Gwenyth Aggeler (USA)

Gwenyth Aggeler is a 17-year-old guitarist from Denver, CO. She began studying the guitar at age 6 with Aaron Medina and continued her studies in middle and high-school with Alex Komodore.

Gwenyth was featured on NPR’s radio program From the Top in February of 2019 and recently performed on From the Top’s live-stream concert series. She has been awarded prizes in several competitions including a prize in the New York Guitar Competition, first prize in the Eastern Music Festival High School Guitar Competition, and second prize in the junior and senior divisions of the Guitar Foundation of America International Youth Competition.

Gwenyth has performed in master classes with Manuel Barrueco, Martha Masters, Judicaël Perroy, Los Romeros, Jason Vieaux, and Thomas Viloteau. She is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Music degree at Peabody Conservatory in the studio of Maestro Manuel Barrueco. 

Ewan Armstrong (USA)

Ewan Armstrong began studying classical guitar at the age of 7 with George Little at South Shore Conservatory in Hingham, MA. He continued his music education in high school by attending Walnut Hill School for the Arts in Natick MA, where he studied with Jerome Mouffe through New England Conservatory’s Preparatory Division.

Ewan has participated in master classes with David Leisner, Leo Brouwer, Matthew McAllister, Matthew Cochran, and many others. In 2024 he was awarded the Frank Wallace Fellowship by the Boston Classical Guitar Society and will perform in their 2024-2025 concert series. Ewan is currently enrolled at Johns Hopkins schools Peabody Institute and the Krieger School for Arts and Sciences pursuing a Bachelor of Music degree in Manuel Barrueco’s studio and a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics.

Tommy Dupuis (Canada)

The extraordinary journey of classical guitarist Tommy Dupuis began when he was 17 at the Cégep de Drummondville when he undertook a double Diploma of College Studies program in Health Sciences and Music (jazz guitar interpretation). Following his first few live performances, he fell in love with the music scene and the ability to share more than music with his audience. When he graduated, he decided to dedicate himself entirely to music by pursuing his undergraduate studies in classical guitar at the School of Music of Sherbrooke University. Three years later he was admitted into the graduate program at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University. Tommy is currently pursuing his Graduate Performance Diploma in the studios of Manuel Barrueco and Franco Platino.

Tommy will be the touring artist for the Jeunesse Musicale Canada’s 2024–2025 Emerging Artist Tour.

Nadja Jankovic (Montenegro)

Nadja Jankovic was born in 2000 and started playing the guitar at the age of nine. She attended “Vida Matjan” music high school, studying guitar with Professors Maroje Brcic and Stefan Schmidt as well as piano with Professor Jelena Kordic.

So far, she has won more than 30 international first prizes and is enjoying a rich international performing career, which has taken her throughout Europe and the United States including concerts in Florence, Rome, Vienna, Baden Baden, Tholey, etc. In her home country of Montenegro, Nadja has given numerous concerts in the Church of the Holy Spirit and Cathedral of Saint Tryphon in Kotor, a solo recital in the Parliament of Montenegro, and performed with the KotorArt festival Orchestra in the KotorArt Festival.

Nadja has participated in many international master classes with artists such as:  Paolo Pegoraro, Adriano del Sal, Oscar Ghiglia, Fotis Koutsothodoros, Alirio Diaz, Gabriel Guillen, Stefan Schmidt, Judicael Perroy, Lukasz Kuropaczewski, Petrit Çeku, Manuel Barrueco, Vera Ogrizovic, Srdjan Tosic, Darko Karajic, Jelica Mijanovic, Xhevdet Sahatxhija, Tomas Oferman, Maroje Brcic, Vladimir Gorbac, Carlo Marchione, Olaf Van Gonnissen, Andrea De Vitis, Anders Miolin, Rovshan Mamedkuliev, Nikita Koshkin, Hubert Käppel, Gabriel Bianco, Leon Koudelak, and Costas Cotsiolis.

In 2016 Nadja became a member of the “D’Addario family.” She is currently attending the Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University in the studio of Maestro Manuel Barrueco.

Jennifer Kim (USA)

Hailed by Pepe Romero as a “wonderful musician and guitarist” who he believes will “grow into a great artist,” Jennifer Kim is already developing an international reputation at the young age of seventeen for her stunning virtuosity and sensitive musicality.

She was a Grand Prize Winner of the 25th annual Spotlight Awards held in May 2013, won the first prize in the Indiana International Guitar Competition Senior Youth Division, shared first prize at the Pacific Arts Guitar Competition, the American String Teachers Association California State and Regional Junior competitions, and recently, she was a prize winner at the inaugural Classics Alive Competition. At the young age of eleven, Jennifer was awarded fourth place in the Guitar Foundation of America International Youth Competition and was selected as a finalist in the 2011 ASTA National Competition. In 2012, Jennifer was awarded 3rd place in the Christopher Parkening International Young Guitarist Competition, at 13, the youngest competitor.

Jennifer’s concerts include performing the “Concierto de Aranjuez” by Rodrigo at the 90th Gala Celebration of the American Guitar Society in 2013 and again in March of 2014 with the Mill Valley Philharmonic under conductor Laurie Cohen.  In 2015, Jennifer toured for the Piatigorsky Foundation, and during the 2016-2017 season, Jennifer made her debut with the Bartlesville Symphony in addition to several solo recitals throughout the season.

Jennifer began classical guitar studies with her father when she was eight, and from 2008 until 2016 she has studied with Jack Sanders. Currently, Jennifer is in the studio of Manuel Barrueco at the Peabody Conservatory, where she is pursuing a Bachelor of Music degree.

Junhong Kuang (China)

As one of the most influential young musicians today, guitarist Junhong Kuang was selected as one of the 30 Brilliant Classical Musicians Under 30 by conductor Julian Lloyd Webber. In 2017, he was awarded the top prize in the classical guitar category of the prestigious ARD Music Competition, along with the Audience Prize and the Ifp-Musikpreis, making him the youngest prizewinner in ARD’s history.

Junhong has performed with some of the top orchestras around the world, including the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Czech Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra, Munich Radio Orchestra, Basel Collegium, and Chengdu Symphony Orchestra.

Junhong has released two recordings on Naxos: a solo recording and a concerto recording. He is an associate professor at the Sichuan Conservatory of Music and is faculty at the Preparatory Division of The Tianjin Juilliard School in Beijing.

Junhong began his study at the age of nine with Professor Xu Bao in Chengdu, China. He entered the Peabody Conservatory at the age of 15 and completed his Bachelor of Music degree with Maestro Manuel Barrueco. He is currently finalizing his Master of Music degree with Maestro Manuel Barrueco.

Samuel Liang (Taiwan)

Classical guitarist Samuel Liang is a distinguished Taiwanese musician renowned for being the youngest guitarist to win over ten international guitar competitions and concerto competitions.

Samuel has been acclaimed for his solo and concerto performances across Singapore, Malaysia, China, South Korea, the United States, and Taipei. In May 2024, Samuel graduated with highest distinction at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where he studied under the mentorship of David Tanenbaum. Currently, Samuel is pursuing his master’s degree under the tutelage of Manuel Barrueco at the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University.

Andres Felipe Palacios (Colombia)

Andres Felipe Palacios began studying the guitar at the age of eight in his native Colombia.  His first performance experiences were through Colombian Andean music, which led him to participate in a wide variety of festivals and national competitions: Winner of the Young Performers Series, performing as part of the National Concert Season of the Banco de la República; Festival Colombia al Parque; Finalist of 39th Festival Mono Núñez; Grand Prize for Excellence Concurso Nacional de Música Andina Colombiana Cacique Tundama; Special Mention Festival Hatoviejo Cotrafa; and the Grand Prize for Excellence, Festival Nacional de la Canción Zue De Oro.

Andres got a Bachelor of Arts in Guitar with Cum Laude distinction at the University of Antioquia. He completed his Master of Music in Guitar and Pedagogy at the Peabody Institute under the guidance of Manuel Barrueco and is currently pursuing his Graduate Performance Diploma in the studios of Manuel Barrueco and Franco Platino.

Andres is the recipient of the Excellence in Music Leadership Fellow and Ambassador Scholar of the Latin Grammy Cultural Foundation.

Penelope Shvarts (USA)

Penelope Shvarts has played both classical and flamenco guitar since she was 5 years old, having studied with teachers Gohar Vardanyan, Elysa and Jason Hochman, and Grisha and Dmitry Goryachev. She has a plethora of accolades from competitions like the National High School Guitar Competition, Southern Guitar Festival, YoungArts National Arts Competition, and Guitar Foundation of America International Youth Competition.

Most recently, Penelope was presented in the Emerging Artist Showcase at the Long Island Guitar Festival and performed alongside violinist Midori at the Midori & Friends 30^th Anniversary Gala. While studying music, Penelope has worked with organizations such as Strings4Smiles, Notelove, and Midori & Friends, where she helps to promote free music education.

In the fall of 2023, Penelope will begin her undergraduate degree in classical guitar performance at the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University, where she will study under Maestro Manuel Barrueco.

Hejia Zhu (China)

Hejia Zhu was born in Fuzhou, China, in 2007. From the age of 8, she studied classical guitar at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. During this period, she participated in master classes with many international guitarists, such as Alvaro Pierri, Hubert Kappel, Meng Su, Eric Franceries, Jeremy Jouve, and Diego Campagna. Hejia is currently pursuing her Bachelor of Music degree in Guitar Performance at the Peabody Conservatory with Maestro Manuel Barrueco.