French guitarist Thomas Viloteau enjoys shaking things up. His approach to the instrument, its repertoire and its technique, has reshaped the term ‘classical’ guitar, into something new, alive and forward thinking.
He is one of the few players to have won both the Guitar Foundation of America and the Francisco Tàrrega competitions. In 2013 he won the Northern Trust/Piper Enrichment Award; which allowed him to commission the Suite Brasileira 3 from composer Sergio Assad. He is the only guitarist to ever win the Arthur Foote Award from the Harvard Musical Association in 2016. He has also been the Artist in Residence at the show Performance Today in 2017.
He won first prize at the Guitar Foundation of America Competition when he was 21. Now, after more than 10 years touring the world, writing a technique book, recording cds and international broadcasts, and obtaining advanced degrees, he is more passionate about music and the guitar than ever. There is nothing ‘classical’ about Thomas Viloteau, and he likes to mix up different types of music in his concerts and recordings. Depending on whether it’s Brazilian, baroque, or romantic music, Viloteau adapts his technique and choice of instrument to achieve a sound, phrasing, or articulation to match the performance practices most appropriate for that particular repertoire.
Website: thomasviloteau.com/