Well, my story began in Conroe, TX. My family got to Dallas when I was about two, and I started playing guitar around the age of twelve. I saw this guy playing Metallica. He was my age. I thought, "If I learn to play guitar, I can be like that guy!" So I learned to play guitar.
The 'coolness' never happened, unfortunately.
I did indeed learn classical guitar by ear, starting first with Christmas carols as a present for friends and family one year. Shortly after that I learned Bach and Scarlatti pieces from Narcisso Yepes recordings by ear. Here are examples of the pieces, it wasn't so much hard as time consuming:
Bach's Prelude BWV 999
Scarlatti's Sonata K 11/L 352
Before you ask, yes, I'm currently working on recording both of these. The thought simply didn't occur to me before now.
In college (the first time ;) ) I had many South American, Asian, and Turkish friends that would introduce me to music from various parts of the world, most notably Antonio Carlos Jobim, Paco de Lucia, and Ketama. Taking into account that I grew up listening to America, Bread, and Jim Croce, these sounds all rang pure to me as the guitar was prominently, masterfully, and lovingly displayed. When you listen to my own work, you can hear something of a mesh of these various influences.
I've recently returned to school for a degree in Music Education at Texas Woman's University. I'm now focusing on classical voice. At one point I intended to go study with Adam Holzman, but that was not to be. I went to Brookhaven where Carlo Pezzimenti suggested I come to TWU. Initially I planned on studying guitar, but I was informed was I got to TWU that guitar was not the most practical instrument to concentrate on if you were pursuing music education. I decided after a heated debate with myself to pursue voice and choir. In addition, I'm also forcing myself to become a better pianist, and taking up the cello as well. I can't quite say when those sounds will make it into my original music at the moment - needless to say I have a lot of work to do.
In 2005 I finished my second full length album, "A Renaissance", with the help of some amazing people - John Landefeld, Roberta Masciarelli, Jim Herndon, and Dr. Wesley Burgess. Without them, the album would never have seen the light of day.
Now, in 2010, I'm working on several projects. One is original composition, another is arrangements of jazz standards, and another is classical repertoire for the guitar (and by "classical", I of course mean in the more general sense.) Check out the store if you're interested in my albums or my new recordings, or in simply lending a helping hand to a college student.
Thanks very much for taking a look at what I do.
-Michael Tillman