The Australian classical guitarist has won the Melbourne International Guitar Festival’s Concert Artist Competition.

Callum Henshaw has been awarded first place in the Melbourne International Guitar Festival’s Concert Artist Competition. The prize includes a nine-concert tour around Australia in 2018 and $1000 cash.

^{Callum Henshaw. Photograph supplied}

The Competition is part of the Melbourne International Guitar Festival (MIGF), run by the Mebourne Guitar Foundation. Now in its third year, the 2017 Festival took place in Melba Hall at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music last weekend. Since its debut in 2015, the Festival has grown to include concerts artists and competitors from all over the world. Performers this year included Italian classical guitarist Lorenzo Micheli, Australian flamenco guitarists Gerard Mapstone and Richard Tedsco, Andrew Blanch – the winner of the 2016 Competition – and the Melbourne Guitar Quartet.

Each year the MIGF hosts a competition open to all ages and abilities, with Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced and Concert Artist categories. Henshaw won the first prize in the main Concert Artist category, performing a programme of music by Agustín Barrios from Paraguay, Miguel Llobet from Spain and part of a recent work by Leo Brouwer from Cuba.

Speaking to Limelight, Henshaw says: “Competitions have never been a passion of mine – but they can be incredibly useful. Interestingly, where I’ve had success, the opportunities that have come as a consequence of a win have far outweighed the win itself. In this case, however, the nine-concert tour has made my schedule for next year a lot simpler (and a lot busier). In terms of prizes, I can’t think of anything that would be of more benefit than the exposure and experience that comes with such a tour. Having a festival organised around a competition also allows competitors and guitar enthusiasts to meet, learn from, and hear in concert some of the best artists in the world. In this regard, the Melbourne International Guitar Festival was a huge success.”

Henshaw is currently completing a doctorate in music at the Australian National University (ANU) and will have to “squeeze” the tour in around that. “The tour covers pretty much all of Australia: Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne (at next year’s Festival), Brisbane, Perth, Darwin, Alice Springs, Orange and Tamworth,” he says.

Born in Canberra, Henshaw is considered one of Australia’s leading young classical guitarists. He has had success in a number of major national and international competitions, including winning first prize at the 2012 Cordoba International Guitar Competition, the 2014 Tirana International Guitar Competition, and the 2015 Friends of the ANU School of Music Chamber Music Competition (with Andrew Blanch).

He began playing the guitar at age six, studying with a number of Canberra’s leading teachers, including Minh Le Hoang, and completed his honours degree with First Class Honours at the ANU’s School of Music under world-renowned guitar performer and teacher, Timothy Kain. In 2016, he released a critically acclaimed album called Echo & Return, which includes the world premiere recording of Bleed-through by Australian composer, Samuel Smith.

His research and creative practice for his doctorate focuses on composer-performer relationships and how these relationships affect the very musical fabric of the final work.

“This Friday I have the second of three recitals for my PhD. I am particularly delighted to be giving the Australian premiere of Sonata del Decamerón Negro by Leo Brouwer. It’s a real handful but one of the most spectacular works I’ve had the pleasure of learning,” he says. “Alongside that, I will perform Malcolm Arnold’s Guitar Concerto, some folk-song arrangements by Miguel Llobet, and Stélé by the Melbourne-based composer, Phillip Houghton.”

Henshaw’s seocnd PhD recital concert takes place in the Larry Sitsky Recital Room at ANU on September 29 at 6.30pm.  It is free and open to the public. Details can be found HERE