Liona Maria Carolynne Boyd, was born in London, England on July 11, 1949, but moved to Canada at the age of eight. At fourteen she asked her parents for a guitar as a Christmas present. After hearing a concert by the English guitarist, Julian Bream, Boyd was determined to master the instrument. While still a teenager she took private lessons with Eli Kassner, Narciso Yepes, Alirio Diaz, Julian Bream, and legendary guitarist Andrés Segovia. Boyd