Philip Rosheger was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in 1950 and began his first musical studies on the piano at the age of nine. In 1962 he took up the guitar and within six years was studying with the legendary Andrés Segovia.
From 1966 to 1974, Mr. Rosheger lived in Spain where he attended master classes with Segovia and Jose Tomas in Santiago de Compostela every summer with full scholarships from the Spanish government. Philip also studied the guitar and music privately with Jose Tomas at the conservatory in Alicante, Spain. He also took private lessons for four years with another Segovia protégé, Jose Luis Rodrigo, in Madrid. In 1969 and 1970 he participated as a performer in the master classes with Venezuelan virtuoso, Alirio Diaz, in Alessandria, Italy, winning scholarships on both occasions from the Italian government.
In 1972, Philip won First Prize in the International Guitar Competition held at the end of the course in Santiago de Compostelabecoming the first American to earn this distinctionthe decision, reached by a distinguished six-member jury, including composer Federico Mompou, was unanimous.
Mr. Rosheger has toured throughout Spain, Canada, and the United States. He has performed in such notable halls as Herbst Theater in San Francisco, where he played with the San Francisco Chamber Soloists, and Carnegie Recital Hall, where he made his New York debut in 1975 and received high acclamation from audience and critics alike.
He was a faculty member at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music from 1975 to 1978 and at Sonoma State University from 1979 to 1989, and has given master classes at universities and guitar societies across the United States.
He was asked to give a special concert of Manuel Ponces music for guitar for the 1986 Andrés Segovia Commemorative at Bovard Auditorium on the University of Southern California campus in Los Angeles.
From the inception of his guitar playing, Mr. Rosheger has been active as a composer and in 1987 began performing his original compositions in public. Since 1990, this activity has increased substantially, resulting in the addition of a considerable volume of works to the guitar repertoire.
