PULLMAN – Experience an evening filled with mandolin and guitar music by Richard Kriehn and Ryan Nitz at 8 p.m. on Thursday, March 5 in Bryan Hall Theater. This event is free and open to the public.
The concert is part of the WSU Faculty Recitals and will showcase music by Bach, Calace, Canora, Schwaen, Espinola and Americano.
Kriehn and Nitz, who attended Boise State University together in the early 90s, started thinking about a mandolin/guitar duo when Nitz took the executive director position for the Washington-Idaho Symphony in 2007.
Kriehn is currently the academic program coordinator for the WSU School of Music, teaches violin and guitar, and is the principle second violin for the Washington/Idaho Symphony. He has performed with the Boise Philharmonic, Arkansas Symphony, Nashville Chamber Orchestra, and the Alabama Symphony. He served as concertmaster and a founding member of the Boise Baroque Chamber Orchestra.
Kriehn earned his bachelor’s in music from BSU and his master’s in music from WSU. He spent some time in Nashville, Tenn. where he toured with country music star Travis Tritt, Aaron Tippin and Michael Peterson. He was a member of the Nashville Mandolin Ensemble as well as the bluegrass group “1946”.
The Colton resident has appeared at the Country Gold Festival, The Rosie O’Donnell Show on ABC, The Grand Ole’Opry on TNN, Walker Texas Ranger on CBS, and Farm Aid 2000 on TNN. One of his favorite musical memories was his guest performance on “A Prairie Home Companion” when the show toured through Pullman to broadcast a live radio show from Beasley Coliseum.
Nitz has performed as a guest soloist with ensembles at BSU, WSU and Arizona State University, as well as the Boise Philharmonic, the Boise Master Chorale and the Fountain Hills Community Chorus in Ariz.
A resident of Moscow, Nitz is currently the executive director of the Washington/Idaho Symphony and holds a position as testing assistant in the counseling & testing center at the University of Idaho.
Nitz has been a prizewinner in a number of competitions including the Northwest Guitar Festival and BSU Concerto/Aria competitions. Nitz earned his bachelor and master of music degrees from BSU and is currently completing the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from ASU. As a guitarist, Nitz’s instructors have included Joseph Baldassarre and Frank Koonce, as well as private and master class study with some of today’s leading classical guitarists: Jason Vieaux, Fabio Zanon, Roland Dyens, Jonathan Leathwood, David Leisner, Paul O’Dette, William Kanengiser, and Pepe Romero.
For more information about this event, contact Kriehn at 509-335-3239 or richardkriehn@wsu.edu.
