Raphaël Feuillâtre at First Unitarian Atrium on April 7th

Admired by audiences for his world class virtuosity, Raphaël Feuillâtre brings fresh, inspired interpretations to the classical guitar. Born in 1996, Raphaël Feuillâtre began classical guitar lessons at the age of nine with Hacène Addadi at Cholet Conservatory. In 2012, he entered Michel Grizard’s class at the Conservatory of Nantes and, three years later, he was accepted to Paris National Superior Conservatory of Music and Dance (CNSMDP) into the class of Roland Dyens where he obtained his Bachelor of Performing Arts degree in 2017 with highest honors. Raphaël completed his Master’s in Classical Guitar Performance with Tristan Manoukian in 2019, again with highest honors. Raphaël is also mentored by internationally renowned guitarist and pedagogue Judicaël Perroy, who played a very important role in his artistic development.

As a result of his 2018 win of classical guitar’s most prestigious competition, Guitar Foundation of America (GFA), Raphaël completed the recording of his second opus for the Naxos Label in 2019 (Barrios, Granados, Llobet, Rachmaninoff, Rameau, Ramirez, Scriabin, Villa-Lobos). He was a featured soloist at the 2019 GFA conference in Miami, and embarked on his North American tour.

Prior to winning the 2018 GFA, Raphaël Feuillâtre participated in various other international guitar competitions, obtaining several major awards. In 2017, he won 1st prize in the International Guitar Competition Jose Tomas – Villa Petrer (Spain), which awarded him the opportunity to record his first album with JSM Guitar Records in 2018 (Bach, Granados, Tansman, Assad, Dyens). In 2015, Raphaël won 1st prize in the Concours & Festival de guitare de Fontenay sous Bois (France). He is also a laureate of the Festival International de Guitarra Ciudad de Coria in Coria (Spain) (2nd prize, 2014); Festival Internacional de Musica da Primavera de Viseu in Viseu (Portugal) (3rd prize, 2016); and the International Guitar Festival of Kutna Hora (Czech Republic) (3rd prize, 2017).

Raphaël Feuillâtre has appeared at several other classical guitar festivals and venues across the world, including the International Guitar Festival, Budapest ( Hungary) ; Festival of Guitar, Ciutat d’Elx (Spain) ; Guitar Art Festival, Subotica (Serbia) ; Guitarras del Mundo Festival (Argentina) where he toured across the country performing concerts; Changsha International Guitar Festival, Changsha (China) ; a seven-concert tour across Brazil (Brazil) as well as festivals and venues in Denmark, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Holland, and Montenegro. In France, he has been invited to perform chamber music at the Folle Journée de Nantes Festival, and the concerto d’Aranjuez on a five concert tour with the Orchestral Ensemble of Pau (France) . He has held residencies at 6 Cordes au Fil de l’Allier Festival and Guitare en France, and, as a soloist, he performed in the Paris International Guitar Festival, Sul Tasto Festival, Festival de Baume-les-Messieurs and Guitars in Picardy Festival.

Raphael is an endorsee of Savarez guitar strings, one of the world’s leading string manufacturers (founded in 1770).


Raphaël divides his time between performing and teaching. He is regularly invited to give masterclasses during his numerous engagements and holds a permanent teaching position at the Music School of Villeneuve-la-Garenne in Paris region.

Bokyung Byun at St John's Lutheran on March 9th

 

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Praised by Classical Guitar Magazine as “confident and quite extraordinary,” Korean guitarist, Bokyung Byun? enjoys a reputation as one of the most sought-after guitarists of her generation. Notably, she is the first female winner of the prestigious JoAnn Falletta International Guitar Concerto Competition. This win is among many wherein Ms. Byun excelled in the competitive circuit, including first-prize finishes at the Frances Walton Competition, the Montreal International Classical Guitar Competition, and the Philadelphia Classical Guitar Competition. A bevy of orchestras, festivals, workshops, and guitar societies look to Ms. Byun for solo performances and masterclasses. In recent seasons, Ms. Byun has performed as a soloist with orchestras, including the Buffalo Philharmonic, the Utah Symphony, West Los Angeles Symphony, among others. Ms. Byun’s debut recording has been praised as “a very beautiful disc. From the first notes of the “Gallarda” from Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s Escarraman, we are treated to extraordinary musicianship, technical assurance, and beauty of sound” (Soundboard Magazine). Ms. Byun holds Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from The Juilliard School and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Southern California.