Andrea de Vitis
The Winner of Classical Guitar

Andrea De Vitis was born in 1985 in Rome, Italy. After graduating from the Conservatory “Morlacchi” in Perugia, he continued his studies at “Segovia Guitar Academy” in Pordenone and attended masterclasses with masters such as Oscar Ghiglia, Carlo Marchione, Arturo Tallini, Pavel Steidl and many more.

So far Andrea has won more than 35 prizes in numerous international contests, including Certamen Internacional “Julian Arcas” in Almerìa, Forum Gitarre Vienna, Budapest International Competition, Gargnano International Competition, Iserlohn International Competition, Guitar Foundation of America and many more. He also received two ‘Golden guitar awards’ from the International Guitar Convention “Pittaluga” (Alessandria): for the most promising guitarist (2014) and for the best CD (2016).

Andrea De Vitis has performed in his homeland Italy and all over the world (USA, Russia, Europe), winning acclaim from both audiences and critics. His debut album ‘Colloquio with Andrés Segovia’ ('Dialogue with Andrés Segovia') released by DotGuitar in March 2015 was also warmly received by the media and fans. Andrea often leads masterclasses at prestigious festivals, such as Balatonfured Guitar Festival, Maastricht Conservatorium, Gitarrenakademie Pforzheim, Stuttgart Guitar Festival and many more.

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Davide Tomasi
The Classical Guitar 2nd Prize Winner

Davide Giovanni Tomasi was born in 1991 in Pavia, Italy. He graduated cum laude from the conservatory in Novara with M° Fichtner and is now studying for a masters degree under the guidance of Paolo Pegoraro at University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz, Austria.

So far Davide has won more than twenty-five prizes in international competitions, such as the Tokyo International Guitar Competition, Gargnano International Guitar Competition, “Emilio Pujol” International Guitar Competition in Sassari, Viseu International Guitar Competition in Portugal, Niksic International Guitar Competition in Montenegro, Groznjan International Guitar Competition in Croatia, Corrado Alba International Guitar Competition, "Ferdinando Carulli" International Guitar Competition in Rome and many more.

In 2011 he won the National Prize Of Arts awarded by the Italian Ministry of Education to the best musicians studying in Italy. This success gave him the chance to perform in many Italian cities and at the Institute of Italian Culture in Paris. One year later he was accepted at Chigiana Academy in Siena where he studied with M° Ghiglia. Davide Giovanni Tomasi is considered one of the most promising soloist of his generation and since 2016 he’s been a D’Addario Artist.

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Tengyue Zhang
The Classical Guitar 3rd Prize Winner

Tengyue Zhang was born in China in 1993. He commenced classical guitar studies at the age of 5 and when he turned 7, he began to study with Professor Chen Zhi. In 2005, Zhang entered The Music School by The Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. During this period, he attended masterclasses delivered by Roland Dyens, Alvaro Pierri, Michael Lewin, Shin-Ichi Fukuda and many other renowned international virtuosos. Since 2012 Tengyue has studied for a BA in Music at The Juilliard School under the guidance of Sharon Isbin.

Zhang has won several awards at prestigious guitar festivals, such as the Sixth GFA INT. Guitar Competition Senior Division in America, IV Parkening International Guitar Competition, 13th International Guitar Youth Competition in Vienna, or the IV Changsha International Guitar Competition. In years 2009-2011 he received the award for professional excellence from The Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, China.

Tengyue Zhang has wowed audiences since the age of eight, when he was called “Little John Williams” by the German virtuoso guitarists Dale Kavanagh and Thomas Kirchhoff.

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Soenke Meinen
The Fingerstyle Category Winner

Soenke Meinen was born in 1991 in Aurich, Germany. Having studied at the College of Music in Dresden, Soenke has received tuition from the renowned musicians, such as Thomas Fellow, Stephan Bormann or Reentko Dirks. Since 2011 he has played over 300 concerts, both solo and in group projects.

Of course, before the Guitar Masters success, Soenke had won awards at contests such as Open Strings or the European Guitar Award. He received “Deutschlandstipendium“ - the renowned scholarship and several other awards for musical excellence, including the title of ‘Artesano Guitarist of the Year 2016’.

Soenke is also the initiator of the International Freepsum Guitar Festival taking place each year since 2011, where he acts as artistic director and collaborates with local communities. His solo album ‘Perpetuum Mobile’ was released in August 2016 by DR. HEART MUSIC.

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David Lindorfer
The Fingerstyle Category 2nd Prize Winner

David Lindorfer is an experienced guitarist from Austria whose music easily escapes any form of classification. He studied classical guitar at the Anton Bruckner University in Linz, as well as in the guitar and world music class at the Dresden Academy of Music.

In 2007 David won the ‘Open Strings’ International Competition and in 2009 he received the ‘European Guitar Award’. A year later David had his debut album entitled ‘Between places’ released by a well-known label "Acoustic Music Records". His CD was acclaimed by critics as a "real pearl" (Folker).

In his concerts David plays a repertoire that combines classical compositions, modern fingerstyle, world music and jazz.

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Antal Pusztai
The Fingerstyle Category 3rd Prize Winner

Antal Pusztai was born in 1978 in Győr, Hungary. He received his first guitar lessons from his father. Then Antal continued his studies in Frankfurt am Main with Stephen Werner, and at the conservatory of Wien, under the guidance of Inge Scholl – Kremmel. Antal also entered the Music University of Wien, where he studied in the artist group of Alvaro Pierri.

Antal Pusztai is a popular and sought - after guitar artist of the classical and the jazz world at the same time, who's been playing concerts all over the world from Europe via South-Corea to Columbia.

Antal has won numerous competitions, scholarships and awards. Among others, he received prizes in International Guitar award in Kutna-Hora, Chechia, Yamaha International Guitar award in Wien, Austria, International ’Attila Zoller’ Guitar award in Budapest, Montreaux Jazz Guitar Award in Switzerland, International Guitar Award Weikersheim, Germany or European Guitar Award, Dresden, Germany.