Ken Karsh at the Backstage Bar in Theater Square

A respected and active guitarist, composer, and educator in the Pittsburgh area, Ken Karsh has been involved in music since he began playing guitar at the age of 9.

Ken Karsh

He has performed with Jimmy McGriff, Barry Miles, Spider Rondinelli, Eric Kloss, Bobby McFerrin, Lee Konitz, Larry Elgart, Joe Negri, Joey DeFrancesco, “Papa John” DeFrancesco, Jack McDuff, Gene Ludwig, Bernadette Peters, the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the Pittsburgh Opera Orchestra (performing on Mandolin), Nathan Davis, Michael Gibbs, and Angel Romero. Karsh was the guitarist for numerous Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera musical theater productions, including Jesus Christ, Superstar, Chess, Chicago, A Chorus Line, Parade (composed by Jason Robert Brown, who also conducted), Fiddler On The Roof (performing on guitar and mandolin), Copacabana (composed by Barry Manilow) and recently The Lion King (at the Benedum Center with Gazelle Company). In 1981, Karsh was the electric guitar soloist in the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s performance of Andre Previn’s Concerto For Guitar And Orchestra. He has been featured on recordings with Bobby McFerrin, Gene Ludwig, Nathan Davis, Eric Kloss, Jimmy Sapienza, Arnold Sterling, Darryl Alexander, Lisa Ferraro, and the Wheeling Symphony.