Regarded by The Guardian as “impressively expert” and by Classical Guitar Magazine as “a highly talented player’’, Albanian-born Jon Gjylaci is in increasing demand as a performer due to his wide ranging repertoire, “brilliant interpretations”, “compelling quality to his guitar playing” and his ability to connect with the audience.
Jon has given concerts, recitals and masterclasses across the UK and Europe and has appeared in venues such as St Martin-in-the-Fields, Cadogan Hall, The Bridgewater Hall and Liverpool University to name but a few. Jon was invited to Manchester Guitar Circle’s ‘70th Anniversary Concert’ where he performed alongside the celebrated Chinese guitarist Xuefei Yang. He has also given solo performances at Chester Guitar Circle and London’s Ealing Guitar Society.
In recent years, Jon has given several world premieres of new guitar works such as Ray Kohn’s ‘Dances in the Dark’, Mark Houghton’s ‘Sonatine’, Helen Walker’s ‘Five Divertissements’ and Frederick Naftel’s ‘Villancico’ and ‘Cinematic Suite’. During last season he performed Joaquin Rodrigo’s ‘Concierto de Aranjuez’ with RTSH Symphony Orchestra of Albania as well as Rodrigo’s ‘Fantasia para un Gentilhombre’ with Bolton Chamber Orchestra. He has also collaborated with Manchester String Orchestra and the award-winning Northern String Quartet.
Jon has appeared live on BBC Radio 3 and was selected as one of their ‘BBC Classical Introducing Artists’. He was also a leading feature in Classical Guitar Magazine Spring 2017 issue and his latest album ‘Edges of Thought’ was named by the magazine as one of the Top 10 best classical guitar recordings of 2017.
Jon has released two critically acclaimed solo guitar albums and Classical Guitar Magazine has commented on his “…very impressive technical ability, which enables him to flash around the fingerboard in an apparent effortless manner."
The Guardian wrote “…when in the impressively expert hands of Jon Gjylaci, [the guitar’s] versatility is immediately apparent.’’
Jon studied at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester under the internationally acclaimed guitarist Craig Ogden, gaining his Bachelor of Music degree and his Postgraduate Diploma in Performance with distinction. Jon plays a 2007 Greg Smallman guitar.
Free recital (retiring collection)