Once Around the Sun
An unprecedented collection of 365 solo guitar works, Once Around the Sun draws together the full breadth of the classical guitar tradition, including historical forms, cultural idioms, and traditional études.
by Michael Knopf
"Knopf is no ordinary musician. Each composition is a like a tiny masterpiece, a musical gem..."
Prof. Apostolos Paraskevas | Beklee College of MusicAn unprecedented collection of 365 solo guitar works, Once Around the Sun draws together the full breadth of the classical guitar tradition, including historical forms, cultural idioms, and traditional études.
Around the Sun
by Michael Knopf
"Knopf is no ordinary musician. Each composition is a like a tiny masterpiece, a musical gem..."
Prof. Apostolos Paraskevas | Beklee College of MusicOnce Around the Sun is conceived as a meaningful resource for musicians and educators seeking to expand the classical guitar canon with new repertoire that is both pedagogically robust and artistically rich.
Digital Scores
Once Around the Sun is a valuable collection for performers, teachers, and students with every piece exploring technique, style and aesthetic.
The Complete Collection is being released as a series of twelve volumes of 30-31 pieces in the coming months.
The Concert Platform Series consists of professional level solos, duos, and suites.
The Resonance Series features works focusing on lush harmony and melody at a tranquil pace.
The Etude Series provides studies with varying learning approaches to style, technique and expression.
Once Around the Sun – Volume 2
$29.50For Solo Guitar © 2025A diverse collection of miniature works for intermediate to professional guitarists, each volume of Once Around the Sun offers a rich blend of styles, techniques, and musical characters for performance and study.
Once Around the Sun – Volume 2
$29.50For Solo Guitar © 2025A diverse collection of miniature works for intermediate to professional guitarists, each volume of Once Around the Sun offers a…Add to Cart
Once Around the Sun – Volume 1
$29.50For Solo Guitar © 2025A diverse collection of miniature works for intermediate to professional guitarists, each volume of Once Around the Sun offers a rich blend of styles, techniques, and musical characters for performance and study.
Once Around the Sun – Volume 1
$29.50For Solo Guitar © 2025A diverse collection of miniature works for intermediate to professional guitarists, each volume of Once Around the Sun offers a…Add to CartIdyll
$10.50For Solo Guitar © 2025An early Once Around the Sun piece in altered tuning, blending open strings with Mixolydian harmonies to evoke space, colour, and beauty.
Idyll
$10.50For Solo Guitar © 2025An early Once Around the Sun piece in altered tuning, blending open strings with Mixolydian harmonies to evoke space, colour,…Add to CartGymnopedie
$10.50For Solo Guitar © 2025This is a sentimental, pretty piece with a simple, yet graceful melody and colourful chords. The music is intended to emanate contentment and pleasure.
Gymnopedie
$10.50For Solo Guitar © 2025This is a sentimental, pretty piece with a simple, yet graceful melody and colourful chords. The music is intended to…Add to CartThe Condition of Being Human
$18.00For Solo Guitar © 2025This four-movement suite explores creativity, contentment, and exuberance through contrasting moods, from dramatic and improvisatory passages to lyrical reflection and a vibrant, celebratory finale.
The Condition of Being Human
$18.00For Solo Guitar © 2025This four-movement suite explores creativity, contentment, and exuberance through contrasting moods, from dramatic and improvisatory passages to lyrical reflection and…Add to CartThree Vignettes of South America
$18.00For Guitar Duo © 2025Three Vignettes of South America is a vibrant suite for two guitars, capturing traditional Latin rhythms and colours through a habanera, a milonga, and a lively rumba.
Three Vignettes of South America
$18.00For Guitar Duo © 2025Three Vignettes of South America is a vibrant suite for two guitars, capturing traditional Latin rhythms and colours through a…Add to Cart
About the Composer
Knopf’s unique compositional voice blends the elegance of classical guitar with the rhythmic flair of jazz, the hypnotic repetition of minimalism, the colour of world music, and the introspective textures of modernist traditions.
Every piece in the OATS collection is an invitation to explore, to challenge, and to feel.
About Michael
About the Project
Once Around the Sun is a groundbreaking collection of 365 original works for classical guitar by composer and guitarist Dr Michael D. Knopf.
This extensive body of work invites guitarists of all levels into a richly diverse musical journey, one that spans genres, aesthetics, and technical challenges.
About the ProjectTestimonials
Let's connect
If you have any questions about the music or the project, please get in touch.
The compositions in Once Around the Sun are licensed for personal and individual professional use only. Unauthorized distribution, resale, or sharing is prohibited. Arrangements require prior written consent from the composer.
