“...exquisitely nuanced and marked by a range of timbral colors I didn't think possible on the lute.” ~Fanfare
One of the most outstanding lutenists performing today, Ronn McFarlane is largely responsible for bringing the transcendent charm and timeless quality of the lute into the musical mainstream and making it accessible to a larger audience.
Born in West Virginia, Ronn spent most of his early years in the neighboring state of Maryland where he developed an interest in music at an early age. As a teenager, he taught himself to play on what he describes as a "cranky sixteen dollar steel string guitar." He went on to develop his talent, and combined blues and rock music on the electric guitar with studies on the classical guitar.
Ronn graduated with honors from Shenandoah Conservatory and continued studies at Peabody Conservatory before turning his full attention and energy to the lute in 1978. The following year, Ronn performed his first solo on the lute and became a member of the Baltimore Consort. Since that time, he has toured extensively throughout the United States, Canada and Europe with the Baltimore Consort and as a soloist.
Ronn was a faculty member of the Peabody Conservatory from 1984 to 1995, teaching lute and lute-related subjects. In 1996, he was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Music from Shenandoah Conservatory for his achievements in bringing the lute and its music to the world. Ronn has numerous recordings on the Dorian label including solo recordings, lute song recordings with Julianne Baird, soprano and Frederick Urrey, tenor, over ten CDs with the Baltimore Consort and ballad recordings with Custer LaRue and members of the Baltimore Consort.
Recently, Ronn has been engaged in composing new music for the lute, building on the tradition of the lutenist/composers of the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. This new music is the focus of his new solo CD, Indigo Road.
