Xavier Jara

After winning many of the world's most important classical guitar competitions, Xavier has performed hundreds of concerts mainly throughout the U.S.A, Europe, Japan, India, and China. He has held teaching positions at California State University Fullerton and the University of Louisville. Now based in Louisville, KY, Xavier maintains an international concert career while teaching locally and virtually. 

Short version bio:

Xavier Jara (1993) is an American guitarist of international acclaim. In 2016, he won the coveted First Prize of the Guitar Foundation of America International Concert Artist Competition, which awarded him a sixty-concert tour. The tour, which began in September 2017, spanned locations across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Guatemala, and Panama, including a concert at Carnegie Hall. 

A native of Minnesota, Xavier studied with Alan Johnston at the MacPhail Center for Music in Minneapolis until 2011, when he moved to Paris, France to study with Judicaël Perroy for the next six years.  During this time, he completed his Bachelor’s Degree at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris, where he also studied with French guitarist Olivier Chassain and lute master Eric Bellocq.  

He received 1st place in a number of international competitions including the Viseu International Competition (2014), the Boston Guitarfest (2014), the Gargnano, Italy Competition (2015), the Ciudad de Coria Competition (2015), and the Tokyo International Competition (2016).  In 2016, Xavier returned home to the United States to win the GFA’s prestigious Rose Augustine Grand Prize.

In May 2020, Xavier earned his Master’s degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. He continues to perform around the world and joined the United States Guitar Orchestra as a soloist in 2022 on their tour of Spain. An active teacher as well, he previously served as the Adjunct Professor of Guitar at California State University Fullerton (Fullerton, CA) and recently taught the Spring 2022 semester at the University of Louisville (Louisville, KY), conducting and performing in Javier Farías’s Arauco with the U of L guitar ensemble. 

Xavier is sponsored by Augustine Strings and plays a guitar by Enrico Bottelli.

I am familiar with teaching students of all levels and backgrounds, from very beginner to the most advanced, amateur, or professional. Nurturing a healthy relationship with music is key to playing the guitar with ease and enjoyment. The world has become smaller with the internet, and these days you can have the right teacher even if you live on another continent.