Biography

From the gentlest of whispers to visceral percussive power, Jesse Flowers ‘reveals the full potential of the classical guitar’ (Badische Zeitung). His refined command of timbre and nuance saturates every note within his repertoire, from the Renaissance era to today’s contemporary compositions. His playing has captivated audiences at renowned venues such as the Wigmore Hall, Aldeburgh Festival, and the Musikverein in Vienna, and has taken him on concert tours spanning his homeland Australia, Europe, China, and the USA.

Flowers has received prizes at not only a plethora of international solo guitar competitions, in Salzburg, Zagreb, London, Koblenz, Nürtingen, Alessandria, and Darmstadt, but also at prestigious multi-instrumental competitions, including the Deutscher Musikwettbewerb and the Prinzessin Margaret von Hessen Wettbewerb. 

Flowers thrives on collaboration, frequently performing in a variety of chamber music settings. Most prominently, he performs duo recitals with Julia Spies (mezzo-soprano), Ildiko Szabo (cello), and Anissa Baniahmad (flute). These concerts often feature his unique arrangements of an array of composers, spanning from Schubert to Debussy, Bach to Piazzolla, and also newly commissioned pieces. 

An integral part of Flowers’ mission is to grow the repertoire of the classical guitar, a commitment he fulfils through new arrangements, and collaborating with composers to commission original pieces. He has premiered new works by Olivia Davies, Petra Szászi and João Luiz, and aspires to add to this list in the coming years.

As of April 2020, Flowers is Professor for Guitar at the Akademie für Tonkunst Darmstadt in Germany, where he teaches both undergraduate and postgraduate students. Beyond this he also gives masterclasses at guitar festivals and universities across the world. 

Born in Sydney to an Australian-Singaporean father and a German mother, Flowers earned his Bachelor of Music at the Australian National University, studying under the guidance of Minh Le Hoang and Timothy Kain. In 2014, he relocated to Germany, commencing his studies with Tilman Hoppstock in Darmstadt (Akademie Für Tonkunst) and later Thomas Müller-Pering in Berlin (Universität der Künste). Throughout his musical journey, the late composer Phillip Houghton served as a significant and cherished mentor.

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