Emma Wills
Classical guitarist / Period instruments
ABOUT EMMA
Emma Wills (1998°) performs in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States at various festivals, venues and cultural centers. Her recent accolades include being declared 'Promising musician' in 2022 by radio station Klara in 'De Twintigers' and she is Ambassador for historical guitars at the Antwerp Museum Vleeshuis. Wills is known as an extraordinary and versatile guitarist, not only in her repertoire and projects, but also in instrumentation - she masters the classical guitar, Renaissance lute, Romantic guitar and other period instruments. Currently she's touring with her debut soloprogram Colors of Spain.
As a solo artist and creative artist, Emma's recent activities include concerts in various venues such as AMUZ Antwerp, CC Gravenhof, CC De Kern, MIM Brussels, De Appelvink, Ghent Festival - Stroom, De Notenlaer, Museum Vleeshuis, KMSKA, Classical Guitar Retreat (UK), Hageland Klassiek, Klub Katarakt (DE), Transit - Festival Leuven, Muziektheater Transparant, deSingel, deBijloke, de Handelsbeurs etc. In addition to being a soloist, Emma can also be heard in various ensembles such as Duo Como (guitar-accordion w/ Sebastian Enriques), Duo Marotel (pianoforte ca. 1846, Lacôte guitar ca. 1820 w/ Thomas Boodts), and the Delta ensemble (baroque ensemble w/ Adriaan Lauwers and Anne-Sophie Eiselé). Wills also creates her own original music theatres including the successful 'Witte vlinders' featuring Belgian actor Lukas De Wolf and she has already worked closely with An Pierlé and Muziektheater Transparant.
At the age of eight, Emma Wills started playing the classical guitar. She obtained her Master's degrees at the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp under the guidance of Nico Couck, Jan Sanen, and Roland Broux. Emma studied at the Royal Conservatory of Scotland as well with Allan Neave, Matthew McAllister, and Sasha Savaloni. Emma took part in masterclasses with Alberto Mesirca, Michel Gillain, Laura Young, Paul Galbraith, Meng Su, Göran Söllscher, Rafael Aguirre, Johan Fostier, Stephanie Jones, Matthew Cochran, and Katrine Klingeberge
Klara attaches great importance to musical quality and kept that criteria in mind when selecting the young musicians. They are at the start of their career, or have already made themselves known with a few recordings, and are distinguished by their striking personality or maturity. Klara strongly believes in their potential and offers them a stage with De Twintigers to show their talent to the public.
Klara radio
Flemish Television Broadcasting, Brussels
Translated from Dutch
Emma is incredibly talented, passionate, ambitious, and very driven. She is the perfect Ambassador for the guitar in the historical Museum Vleeshuis. We could not wish for a better representative. Keep an eye on her because she's very promising.
Timothy De Paepe
director Museum Vleeshuis, Antwerp Translated from Dutch