New Album – Guitar America 250

Click for Listening links, Liner Notes and Biographies

CDs available through Bandcamp

 

Recent Happenings – APAP, Kantorei, Piano Solo

Quick Update!

In December, I was awarded the Professional Development Grant from the professional music fraternity Foundation of Mu Phi Epsilon to attend and showcase at APAP NYC in January (Association of Performing Arts Professionals).

Taking place at the Hilton NYC Midtown, I performed two 25min showcases of two programs: 1) Solo Guitar – Revolutions in Music and 2) Azimuth Duo with cellist Stephen Marotto.

With over 3000 attendees in the music industry including Artists, Presenters, Management, and many more, it was a very intense time.

Showcasing is not a small or inexpensive endeavor. I’m extremely grateful for the funds provided by the Professional Development Grant. Getting seen by the buyers in our industry is very powerful and we are already seeing the benefits from it.

Azimuth Duo plays Asturias at APAP: 

 

In December, the 60-voice choir Kantorei, under the direction of Joel Rinsema, premiered my ‘Cider Meditation’ for SATB + Guitar on a choir & guitar holiday program featuring 18 compositions by various composers including a couple of premieres. I wrote a text inspired by the events happening in the US and the ideals of the holidays: protecting strangers from the cold, and warmth and safety.

Performed six times in a three-week period in the Greater Denver area, it was heard by over 2000 people. It will air on Colorado Public Television later this year. The score is available from the American Composers Alliance.

In December, the American Composers Alliance published my latest collection of arrangements to commemorate the USA at 250: American Patriotic Songs Arranged for Guitar. Featuring 6 solo from pre-Civil War through World War I and an Amended version of the Bill of Rights by James Madison, all the works are featured on my forthcoming album ‘Guitar America 250’ being released on March 6 on Navona Records. Pre-Save the album.

In February, composer and pianist John McDonald premiered the second piano solo, Foraging, from my forthcoming solo piano collection! It is inspired by the Mushroom Hunter, John Cage. The rest of the collection will be premiered later this year.

Foraging (2026):

 

Aurore (2024):

New Piano Solo – Foraging

 

Foraging (2024) – A nod to John Cage, mushroom hunter.

As the founder of the New York Mycological Society, foraging and identifying mushrooms was more than a hobby for him. In 1959, he became a gameshow champion in Italy by identifying mushrooms, something Italians still recall.
I see foraging as a metaphor for composing, searching for special notes amongst the noise, and hopefully not poisoning oneself. A marked tempo of ‘Spacious Walk,’ Foraging is built on the notes C-A-G-E in various permutations. Special thanks to John McDonald for his fine fingers and wise guidance.
– Aaron Larget-Caplan

Premiered February 20, 2026 in Distler Performance Hall at Tufts University Tufts Composers #3: ‘A Chord Accord’ • John McDonald, piano

20 Years of Tracing

20 Years of Tracing a wheel on Water

20 years ago, I released my first album: Tracing a wheel on water. Born due to the beauty of the title track by Kevin Siegfried and gems by Lior Navok and the late Daniel Pinkham.

Kevin and I met in 2002 or 2003 at the St. Botolph Club in Boston, sitting by each other at a birthday dinner and concert for Daniel Pinkham, where I performed Pinkham’s ‘Two Wind Dance’.

Kevin informed me that he had not written for guitar, which I found sad, so I asked him to try writing a dance. At the time, I was going through a new-dance for guitar phase inspired by David Starobin’s masterful album ‘New Dance’. A few months later, I very happily received a small package from Kevin and out I pulled ‘Tracing a wheel on water’. Inspired by the ebb and flow of the ocean inlet where his family was living on the Maine Coast, the piece is a masterclass in meditative intensity.

LISTEN TO TRACING A WHEEL ON WATER
SPOTIFY • APPLE • AMAZON

My teacher at the time, the amazing Dmitry Goryachev said, “Aaron this is impossible to play.” I told him I had already agreed to perform the premiere on Kevin’s recital in 2 months’ time so we needed to figure out a solution that would not destroy my left hand.

He looked at me with tired eyes, rubbed his head and mumbled something about Americans and had me play it again. Moving his stare from my hands to the score, while I played and breathing slowly and deep in thought, he turned to me and said in the most beautiful Russian-accented English, “Aaron we will tune A string to B, and all will be good.”

Kevin Siegfried

click to enlarge

This small, but out of the norm, solution turned the work from no-go into a sonic masterpiece of both rhythmic complexity and melodic grandeur. I find it to be one of the best ‘minimalist’ works on the guitar. Be warned, even with the “fix” it is not easy, but the reward is worth the work.

The premiere at the Boston Conservatory went smashingly. We celebrated at Brasserie Jo’s on Boylston People and listeners asked about a future recording. At a house concert soon after, Monegasque painter Claude Gauthier approached me and said he would do the cover art of my next album, which had only been an idea to that point. I accepted and told him it would be my first album, and with that I was committed to the project.

Claude Gauthier

Inspired by the premiere and commitment of Claude Gauthier, I assembled a program of dances by Dan Pinkham and Israeli composer Lior Navok. I then added more works from my rep and started learning new ones.

I sent Claude the titles as requested and he sent me six different covers to choose from, a gesture of artistic love I shall never forget.

Once I finished the program for the album, I went to MDI Studio in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Run by the late Bob Yen, it was a perfect place for a first full album recording: inexpensive.

My prior studios experience taught me that I hate scented candles. MDI taught me that 10pm-4am recording sessions followed by a 2hr drive is not good.

The process was intense, taking about 9-month from conception to release. I threw myself into the fire, learning as I went: screwing up, starting over, moving forward, choosing, learning and discarding repertoire, picking a recording studio and pacing oneself. Then the recording, editing, album design and notes, plus dealing with others, only to learn that when the album is complete, the REAL work starts with post production and making sure the album has a life.

Tracing a wheel on water came out in January 2006 and has since had multiple pressings. It was released digitally in 2020 on the UK label Stone Records and streams everywhere.

Lior Navok

Daniel Pinkham, longtime NEC faculty

Dan Pinkham passed away in late 2006. Lior Navok lives in Israel, and Kevin teaches at The Boston Conservatory. I have re-recorded the Takemitsu and Pujol. The Dyens and Barrios still pop up in recitals, and the two Brouwer solos inspired other projects.

 

The universe being what it is, I received multiple notes this week from people in different parts of the country complimenting the album. I want to say, “thank you. I was so young, so check out…” but I don’t. I just say, thank you.
– February 12, 2026, Boston

Kevin, Aaron, and Ryan Vigil. Ogunquit Muesum of American Art, 2007

Stickers and Merch by Aaron

Over the last few years I have designed various merch for fans and students. 

What started as a small promotion of the New Lullaby Project became stickers for various projects, a drawing of “mascot” drawing (curly hair and all!), to mugs and t-shirts with bits of truth and of music wisdom.

I’ve been using StickerMule for the stickers and printing of shirts for my students and fans. They do some nice discounts and give aways (GIVE). I recently made my merch available to the public via my website store.

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2025 A Year in Review

2025 was quite a year. I’m not sure how to express exactly what it was, especially with all that was/is happening outside of my little bubble, but it was quite a different experience from anything prior or from what I expected. 

I went into 2024 with a plan: recording, performing, premiering particular works and living life, and besides a few bumps it went well. 

2025 began with a lot of questions due to a less than typical performance schedule, which brought a bit of anxiety, but also allowed me to do things I hadn’t done prior: write more music! 

January, I attended APAP in NYC to observe and learn. I met so many people in the music industry and was overwhelmed in the best way possible. 

February, attended Chamber Music America in Houston. Similar to APAP, but much smaller in scale focusing only on classical music, I met many presenters and wonderful artists! 
Podcast for Piano Technicians Masterclasses – Watch
Gave a scholarship to a Cambridge high school student from Mu Phi Epsilon Boston Alumni.

March, Tour in California performing for Ventura Classical Guitar Society, the Bender family in Encinitas, the Athenaeum in La Jolla, and Center for New Music, and a talk for composition class of Ken Ueno at UC Berkeley. AMAZING: visiting Muir Woods!! 
Visited luthier Pepe Romero Jr. and recorded multiple videos 
Wrote first draft of ‘Cider Meditation’ for choir and guitar.

April, Performed on Bargemusic in Brooklyn, New York for two concert programs; very pleased that the NY composers concert was very well attended. Returned to Maine for a last minute performance at Bowdoin College to premiere a guitar duo by Hayden Byrne.

May, Recorded all of the solos for Guitar America 250 (coming on March 1, 2026!), and reconnected with violinist Irina Muresanu for a recording of our arrangement of ‘Adoration’ by Florence Price. Premiere of New Lullaby Project solo ‘All Through the Night’ by Keane Southard.

June, Attended the Guitar Foundation of America in Louisville, Kentucky. Write and record Bill of Rights, Amended for new album. 

July, performed concerts in Boston and a mini-tour along the Maine Coast in Eastport, Steuben, Hallowell, and Kittery. 
Recorded Trevor Neal, poet Charles Coe and Jeffrey Lependorf reading works of Francis Harper, Walt Whitman and Henry David Thoreau/John Cage for Guitar America 250 in Newport, Rhode Island and Northampton, Mass.

August, visited Art Omi in Ghent, NY and made a few videos in their SILO, gave livestream for New England Conservatory and an interview performance for WOMR radio. 

September, the 2025-26 Season started with a rush of events:
09-9-25, Cage Trust Event – A beautiful event celebrating outgoing JCT director Laura Kuhn. 
09-10-25, Hingham Library – My first all-Latin American concert in over 10 years.
09-13-25, Wellfleet Preservation Hall – My first performance in this amazing space!
09-16-25, BU Composition Class – return to BU to speak and share music with young composers.
09-17-25, Radio – WCRI – Conducting Conversations with Mike Maino – Listen
09-28-25, NSM – Convergence Ensemble – Words & Music with poet Charles Coe. 
09-30-25, King’s Chapel – bunches of New Lullabies and album preview!
Sign with Rhizome Arts for touring and management – announcement
Article Revelations on Guitar The Provincetown Independent

October, debut with Newport Classical. Premiere of New Lullaby Project solo ‘Night Echoes’ by Jin Hee Han.
WCRI’s Kids Classical Hour – New Lullaby Project – Listen

November, Tufts University all-Latin America program.
Publication of ‘American Patriotic Songs for Guitar’ with the American Composers Alliance
Publication of ‘Cider Meditation’ for SATB+G with the American Composers Alliance
Music Career Talk for Mu Phi Epsilon Boston Alumni – online

December, 3-weeks in Colorado!
12-05-25, Perform with the Cherry Creek High School Meistersingers and Kantorei
12-6/7-25, Perform concerts of 14 works for choir & guitar with Kantorei – Premiere of ‘Cider Meditation’!
12-8/9-25, 2-day residency in Carbondale and Basalt public/private schools for the Aspen Music Festival
12-10-25, Perform with the Cherry Creek High School Meistersingers
12-12-25, Bravo! Vail – 1-day residency in Edwards in the public middle and high school
12-19/21-25, Perform with Kantorei – Premiere of ‘Cider Meditation’ and Sir Christemasse by M. Ryan Taylor!
Article feature in The Aspen Times on the residencies for the Aspen Music Festival

Over 2-million streams in 2025!

Premieres 

  • All Through the Night by Keane Southard, guitar solo
  • Cloud Lacrymae by Douglas Knehans, electronics and guitar
  • Cider Meditation by Aaron Larget-Caplan, choir and guitar
  • Coastal Highway by Aaron Larget-Caplan, guitar solo
  • Night Echoes by Jin Hee Han, guitar solo – New Lullaby #80
  • Sir Christemasse by M. Ryan Taylor, choir and guitar
  • Suite for a Changing Climate by Hayden Byrne, guitar duo

Premieres (arrangements) 

  • Adoration by Florence Price, guitar solo
  • America* by Paul Simon
  • Battle Cry of Freedom* by George F. Root
  • Harmony 20, O Give Thanks – James Lyon (From Apartment House 1776)* by John Cage
  • Harmony 26, Judea – William Billings (From Apartment House 1776)* by John Cage
  • Lift Every Voice and Sing* by J. Rosamond Johnson
  • Star Spangled Banner* by John S. Smith

* Featured on Guitar America 250 (Navona, March 2026)

Publications

  • ‘American Patriotic Songs for Guitar’ with the American Composers Alliance – HERE
  • ‘Cider Meditation’ for SATB+G with the American Composers Alliance – HERE

Videos

Supporters (Spirit, Fractured Atlas, Patreon & Private)

American Composers Alliance, Beverly Abeg, Bender Family, Simon Henry Berry, Christopher Bush, Laurie Caplan, Gene Caprioglio, Charles Coe, Olivier Fanton D’Andon, Stephen Drury, Alex Fedorov, Peter Frewen & Jenie Smith, Gina Genova, Frederic Hand, Paul Hatala, Simon Henry, Steve Hunt, Ross & Cody Jones, Patricia Krol, Laura Kuhn, Catherine Larget-Caplan, Caroline Larget, Patrick Lathrop, Jeffrey Lependorf, Beverly Maher, John McDonald, Melissa & Alex Menter, Marcelino Miranda, Nick and Jessica Morgan, Irina Muresanu, Mu Phi Epsilon Boston Alumni, Trevor Neal, Lubos Naprstek, Will Rowe, K.S., John Weston, Ian Wiese, Peter & Bonnie Yates.

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New Article – Aspen Times

A full circle moment: Aaron Larget-Caplan 

Link: https://www.aspentimes.com/news/aspen-music-festival-winter-music-recitals/

Aspen Music Festival and School also supports teachers and students across Roaring Fork Valley. This includes in-school enrichment and its Musical Connections program, which provided outreach by inviting esteemed musician Aaron Larget-Caplan to visit the school this month.

Acclaimed guitarist, composer, and Colorado-based musician Aaron Larget-Caplan returned to Basalt and Carbondale from Dec. 8-9 to work with the students by leading workshops and assemblies as part of Music Connections outreach.

For Larget-Caplan, who attended Colorado Rocky Mountain School, Basalt Middle School, Carbondale Community School, Waldorf School on the Roaring Fork, and Carbondale Middle School, these visits “pay it forward.” He traces it back to a similar school visit he experienced in his youth. 

“Growing up in Denver, I remember when the Denver Symphony came to my elementary school. I played the clarinet. He performed a Brahms Sonata, and I thought, ‘Wow.’ When I heard this, I didn’t know this existed, and music really saved my life as a teenager. It improved all my grades, discipline, how I think, and how I learn,” Larget-Caplan said.

Now, as a concert guitarist, he has performed across the U.S., Europe, Russia, and Taiwan. He’s premiered more than 120 solo and chamber works, soloed with orchestras, and led commissioning projects. He has also received multiple awards and held prestigious residencies at the Banff Centre and John Cage Trust at Bard College.

He added, “As soon as I was a halfway decent musician, whenever I came back to Colorado, I wanted to make sure that these kids heard this and had opportunities to hear music.”

He’s also determined to demystify the world of music for young learners.

“You don’t have to be a professional with music,” he said. “There are so many paths. This is not something our society is very warm to unless you’re famous, and I refuse to accept that.”

For more information, visit aspenmusicfestival.com/events/winter-music-2026 or Aaron Larget-Caplan.

Aspen Music Festival and School’s Musical Connections program brings musical experiences to Roaring Fork Schools.Jennika Ingram/Courtesy photo

Residencies in Colorado & Taos Concert

While out west Dec. 3-22 and between concerts with Kantorei, I will perform twice with the advanced choral group at Cherry Creek High School, my alma mater, the Meistersingers, give a 2-day residency for the Aspen Music Festival and School, a 1-day residency for Bravo! Vail, and a house concert in Taos, New Mexico.

All information can be found on my website calendar.

Aspen Music School and Festival: a two-day residency (12/8-9) where I will visit Lead Guitar programs in Carbondale and Basalt to work with young guitarists and aspiring musicians.

Bravo! Vail: 12/12 – a day performing and discussing being a professional musician at Black Mountain High School and the Community College. 

CCHS: I will perform Jeffrey Van’s ’14 Angels’ at Cherry Creek High School with the advanced chamber choir, the Meistersingers, under Sarah Branton on December 5 & 10. (Dec. 5 info)

TAOS: I will return to Taos, New Mexico for a solo performance at the home of dear friend, Cee Bearden in El Prado. The performance includes a preview of pieces from my upcoming album, Guitar America 250. Info HERE.

Azimuth Duo

Stephen Marotto and I have partnered formerly as a duo of cello and guitar as the AZIMUTH DUO

Azimuth Duo traverses an arc across cultures and continents—where Spanish dances and love songs ignite, tangos smolder with longing, and American dreams shimmer with the promise of new frontiers. Performed by cellist Stephen Marotto and guitarist & composer Aaron Larget-Caplan, this duo blends passion, nostalgia, and discovery into a single horizon-seeking musical journey.

Based in Boston and playing together since 2019 as a duo and as a trio with flamenco dance, the Azimuth Duo is a classical music ensemble passionate in exploring cultural music dimensions, living composers, and presenting in traditional and atypical settings with excitement and precision.

**APAP Showcase Sunday Jan. 11, 6:30pm Regent Parlor @ Hilton Midtown NYC**

Artists

Programs Sample

  • Albéniz: Asturias,
  • Flaherty: Timeflies
  • Granados: Spanish Dance #5 “Andaluza”
  • Piazzolla: Café 1930 & Revirado
  • Price: Adoration
  • Rodrigo: Adagio from the Concierto de Aranjuez
  • De Falla: Seven Spanish Folk Songs
  • Villa-Lobos: Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5

Besides formal concerts, we are available for:

Community Outreach

  • Educational programs in schools
  • Community settings

Arts Residencies

  • Middle & High Schools
  • Community Music Programs
  • Conservatories, Colleges & Universities

Contact & Booking Information
Rhizome Arts • www.rhizomearts.com • +1.305.998.9969 • glauco@rhizomearts.com
601 Brickel l Key Drive #700 Miami, FL 33131

¡Con Fuego! – La Conja, Aaron, and Stephen

Choir and Guitar in Denver

In December, I return to Denver, Colorado, where I grew up, for a series of concerts with the choir Kantorei under the direction of Joel M. Rinsema, titled ‘Silent Nights‘. We will have 5 performances in the Denver area on the first and third weekends. Of special note, is the premiere of ‘Cider Meditation,’ a piece I wrote this year for Kantorei and commissioned by the Hatala Family. (program below)

KANTOREI INTERVIEW with AARON (click)

Watch a brief 2′ video on FB about Cider Meditation: 

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/17k2xE7pFK/

 

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While out west, I will also perform at Cherry Creek High School, my alma mater, as well as a give residency for the Aspen Music Festival and School, and a house concert in Taos, New Mexico.

Aspen Music School and Festival: a two-day residency (12/8-9) where I will visit Lead Guitar programs in Carbondale and Basalt to work with young guitarists and aspiring musicians. Details on the calendar

Bravo! Vail: 12/12 – performing and discussing being a professional musician at Black Mountain High School and the Community College. 

CCHS: perform Jeffrey Van’s ’14 Angels’ at Cherry Creek High School with the advanced chamber choir, the Meistersingers, under Sarah Branton on December 5 & 10. (Dec. 5 info)

TAOS: I will return to Taos, New Mexico for a solo performance at the home of dear friend, Cee Bearden in El Prado. The performance includes a preview of pieces from my upcoming album, Guitar America 250. Info HERE.

Aaron’s Concert Calendar HERE

SILENT NIGHTS PROGRAM (Choir-Guitar selections)

  1. Eight holiday works by Jeffrey Van
  2. Individual holiday works by Ryan Taylor, David Carney, Michael Fink
  3. Two works by Alf Houkom
  4. Cider Meditation by Larget-Caplan – world premiere (score)