "The Anthony Glise Editions," published by Willis Music Company and "The Anthony Glise Urtext Editions" by Mel Bay Publications.

An active composer, Anthony's original compositions have been premiered in such cities as New York, Chicago, Rome, Vienna, Lille (France) and Esztergom (Hungary). His recordings include traditional works (solo, chamber, orchestral and ballet) as well as original compositions for such labels as ƒclipse (France), Young Recording Artists (USA) and Dorian Recordings (US). His first album, Overview, was chosen as one of the year's "Top-5 Classical Releases" by Vienna Life Magazine.

Anthony lectures at the Academy for the Study of 19th-Century Music (Italy), and when not on tour, he lives and teaches part-time in the Flanders region of Northern France and part-time in the Black Forest region of Germany.

Jason Riley
Commercial Music
Guitar Studies

As a versatile guitarist, Jason Riley’s professional experience includes recording, composing, teaching and performing in multiple styles. His formal degree in classical guitar and commercial music included extended study in American styles, especially the Jazz idiom and improvisation.

As a recording artist, Jason has produced and released three solo CDs, Notes to Self (a compilation of original compositions), Outtakes (original arrangements of traditional works) and Spirit of Things (traditional American spirituals). An equally successful and dedicated sideman, his playing has been featured extensively on many albums by other artists.

Riley’s uniquely personal playing style, an improvisation-based approach utilizing “live” looping and tongue-in-cheek technical and technological effects, is demonstrated through his humble stage presence, acclaimed work with acoustic and electric instruments and heart-felt tributes to his many musical influences. His versatility of style, mood and character is seemingly unlimited: he can play soft and subtle, frantic and aggressive, he can swing, he can rock, he can play unaccompanied, with other guitarists or with symphony orchestra. His work on stage not only reflects his understanding of classical form and balance, but shows a highly original combination of this classical/rock/jazz background that very few guitarists can successfully execute in live performance.

Jason has won competitions and reader’s polls in both the rock and country genres and has opened for and performed with national and international artists. He has also made numerous radio and television appearances. When not on tour, Jason serves as adjunct professor of guitar at Benedictine College in Atchison, KS and Missouri Western State College in St. Joseph, MO. He has also served as co-director at the Festival Chartres - an international guitar festival in Chartres, France.

Jason lives with his wife, Jolie, daughter, Georgia and son, Benjamin in St. Joseph, Missouri.