About

Musique Royale is thrilled to announce award-winning guitarist Adam Cicchillitti will be performing his concert prorgram ‘Contrasts’, a journey through diverse and contrasting musical landscapes, blending original arrangements, timeless guitar masterpieces, and innovative 21st-century compositions.

With a focus on original arrangements and contemporary repertoire, Contrasts reflects the deeply personal curatorial vision of Adam Cicchillitti—bridging centuries of music from multiple continents through the lens of the modern guitar. From evocative, folk-inspired textures to introspective modern works, each piece contributes to a narrative of reinvention, resilience, and artistic discovery. At its heart, the program is a celebration of the guitar’s evolving identity: expressive, virtuosic, and endlessly adaptable.

Join us Saturday Septemeber 19th at 7pm in historic St. Barnabas Anglican Church in Blue Rocks, NS to enjoy this splendid concert.

About the Artist

Montreal-born guitarist Adam Cicchillitti has received widespread critical acclaim in recent years. The renowned American magazine Classical Guitar described him as a “virtuoso at the height of his game,” while CBC Music praised him as an “ardent ambassador of classical guitar.” Since 2019, Adam has commissioned over 20 new works and recorded six albums with the Analekta, Atma Classique, and Leaf Music labels. His album Focus, dedicated to new Canadian music for two guitars, won Classical Recording of the Year at the East Coast Music Awards in 2021, while Impressions intimes was nominated in the same category in 2022. In February 2025, he released an album of six new commissions for two guitars and strings, entitled Re/String, with a second album of original arrangements, entitled Lyrique, slated for release later in the year.

Adam earned second place in 2023 and third place in 2021 at the Guitar Foundation of America International Ensemble Competition, widely regarded as the most prestigious guitar ensemble competition in the world. He is also the second guitarist to win the grand prize at the Canimex Concerto Competition in Sherbrooke and has been a finalist and prizewinner in more than a dozen national and international competitions.

He has toured extensively across Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States, represented by prestigious agencies such as Prairie Debut, Debut Atlantic, and Jeunesses Musicales. Adam is the guitar professor at Mount Allison University, holds a Doctorate in Music Performance from McGill University, and is the founder of the Ottawa Suzuki Strings guitar program.

Program Details

• Prelude in C Minor (Mazurka Appassionata) Agustín Barrios Mangoré (1885–1944)

• Three Sonatas (arr. Adam Cicchillitti) Domenico Scarlatti (1685–1757)

• Tremolo Sentito by Canadian composer Suzie Auclair (b. 1969)

• Arabesque No. 1 (arr. Adam Cicchillitti) Claude Debussy (1862–1918)

• Partita in D Minor (arr. Adam Cicchillitti)J.S. Bach (1685–1750)

• Sonata, Op. 61 Joaquín Turina (1882–1949)

• Étude No. 1 Benjamin Dwyer (b. 1965)

• Two Songs from Newfoundland River Driver & Shabby Genteel Traditional (arr. Jason Noble)