The Guitar SA International Artist Series presents 2015 GFA International Concert Artist Competition winner Thibaut Garcia live at Colonial Hills UMC on Sunday Jan. 22, 2017 at 7:30pm. Admission is FREE. A $15 donation is encouraged. All proceeds benefit Guitar SA educational outreach programs.
Thibaut Garcia (France)
Born in Toulouse, France, Thibaut Garcia began to play the guitar at the age of seven. Garcia credits his Spanish origins as a primary influence on his way of thinking. He studied in Toulouse where he received his chamber music diploma under the tutelage of Renaud Gruss, and his guitar diploma, with academic honors, under Paul Ferret. At sixteen, Garcia entered the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris, where he would complete his Bachelor’s, with academic superlatives, with Olivier Chassain. He currently studies privately with Judicaël Perroy.
At twenty-two, Garcia has already won several international competition prizes including first prize at the Guitar Foundation of America in Oklahoma City in 2015, the “Jose Thomas” international competition in Spain in 2014, the IV Sevilla International Guitar Competition in Spain in 2013, the “Terra Siculorum” in Romania in 2013, the “Ana Amalia” in Weimar, Germany in 2011, and the “Valle de Egues” in Spain in 2008.
In part of his competition accolades, Garcia has already begun an international concert career, having performed in France, Spain, England, Germany, Romania, Hungary, Canada, United States, Brazil, Greece, Argentina, Mexico, Russia, and China. In the fall of 2016, Garcia will begin a tour of over fifty concert dates in the United States and Canada as part of his prize for winning the 2015 Guitar Foundation of America International Concert Artist Competition.
His first recording, “Demain dès l’aube” (Tomorrow At Dawn) was produced by the Contrastes label in 2014 and features a unique program of Bach, Berio, and Regondi. In 2016, Garcia will release his major-label debut with a recording for Warner Classics entitled Leyendas (Legends).
In his native France, Garcia was recently featured on La Boîte à Musique (The Music Box) where he was invited to perform on national television by Jean-François Zygel. In December 2015, he also performed on France Musique for Gaëlle Le Gallic’s program. Garcia was also recently awarded the distinction of “filleul” (Godson) by the Académie Charles Cross, a cultural organization that acts as an intermediary between goverment policy makers and professional musicians in France.