BY STEPHANIE ESLAKE
Guitar is an instrument we often associate with genres such as rock and folk. To Stephanie Jones, explaining to others that she’s a solo classical guitarist hasn’t always been easy.
But in the past year, her message has been spreading like wildfire. In 2017, Stephanie was the highest-viewed classical guitarist on YouTube, and in the physical world she’s debuted at Wigmore Hall and traversed the globe with international tours.
This month, Stephanie has been selected as the opening act at the Melbourne Guitar Festival – the largest guitar fest in the Southern Hemisphere (wow!). Here’s what involvement in this initiative means to her.
Stephanie, how does it feel to take part in the largest annual guitar fest in the Southern Hemisphere?
Fantastic – I am really looking forward to it! The festival will be a wonderful weekend of music, and it will be lovely to meet new people and see some old friends from the Aussie guitar world.
You’re certainly one for extremes – not only are you the opening act for this enormous festival, but your own music videos on YouTube were the highest viewed of any 2017 classical guitarist. That’s insane. How did this happen?
Yeah, I know! It’s really wonderful to see so many people across the globe enjoying my music and supporting me in what I do.
With my videos, I try my best to put out a fresh, engaging, high-quality approach to both the music and the performance of the work. Coupling this with the wonderful camera and sound work by Jakob Schmidt, we produce something that I think is special and people really enjoy. There are probably some internet gods around helping me out, too.
What has internet fame taught you about real-life audiences?
It’s an interesting question. Through the information I can get from my social media accounts, it’s really fascinating to see just how many people from completely different backgrounds come together to enjoy what I share. I suppose this type of audience consumes it in a different way. However, many of my online fans live too far away to travel to the various concerts I do, so most of the audience that comes to my live performances are more local and perhaps have heard about me through the festival or concert series.
How have you used these experiences to shape or change what people might expect of the guitar as an instrument?
A very common question I got growing up was: ‘Oh, you play guitar, are you in a band?!’. I guess a part of me always felt it was ‘less cool’ when I had to explain I am mainly a solo classical guitarist. There is still a bit of stigma with the classical guitar; that it is not as legitimate as other instruments. I hope that through the content I post online, I can help show just how versatile, interesting and evocative the instrument is.
So you’re performing at this festival, where there will be beer, wine, and cheese during intermission…is that why you’re really here?
My hometown is Perth, but I am currently based on Germany, so I am actually travelling quite far for it.
As you said, it’s the biggest annual classical guitar fest down under, so this – along with great line-up and friendly atmosphere – makes it an enticing event to be a part of.
I am also coming to Australia for two more concerts in September – one in Sydney on September 13, and the other in Canberra on September 16. Then, on the way back to Europe, I have a concert in Singapore on October 6.
What are you hoping to take away from the other acts you see at the festival?
I’m always looking for inspiration on how to interpret and present music to an audience, and also what program I should learn next. The other musicians in the festival are fantastic, so I am looking forward to watching them and supporting what they do.
Luckily, I’m first in the program, so I can really sit back and relax for the rest of the weekend!
Enjoy it all with Stephanie when you see her and other outstanding guitarists including Callum Henshaw, Dan McKay, Harold Gretton, and Matt Withers among others at the Melbourne Guitar Festival at Melba Hall, The University of Melbourne, from 21-23 September. You can also pick up a copy of our inaugural print magazine for free while you’re there!
CutCommon subscribers can use their discount code to score 10% off festival bookings!
Book through this link and you’ll also be supporting CutCommon to promote more Australian arts events!
Images supplied.
