Jonathon Paget

One of Australia’s most successful classical guitarists, Dr Jonathan Paget is an Associate Professor of Classical Music at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, Edith Cowan University, where he has run a vibrant guitar program for almost two decades. He has also been the school’s Associate Dean for Research since 2017.

As a solo classical guitarist, Paget has performed throughout Australia, the USA, and South-East Asia. He has performed with other leading guitarists such as Karin Schaupp, Slava Grigoryan, Chrystian Dozza, and Pavarotti, among others. He has performed at numerous festivals of note, including the Shell Darwin International Guitar Festival, the Perth International Arts Festival, the Australian Festival Baroque, Port Fairy Spring Music Festival, and the Blackwood River Chamber Festival. On the competition circuit, his wins include the Shell Darwin International Guitar Competition, the Australian Guitar Competition, and the Rantucci Guitar Competition, as well as being a prize winner in the Guitar Foundation of America International Solo Competition.

Paget’s performances continue to garner stunning reviews, being described as “subtle, intimate artistry” [The West Australian], “a fine musician with brilliant technique” [Soundboard, USA], “up there with some of the best” [Classical Guitar, UK], and having “near-­‐peerless command of the instrument” [The West Australian].

He has performed extensively on Australian radio, and his recordings include two solo guitar discs: Kaleidoscope-­‐-­‐a celebration of the guitar’s multicultural horizon-­‐-­‐and Midsummer’s Night, released on the Melbourne-based Move Records label. A magical selection of works by Walton, Barrios, and Sculthorpe, this disc has received extensive radio play on ABC Classic FM.

Paget has been a recipient of numerous prestigious academic scholarships and awards, including the Beazley Medal (for the highest tertiary entrance score in Western Australia), the JA Wood Prize (for the dux of five faculties at the University of Western Australia), a Fulbright Postgraduate Award, and a Hackett Studentship.

Studying at the Eastman School of Music in upstate New York with the esteemed guitar pedagogue Dr Nicholas Goluses, he completed two master’s degrees and a doctorate, with research centering on the guitar music of Peter Sculthorpe.

Paget continues to pursue research interests in multiple areas, including Australian music, analysis of early recordings, and historical performance practices on 19th century guitar. He has been President of the Classical Guitar Society of Western Australia since 2006.