Russell Shead

Russell's lifelong passion and dedication to the guitar began at the age of 13. His 36 years of experience has encompassed a variety of musical styles including classical, jazz, blues, rock, country and pop. A graduate of the Joe Bennett Guitar Academy, Russell received his Bachelor of Arts in Music Performance from Limestone College, where he received the Outstanding Achievement in Music award and served as Instructor of Guitar.

His professional pursuits include various solo and group performances, orchestral work, studio recording, composing, arranging and private instruction. From 1987 to 1989, he served as Church Music Director for the First Baptist Church of Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany. In 1991, he appeared on the hit television show, America's Funniest Home Videos, performing in a musical comedy video that he helped create for the show. The video won second place and earned him a trip to Hollywood and some cash.

For the past 15 years, much of Russell's focus has been on the classical guitar, where he has enjoyed composing and performing original arrangements of Christian music. Some of his arrangements have been published by WORD MUSIC and are currently available at www.musicnotes.com. His Christmas music has also received airplay on public radio. Performing regularly for church audiences has served as a catalyst for Russell in developing a repertoire of beautiful melodies for the guitar.

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