Brew Guitar Duo
Recognised as one of Australia’s leading young guitar ensembles, the Brew Guitar Duo plays with a refreshing blend of humour, imagination, and technical mastery. Their boundless repertoire encompasses everything from much-loved Spanish masterpieces, to brilliant new Australian compositions, to re-imagined popular music favourites.
The Brew Guitar Duo has firmly established its place in the Australian music scene through countless performances for major international music festivals and music societies in nearly every capital city, as well as a host of regional centres. The duo has given a number of live broadcasts on ABC Classic FM, where their recordings are frequently aired.
Strongly dedicated to the future of Australian music, the Brew Guitar Duo is reviving the duet repertoire with exciting and imaginative new works from leading and emerging Australian composers. The duo has commissioned and premiered new music from composers including Richard Charlton and Robert Davidson, as well as its own in-house composer-member Bradley Kunda. Their recent CD Landscape: Australian Guitar Duets, has been lauded nationally and internationally as “a tribute to the high standard of current Australian music”, “impeccable” and “lots of fun” by magazines including the ABC’s Limelight Magazine, and the UK’s international Classical Guitar Magazine.
The duo’s members, Bradley Kunda and Matt Withers, are constantly engaged in a wealth of musical activities. Each are respected soloists in their own right, and have performed throughout the world in countries such as China, Spain, Italy and Montenegro. Bradley and Matt also comprise one-half of Australia’s premier guitar quartet Guitar Trek, which has for the past 25 years pioneered new repertoire for the guitar family under the leadership of the duo’s mentor Timothy Kain.
In its 10th year, the duo launched Home Recitals, an innovative new concert project that brings world-class performances into the homes of music lovers. Whether it be an intimate private recital, an international festival concert, or a radio broadcast to millions, the Brew Guitar Duo is always committed to building strong ties with its audiences. Everything from the choice of fun and colourful repertoire, to the player’s electrifying personal rapport and stage presence, combines to make a Brew concert a unique and exciting musical experience.
Bradley Kunda - guitar
Australian classical guitarist Bradley Kunda has been lauded ‘among the best of his generation of world-class performers.’ To date his concert career has seen him perform with some of Australia’s leading ensembles and instrumentalists; he is a member of Australia’s premier guitar quartet Guitar Trek, as well as the Brew Guitar Duo, and he has collaborated with a diverse range of artists in many of Australia’s most prestigious festivals, including the Adelaide and Darwin International Guitar Festivals, the Canberra International Music Festival, and the Tyalgum Festival of Classical Music. Bradley was a frequent artist in the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s pre-eminent Sunday Live series, and has given concerts for Musica Viva Countrywide. 2013 saw Bradley as a finalist for the Music Council of Australia’s Freedman Fellowship for Classical Music, placing him alongside the most promising of young Australian classical musicians. Among his many awards include First Prize in the Fifth International Competition “Festival de Córdoba” (Spain), a Canberra Critic’s Circle Award (Australia), and the audience prize in the Nikšić International Guitar Competition (Montenegro). A passionate exponent of contemporary Australian classical music, Bradley has premiered new works by composers including Peter Sculthorpe, Robert Davidson, Marc Isaacs and Richard Charlton. A talented arranger and composer himself, he has been featured in ABC Classic FM’s Young Australian Composers series celebrating “Australian Music Month,” and has been commissioned to write for various celebrated instrumentalists, including William Barton and Anthony Garcia. Bradley holds a doctorate in guitar performance from the Australian National University, where his mentor was eminent guitarist and pedagogue, Timothy Kain AM. He has taught into the degree programs at The Australian National University and the University of Newcastle. Since late-2014 he has been mentored by Australia's most esteemed musical educator, Richard Gill OAM, in conducting, musical analysis and piano accompaniment.
Matt Withers - guitar
ABC Classics artist Matt Withers is an internationally acclaimed classical guitar performer who also forms part of Australia’s premier guitar quartet Guitar Trek, headed by world-renowned classical guitarist Timothy Kain. Matt also forms half of the Brew Guitar Duo, recognised as “a significant addition to the guitar landscape in Australia”. The Matt Withers Australian Music Composition Competition continues again this year, offering over $3,000 in cash and prizes with the support of some wonderful sponsors! Matt recently returned from a successful solo tour of New Zealand where he gave concerts and masterclasses in partnership with both Universities and Guitar Societies across the country. In 2014, Matt was invited to perform in Paris and Versailles and to provide masterclasses at the renowned Uppsala International Guitar Festival 2014 where he had the opportunity to present on his passion, the Entrepreneurial Guitarist. Matt enthused other young classical musicians to work hard at their art and use innovative entrepreneurial techniques to further their musical careers.
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