Austin Wahl, Guitarist

Dr. Austin Wahl is an internationally known performer and teacher. Recent concerts and masterclasses include engagements for the Minnesota Guitar Society, Great Lakes Guitar Society (NY), Southern Guitar Festival (SC), Guitar Society of Toronto, Guitar Hamilton (Ontario, Canada), and Festival Internacional de Guitarra en Lagos (Jalisco, Mexico).

Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1993, he studied with Alan Johnston, a founding member of the Minneapolis Guitar Quartet, at the MacPhail Center for Music from 1998 to 2011. Wahl holds bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees as well as a performer's certificate from the Eastman School of Music, where he studied with Nicholas Goluses.
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He has also studied privately with Thomas Viloteau, Joseph Pecoraro, Kristian Anderson, Kenneth Meyer, Dieter Hennings, Matthew Slotkin, and David Crittenden.

Currently, Wahl teaches Suzuki and traditional classical, acoustic, and electric guitar, as well as mandolin lessons at the Kanack School of Musical Artistry in Rochester, NY. Please visit (link hidden) for more information.

As a classical guitarist, Wahl has performed in masterclasses as a soloist for Leo Brouwer, David Russell, Manuel Barrueco, Paul Galbraith, Roland Dyens, Sharon Isbin, Eliot Fisk, Matteo Mela, Lorenzo Micheli, Judicael Perroy, Jeremy Jouve, Raphaella Smits, Benjamin Verdery, Anton Baranov, and Grisha Goryachev.

As a member of the MacPhail Guitar Quartet (Austin Wahl, Xavier Jara, Henry Johnston, and Luke Banchy), Wahl has also performed in masterclasses for SoloDuo and the Eden/Stell Guitar Duo.

Additionally, as a bluegrass guitarist, Wahl has performed in a masterclass for acclaimed banjoist Béla Fleck.

Wahl has won prizes in the following competitions:
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Indiana University International Guitar Competition, Bloomington, Indiana (1st, 2019; 3rd, 2017 and 2016; 4th, 2018)
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Southern Guitar Competition, Columbia, South Carolina (1st, 2019; 2nd, 2017 and 2016)
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Hamilton International Guitar Competition, Hamilton, Ontario (1st, 2018; 3rd, 2017; 2nd, 2016)
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Lone Star Guitar Competition, Weatherford, Texas (1st, 2018; 3rd, 2015)

Great Lakes Guitar Society Competition, Syracuse/Buffalo, New York (1st, 2015; 3rd, 2014 and 2013)

Thursday Musical Scholarship Competition, St. Paul, Minnesota (1st, 2011)

Schubert Club Scholarship Competition, St. Paul, Minnesota (1st, 2010; 2nd, 2009)

Minnesota State Fair Bluegrass Flatpicking Contest Youth Division, Falcon Heights, Minnesota (1st, 2009)
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Montreal International Guitar Competition, Montreal, Québec
(2nd, 2017; 3rd, 2019)

University of Louisville Solo Artist Competition, Louisville, Kentucky (2nd, 2015)

In February 2014, Wahl won the biennial Eastman Guitar Concerto Competition, and subsequently performed Rodrigo's Fantasia para une Gentilhombre with orchestra in the Eastman School of Music's Kilbourn Hall. Previously in December of 2011, he received an honorable mention as a freshman, competing with Castelnuovo-Tedesco's Guitar Concerto in D.

He was also selected by public popular vote as one of five Showcase Round Artists in Minnesota Public Radio's inaugural Minnesota Varsity competition for young musicians in 2011.

Wahl participated in the Book 1 Suzuki Method teaching course with Mary Lou Roberts in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 2012, and did so for Book 2 with Andrea Cannon in Spring, Texas, in 2015.