Biography

Gonçalo Maia Caetano was born in Coimbra, Portugal. He started playing the guitar at the age of 7 in Academia de Música de Pinhel. In 2012 Gonçalo moved to study in the Conservatório de Música S. José da Guarda with the professor Pedro Ospina. The guitarist is currently in his final year of Bachelor’s Degree Course in Classical Guitar at the Royal Academy of Music, with professor Michael Lewin.

Gonçalo has performed in many concerts throughout Portugal, Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria and United Kingdom. During his studies in Portugal, he was fortunate to be invited to be a part of the orchestra “Guitarrafonia”. They performed in famous venues and festivals such as Centro Cultural de Belém and in the festival “Allegromosso”.

In 2016 Gonçalo won the 2nd prize Ex-Aequo in Valencia’s International Guitar Competition and later in the year he was awarded the 3rd prize in Guimarães International Guitar Competition. In the following year, he was the winner in the competition “Grand Prize Virtuoso” and consequently was invited to give a concert in Wiener Saal, Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria. In 2021, Gonçalo was the Winner of the Blyth Watson Guitar Concerto Prize at the Royal Academy of Music.

Gonçalo has had Masterclasses with distinguished guitarists such as David Russell, Fabio Zanon, Lukasz Kuropaczewski, Roland Dyens, Laura Young, Graham Devine, Michel Sadanowsky, Carlo Marchione and many more acclaimed musicians.

Apart from his classical guitar studies, he is very interested in Jazz. In the end of his first year at the Royal Academy of Music, Gonçalo started his second study in Jazz Guitar. He also has his own Jazz project “Maia” with which he released the single “Yellow”. In 2020, Gonçalo joined the “Phemo Quartet” as a Bass player and in 2022 the quartet performed in the Vortex Jazz Club.

Musicians’ Company Award: Musicians’ Company Award 2022 and The Prince’s Prize 2023

Page Updated: July 2022

Photo Credit: Miguel Pereira da Silva