Kaelen Frye has learned many famous pieces of music arranged for solo guitar that captivate the listener. Coming from a small beach town in Southern California, he grew up with a love for music that inspired him to attend university in Nashville, Tennessee. He originally began in marching band with the euphonium but soon discovered a love for the guitar that inspired a greater passion for music.  

Although artists like John Mayer, Johnny Cash, and Led Zeppelin were the catalysts for his guitar journey, he has since discovered influences such as Celso Machado, Duo Assad, and Paulo Bellinati – All Brazilian composers that inspired his newfound favor with the nylon string guitar. He has taken a liking to much of the South American popular music of the early to mid-twentieth century, learning the music of Annibal Augusto Sardinha and others.  

Kaelen has also played for the “Guitar Gathering” webcast hosted by Steve Krenz with the Belmont Guitar Ensemble a total of three times, soon to be four. He continues to study privately under the director of guitar studies at Belmont University, Dr. Paulo Oliveira. In every new semester of university, he has learned several new pieces of music that continue to diversify his style of playing and help him work better with other guitarists. He has played in two student recitals, in one of which debuting a classical piece for two guitars. Reading sheet music is a big part of his studies, and he can memorize things very quickly.  

Endorsement from Professor Robert Thompson, Director of the Belmont Guitar Ensemble: “Kaelen works hard to commit his music to memory and always has his parts down when coming to class. He has shown great improvement in the last two years and is a great player.”  

With a great deal of time put into the guitar, Kaelen will continue his classical guitar journey with performances for others and by always learning new music.  

For a summary of the information presented on this website, here is a link to Kaelen’s “Cut Sheet” with the necessary background and information: