Van Stiefel
composer-guitarist Van Stiefel has collaborated with many leading guitarists including Sergio Sorrentino, Benjamin Verdery, Eliot Fisk, Daniel Lippel, Bryce Dessner, Steve Mackey, and the Minneapolis Guitar Quartet. “Beyond space and time, deceiving in its simplicity” (BigThink) his music for guitar has synthesized classical forms and techniques with electric guitar, digital, and interactive technologies. Noted performances include those by the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), PLOrk, Ron Gallo, the Nash Ensemble, Thamyris, Macon Symphony, Nurit Pacht, Amanda Miller, David Dorfman, and Orchestra Sinfonica Carlo Coccia. Featured performances at festivals and venues include: Festival de Musica Contemporanea de La Habana, Kimmel Center, Lagonegra International Guitar Festival, EMPAC Filament Festival, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Shanghai Conservatory of Music, New York Guitar Festival, Società del Quartteto di Vercelli, TEDx Phoenixville, and the Yale Guitar Extravaganza. Stiefel’s music has been supported by the Augustine Foundation, the Georgia Council for the Arts, Mid-Atlantic Arts Council, Met-Life Composer Connections, and the American Composers' Forum. Recordings available on Mode, Innova, and New Focus labels. He is a professor of music composition at the Wells School of Music of West Chester University of Pennsylvania.