Antigoni Goni
Biography of Antigoni Goni
Antigoni Goni, a distinguished Greek guitarist, has earned scholarships from the British Council, the Royal Academy, and the Juilliard School. She studied under renowned guitarists Julian Bream, Sharon Isbin, Oscar Ghiglia, John Mills, and Evangelos Assimakopoulos. Maurice J. Summerfield, founder of Classical Guitar magazine, has praised her as an internationally acclaimed soloist and recording artist, a sought-after pedagogue, and a festival organizer whose artistry and expertise are highly esteemed worldwide.
Goni’s illustrious career is marked by numerous competitions and awards, including the prestigious Julian Bream Prize, personally awarded by Julian Bream and received from Lady Diana, and the 1st Prize and NAXOS Prize at the 1995 Guitar Foundation of America Competition (GFA). The latter award propelled her international career as a concert and recording artist.
Antigoni Goni is the founder of the Guitar Department at the Juilliard Pre-College Division in New York City, where she served as chair and taught for 10 years. She also held positions as adjunct professor at Columbia University in New York City, honorary Associate Professor (ARAM) at the Royal Academy of Music in London, and served on the Board of Advisors for the Guitar Foundation of America. Since 2005, she has led the Guitar Department at the Koninklijk Conservatorium in Brussels (KCB), organizing numerous successful international events. In 2015, she was named “Professor of the Year” and awarded the “Madame de la Hault” prize. From 2013 to 2018, she was a member of the Artistic Committee (Artistieke Raad) of the conservatory.
In 2007, Goni founded the Volterra Project, Summer Guitar Institute, which Classical Guitar Magazine has called “groundbreaking.” This international workshop has become a key reference in the field of classical guitar.
Since winning the Guitar Foundation of America Competition in 1995, Goni has performed extensively. Highlights of her career include her 1993 New York debut at Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall, her 1995 performance at the “Bolshoi” Hall of the Moscow Conservatory (the first guitarist to perform there since Andrés Segovia), her 2002 London debut at Wigmore Hall, and her 2005 performance at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus under the Acropolis of Athens, a significant honor for a native Greek.
Goni’s extensive performance history includes annual tours in the USA and Canada, as well as tours in Japan, Malaysia, and multiple locations in Russia. She has returned to Russia many times, performing solo and with orchestras from Novosibirsk to Kazan and from Moscow to St. Petersburg. She regularly participates in music festivals, guitar societies, summer workshops, and subscription series globally. Her recent European tours included a notable concert at King’s Place in London to celebrate the 100th anniversary of John W. Duarte.
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