Candice Mowbray

About the Artist

Renowned for her beautiful tone and elegant playing, guitarist Candice Mowbray captivates audiences with her expressive artistry. From the lively acrobatics of Ida Presti’s Danse rythmique to the poignant depths of Fernando Sor’s Fantaisie élégiaque, her performances are a thoughtful journey through modern and classic works. A famous ballerina remarked that her music, “makes me want to dance!” while guitar virtuoso John Feeley praised her as "a beautiful player, so expressive and musical." As a dynamic soloist, ensemble musician, and guest lecturer, Candice has graced the stages of prestigious festivals and concert series, including the Philadelphia Classical Guitar Society, Toronto Guitar Weekend, Guitar Foundation of America, International Guitar Competition Ida Presti in Croatia, and the Ibero-American Guitar Festival at the Smithsonian. Her performances with notable organizations like the Washington National Opera, Wolftrap Opera, and Maryland Symphony Orchestra showcase her versatility, as she shines in classical, electric, and steel-string acoustic guitar performances.​ In 2020, Candice was recognized by the State of Maryland for her artistic work in the field of music and she has been a featured guest on numerous podcasts discussing her career and research. Her CD, Reverie, has been featured on radio shows such as InTune (BBC Radio 3), The Intimate Guitar (Dayton, OH), G-Strings with Tom Cole (Washington D.C.) and Musica Mundi (Boulder, CO), and Blair Jackson of Classical Guitar Magazine called the album, "A revelation!" and one of the Top 10 CD picks of the year. This album cleverly intertwines twentieth century and contemporary French compositions through homage, and features rarely recorded solo works by legendary guitar duo of Ida Presti and Alexandre Lagoya. Beyond performance, Dr. Mowbray is a passionate educator. She has taught guitar, music history, theory, ensemble and pedagogy for institutions such as Shenandoah Conservatory, Shepherd University, and Hagerstown and Frederick community colleges. She now thrives on sharing her love of music as an independent teaching artist through research, lectures, classes and workshops  For almost 20 years, Candice has delivered engaging presentations that inspire and educate audiences. Her musical talks have been described as "enthusiastic" and "insightful" in Classical Guitar Magazine and The Morning Call. Although Candice lectures on a variety of topics, she is especially noted for her scholarship on the contributions of women in the history of guitar. She collaborated with international recording artist Berta Rojas on Rojas' 2022 album Legado, contributing both research and writing to this incredible recording project which won two Latin GRAMMY Awards. Candice’s doctoral thesis, "Ida Presti as a Solo Performer and Composer of Works for Solo Guitar," has proven to be a impactful and influential document, and she has multiple articles published in Guitar Foundation of America journals Soundboard and Prodigies.  Candice earned the Doctorate of Musical Arts in Classical Guitar Performance at Shenandoah Conservatory where she studied with Dr. Glenn Caluda. Also influential were private lessons and masterclasses with many internationally renowned artists including Berta Rojas, Carlos Barbosa-Lima, Sharon Isbin, Roland Dyens, Julian Gray, Gerry Kunkel, Angel Romero, Ricardo Cobo, Eduardo Isaac, Maximo Diego Pujol, Victor Villadangos and many others. She obtained micro-certification from the Bartol Foundation for trauma-informed practice for teaching artists. Current professional development activities include studying Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction with Mindfulness Sussex, and healthy and natural approaches to instrumental music performance through the Till Approach and Musician’s Wellness of North America. 

Artist's Statement

I enjoy a multifaceted career sharing my passion for music through concerts, teaching, research, lecturing, writing, composing and many other outlets of expression and community involvement. In addition to being stage front, I have experience in arts administration and volunteer in my community. Please explore my website  which has more information about my music, classes, and research.