Hailed as a “Rising Star in the Guitar World” (Corvallis Arts Review), Jaxon Williams is an acclaimed classical guitarist and pedagogue. He has won prizes in various international competitions, including the OSAA Classical Guitar Competition, Sierra Nevada International Classical Guitar Competition, San Francisco Classical Guitar Competition, Pacific Guitar Competition, and Beverly Hills National Auditions. Jaxon is praised as “a player of rare power and grace” (William Kanengiser, GRAMMY award winning LAGQ), having “a refined musicianship, solid technique, and an engaging stage presence” (Frank Koonce, guitar scholar and publisher), and is a sought after performer of the classical guitar. He is also a former Fulbright scholar, having studied in Spain, where he mastered the Spanish guitar repertoire and learned Flamenco guitar with maestros Paco Cortés and Adam del Monte.
Currently based in Los Angeles, CA, Jaxon serves as California Regional Director for the non-profit Lead Guitar (www.leadguitar.org), where he implements classical guitar programs in low-income schools, trains new teachers, and supervises existing programs. An innovator at heart, Jaxon is also working with Lead Guitar to pilot and develop an online learning program to be able to reach rural schools with less access to top quality guitar instruction.
In addition to his work as a solo artist, Jaxon collaborates frequently with ensembles. He is one half of the duo Jâca (www.jacamusic.com) with clarinetist Wesley Ferreira. The duo has been called “WAY too much fun for Classical music” (Cris Inguanti, former assistant principal clarinetist, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra) and actively performs on the concert stage worldwide and also gives masterclasses and lectures at Universities around the USA. Jaxon has also performed extensively with soprano and voice educator Laurel Irene (www.laurelirenesings.com), and together they work to take new classical music to the concert stage.
