American classical guitarist Xavier Jara won first prize in the 2016 GFA International Concert Artist Competition. A native of Minnesota, he was a student of Alan Johnston at the MacPhail Center for Music in Minneapolis until 2011 when he moved to Paris to study with Judicael Perroy for six years. During this time he completed his bachelor’s degree at the Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique de Paris where he also studied with the French guitarist Olivier Chassain, and the lutenist Eric Bellocq.

He took first place in a number of international competitions including the Boston Guitarfest (2014), the Gargnano, Italy Competition (2015) and the Tokyo International Competition (2016). In 2016 Xavier Jara returned home to the United States to win the Guitar Foundation of America’s Rose Augustine Grand Prize.