Roland Schlieder is a renowned guitarist, conductor, and music educator who has toured extensively throughout Latin America, Germany, and the United States. He began learning guitar by ear at age 14, inspired by recordings of Narciso Yepes and Pepe Romero. After completing his studies in mechanical engineering and business administration in Munich, a personal encounter with Maestros Leo Brouwer and David Russell in 1995 inspired him to pursue classical guitar in the United States.
Schlieder participated in masterclasses with Costas Cotsiolis, Andrew York, Manuel Barrueco, David Russell, and Leo Brouwer. In 1996, he received a scholarship to Butler University, where he studied guitar with Brett Terrell, choral conducting with Dr. Eric Stark, and orchestral conducting with Stanley DeRusha. He concurrently studied at Indiana University with Maestro Petar Jankovic. After graduating from Butler University, he pursued a master’s degree at San Diego State University (2000–2003), studying under Celin Romero of the famed Los Romeros guitar family, who guided him in developing his unique technique and musical expression.
From 2000–2003, Schlieder was artist-in-residence at San Diego State University and assistant conductor under Dr. Donald Barra, combining his musical and administrative skills as orchestra manager. In 2003, funded by the Fulbright Program, he founded the Youth Symphony Orchestra of Santa Cruz, Bolivia, serving as artistic director and principal conductor. He led major performances including the CAF Anniversary Concert in La Paz (2005) with 300 voices and 150 musicians, Handel’s Messiah at the VI International Baroque Festival in Santa Cruz (2006), and premiered a rediscovered work by Domenico Zipoli, Te Deum laudamus, which he published with critical notes in 2007. Schlieder was awarded Bolivia’s “Man of the Arts” prize and nominated for the TOYP Prize (The Outstanding Young Professional in the Arts).
After leaving the Santa Cruz Symphony in 2011, Schlieder devoted himself fully to classical guitar performance and pedagogy, focusing on his technical method “Control Technique”, which emphasizes finger independence and advanced technical repertoire. He has performed at the San Agustin International Chamber Music Festival in Florida, the Chamber Music Summer Festival at the University of Osnabrück, Germany, and with the University of Palm Beach Symphony Orchestra (performing Concierto de Aranjuez, 2016). He has collaborated with musicians including Roberto Sechi, Felix Olschofka, Alexander Schimpf, Eugenio Urrutia, Jorge Pena, and William Grub, with a strong focus on chamber music, particularly works by Niccolò Paganini.
Since returning to Germany in 2019, Schlieder has performed solo recitals and Concierto de Aranjuez with the Mainz Sinfonietta (September 2023). He is a faculty member for classical guitar at the Montabaur School of Music and teaches specialized technique masterclasses, continuing to develop his Control Technique method.
