Liona Boyd

Biography

Liona Maria Carolynne Boyd, (born 11 July 1949) is a Canadian classical guitarist often referred to as the 'First Lady of the Guitar'.

Early years

Boyd was born in London and grew up in Toronto. Her father grew up in Bilbao, Spain, and her mother near Stoke-on-Trent, England. Her grandmother was from Linares, Spain, the birthplace of the "king of the classical guitar", Andrés Segovia. During her family's first of two ocean voyages to Canada she made her debut performance playing "Bluebells of Scotland" on a treble recorder in a talent show on the ship.
When she was thirteen, she was given her first guitar, a Christmas present which her parents had bought in Spain seven years earlier. She took lessons from Eli Kassner, Narciso Yepes, Alirio Díaz, Julian Bream, and Andrés Segovia.
Boyd received a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Toronto in 1972, graduating with honours. After graduation she studied privately for two years with Alexandre Lagoya in Paris.

Performing

In 1975, she performed at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Andrés Segovia sent her a note that said "through your beauty and talent you will conquer the public, philharmonic or not." During the same year, she toured northern British Columbia and Yukon. She also toured as the opening act for Canadian folk singer Gordon Lightfoot.

Recordings

In 1974, Boyd released her debut album, The Guitar. It was produced by Eleanor Koldofsky and was released on Boot Records. The record was distributed internationally by London Records. In 1976, Boyd joined Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada, and established her own publishing company, Mid-Continental Music. In 1989, her album Christmas Dreams×Christmas Dreams3 October 1995 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 14 tracks1Christmas Dreams3:332O Holy Night3:183God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen3:144Ave Maria4:275We Three Kings1:186The First Noel2:067Silent Night3:018Song of Peace3:409Hark, The Herald Angels Sing / Il Est Ne le Divin Enfant3:4910O Little Town of Bethlehem2:2511It Came Upon a Midnight Clear1:4012Joy to the World1:5813A Canon for Christmas2:4714Christmas Beyond the Sea2:55 appeared on the RPM 100 Top Albums chart. To date she has three platinum and four gold albums in Canada.
Between 1978 and 1984 Boyd released nine albums internationally on the CBS Masterworks label. In 1981 she demanded that CBS withdraw the CX encoded version of her album Miniatures for Guitar×Miniatures for Guitar1981 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 19 tracksA1Spanish Romance2:57A2Adelita1:47A3Cajita de Música1:58A4Lágrima2:00A5Andantino2:35A6Andante & Estudio 22:59A7Pavana2:08A8Andante1:20A9Lento1:08A10El noy de la Mare2:04B1Greensleeves2:38B2Kemp’s Jig1:27B3Saltarello0:57B4Little Suite5:33B5Gavotte1:25B6Pavana1:29B7Prelude & Gigue2:42B8Estudio 17 / Estudio 73:33B9Estudio in E2:25 because of perceived audio shortcomings, even though CBS Records group vice president Bob Jamieson claimed that CBS had the technical means to overcome such objections.
As of 2018, she has recorded 26 studio albums, made a live recording from Tokyo, created over 25 music videos, and produced three compilation recordings.
During her career, Boyd has recorded with Chet Atkins, Eric Clapton, Al Di Meola, Rik Emmett, David Gilmour, Alex Lifeson, Steve Morse, the Canadian Brass, André Gagnon, Yo Yo Ma, Frank Mills, Strunz & Farah, Roger Whittaker, Gheorghe Zamfir, Pavlo, Jesse Cook, and Olivia Newton-John.

Recordings

In 1995, Boyd contributed to the Canadian version of the Microsoft Windows 3.1 PC game "The Music Game".

Personal life

In 1988, Stoddard Publishing of Toronto, Canada published Boyd's autobiography In My Own Key: My Life in Love and Music. In it she revealed her eight-year romance with former Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. In 1992, Boyd moved to Beverly Hills, California, where she married John B. Simon, a real estate developer.
Following a diagnosis of musician's focal dystonia after the release of Camino Latino, Boyd was compelled to change how she plays guitar. She reinvented herself by developing her songwriting and singing skills and playing less demanding guitar arrangements.
After divorcing in 2004 she relocated to Miami and started a guitar duo with Srdjan Gjivoje. In 2007 she moved to New Canaan, Connecticut, to make a record with him called Liona Boyd Sings Songs of Love. They subsequently toured together. She released a new age album titled Seven Journeys which was co-written with her producer Peter Bond. In 2010, she lived in California once more. In 2011, she purchased a house in Palm Beach, Florida but made her home base in Toronto where she recorded 3 more albums produced by Peter Bond. She and accompanist Michael Savona toured Canada extensively. In 2016, Liona formed a new touring duo with Andrew Dolson.
In August 2017, Dundurn Press reissued Boyd's first memoir In My Own Key and published her second memoir, No Remedy for Love. In this book Boyd claims to have played a private concert for jurors at the murder trial of O. J. Simpson in the mid-1990s. This was at the request of judge Lance Ito who Boyd says was a big fan of her music.
In 2017, Liona filmed "A Winter Fantasy×A Winter Fantasy14 October 2014 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Fantasy on Silent Night4:462Fantasy on the Huron Carol & Coventry Carol5:083Christmas Through the Looking Glass (God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, Kling Glöckchen)4:104Fantasy on o Holy Night3:115Fantasy on o Little Town of Bethlehem3:496Alone on Christmas Day4:467A Winter Fantasy (All Through the Night, I Saw Three Ships)4:138Fantasy on Good King Wenceslas4:299We Three Kings3:5210Catalan Christmas Medley5:2811My Special Christmas Present Is You3:20", a live Christmas special that was broadcast in December 2018 on several PBS stations including WNED-TV in Buffalo, New York.
In 2018, Blackstone Publishing released an audiobook of Liona reading her autobiography In My Own Key.

Awards and honours

Instrumental Artist of the Year, Juno Awards, five times
Gallery of the Greats, Guitar Player Magazine
Classical Guitar Musician of the Year, Guitar Player, five times
Order of Canada, Member: 1982, Officer: 2021
Order of Ontario, 1991
Vanier Award, 1978
Prix Esprit du Ciècle
Diamond Jubilee Award, 2013
JoAnn Falletta competition Lifetime Achievement, 2018
National Guitar Museum Lifetime Achievement Award, 2019