The Boyd & Goluses Duo

The duo of Bonita Boyd, flute and Nicholas Goluses, guitar has recently received much acclaim, the two members breathing new fire into a rich repertoire for guitar and flute, as well as an artistic vision which embraces an intense communication with audiences, support for new repertoire, and commitment to teaching. Both are professors at the Eastman School of Music.

The Boyd & Goluses Duo gave its debut at the 1993 Guitar Foundation of America Festival, the year that Nicholas Goluses founded the guitar department at Eastman, now a major center for guitar study and one of the world’s premier conservatories. Since then they have traveled across North America and China. The duo have given performances in New York at the National Flute Association Festival, at Spivey Hall in Atlanta, the Colors of Music and Toronto Chamber Music Festivals in Canada, and at Kilbourn Hall in Rochester. They have performed Duo Concerti with the New Jersey Symphony, with Eastman Virtuosi, and the Rochester Chamber Orchestra.

The Boyd & Goluses Duo records for Albany Records. Their first CD of music by Joan Tower, Augusta Read Thomas, Roberto Sierra and Katherine Hoover has received wide critical and audience acclaim. Their second recording, Quicksilver, features late twentieth-century songs and dances of the Americas for flute and guitar by Robert Beaser, David Liptak, and Astor Piazzolla.

As soloists Nicholas Goluses and Bonita Boyd have each performed throughout the world and have received international acclaim as performers, recording artists and master teachers. Each has been the recipient of the coveted Eisenhart Award for Excellence, the highest honor to be given to an Eastman Professor.

Bonita Boyd, flutist

Bonita Boyd began her career at age 21 as principal flutist of the Rochester Philharmonic under Maestro David Zinman, becoming the youngest principal flutist of a major American orchestra at the time. She later resigned that position to devote herself to her growing solo career. Her Alice Tully debut was praised by the New York Times as a “flabbergasting display of her talents”. Her extensive concert tours have since taken her throughout the world. Her “Flute Music of Les Six” album was honored in Stereo Review Album of the Year Awards, and her Paganini Caprice CD was on the final ballot for a Grammy Nomination. Boyd was appointed to the Eastman School of Music faculty in 1977. She has served as Principal Flutist of the Rochester Philharmonic, Chautauqua Symphony, Filarmonica de las Americas, and the Aspen Festival Orchestra. She has been president of the 5000 member National Flute Association. She concertizes regularly with famed guitarist Nicholas Goluses. The pair recently completed a 22 city concert tour of China. She has received the National Flute Association’s Lifetime Achievement Awardand the Eisenhart Award for Excellence in Teaching from the Eastman School. Her students occupy major orchestral and teaching posts throughout the world.

Nicholas Goluses, guitarist

“Goluses is masterly, a musician’s musician.” American Record Guide

“Goluses produced an elegant sound. And the finales, taken dangerously fast, were accurate, transparent, and impressively articulated. Mr. Goluses gave persuasive, energetic readings.” The New York Times

“Goluses reached the highest levels of instrumental virtuosity.” Generalanzeiber (Bonn, Germany)

Nicholas Goluses is Professor of Guitar, founder and director of the guitar programs at the Eastman School of Music, where he is the recipient of the Eisenhart Award for Excellence in Teaching. Additionally, he was the inaugural Andrés Segovia Professor at Manhattan School of Music where he received the Doctor of Musical Arts degree and was the recipient of the Pablo Casals Award for Musical Accomplishment and Human Endeavor, the Faculty Award of Distinguished Merit and the 2019 Distinguished Alumni Award. His students have won major competitions and professorships throughout the world. He is a Fulbright International Specialist Professor and also serves as the external examiner for doctoral dissertations throughout the British Isles.

Nicholas Goluses’s concert tours as soloist, with orchestra, and as chamber musician have taken him across North America, South America, Europe, Australia, and the Far East to critical acclaim. He has recorded extensively for NAXOS, Albany Records, BMG, and Linn Records. Committed to performing new music for the guitar, Goluses has given world première performances of over 100 works. His 2022 season is highlighted by a performance of a new concerto by Stephen Goss in Glasgow, Scotland and a Fulbright Residency in Tolima, Colombia.