Emma Wills is a Belgian concert guitarist with international recognition. She is known as one of the most versatile and promising guitarists of her generation. In her solo recitals, Emma moves between the Baroque guitar, Romantic guitar, and classical guitar, bringing several centuries of music into dialogue through her unique programs. Highlights of the previous 2025–2026 concert season included her solo debut in the Henry Le Boeuf Hall at BOZAR, where she was selected as a Young Talent, as well as the worldwide release of her solo debut album Serenades of Spain.
In 2022, Emma was featured as a Promising Musician in the series De Twintigers on the radio station Klara (VRT). Only a year later, in 2023, she received the title of Laureate of the Belgian foundation Vocatio for her work in reviving the historical Romantic guitar. Since 2021, she has served as Ambassador for the Romantic guitar at the Vleeshuis Music Museum in Antwerp, where she collaborates with the museum on research, performance practice, and innovative projects that bring the two-hundred-year-old Romantic Guitar from their collection (Marotel ca. 1820) back to life. In 2026, Emma was selected as a Laureate by Dirk Brossé and Jasper Gheysen for Prima La Musica Young Talent 5, made possible by the National Lottery, where she will perform as a soloist with the Prima La Musica Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Dirk Brossé, in the concert hall of De Bijloke.
Her debut solo album Serenades of Spain was released in 2025 via Antarctica Spring Records: with this album, Wills breaks the clichés surrounding the classical guitar and weaves a colorful Spanish mosaic performed on Baroque-, Romantic-, and classical guitars, blending her own arrangements with original compositions, with contributions by Belgian soprano Fleur Strijbos and Canadian cellist Octavie Dostaler-Lalonde. Within a month, Serenades of Spain received worldwide airplay, including interviews on WRR Dallas 101.1 FM (USA) and Klara (VRT), was featured in Spotify’s New Classical playlist, twice nominated for De Keuze van Klara, and internationally praised by the press.
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Emma flourishes as a soloist and is also an active and versatile chamber musician. She is the guitarist of Duo Como (with accordionist Sebastian Enriques) and Duo Leora (with soprano Fleur Strijbos). She also plays the chitarra battente in the Delta Baroque Ensemble (an early music ensemble led by Adriaan Lauwers), and collaborates closely with Canadian historical cellist Octavie Dostaler-Lalonde.
Recent highlights include her debut on the Dutch radio station NPO Klassiek/NTR, where she gave a live performance and was interviewed by Wouter Pleijsier, accompanied by her Czech debut at the Concentus Moraviae Festival at Lomnice Castle and the Town Hall of Ivančice (with her solo concert featured in the popular Czech television series Modrá Krev by Alena Činčerová), a solo recital at the Grand Manège Namur Concert Hall, giving lecture concerts as a guest-teacher for the students of the Conservatoire of Namur (L'IMEP), and appearances at the Ullapool Guitar Festival (United Kingdom), Barock bis Rock (Germany), Musique Antique Festival (MA-Festival, Bruges), Musica Devina Festival, Zuiderzeemuseum Enkhuizen (Netherlands), Bach in de Stad, Kamermuziekdagen Brugge, Festival Odegand (Ghent), the Music Chapel Queen Elisabeth Waterloo Festival and Walden Festival, to name a few.
She has collaborated and performed with artists including An Pierlé, Brice Soniano, German composer Michael Maierhof, conductor Pascal Van Os and the Virago Symphonic Orchestra, soprano Britt Truyts, and created her literary-musical project Witte Vlinders, based on Platero y yo with actor Lukas De Wolf. She collaborated with organizations including the IAWM Conference in Portland (USA), Muziektheater Transparant, Big Bang Festival Europe, Festival van Vlaanderen Gent, Festival van Vlaanderen Kempen, Instituto Cervantes, Theater Arsenaal, and Passa Porta. As a soloist, she was invited to perform at unique, internationally renowned heritage sites such as the Drongenhof Chapel, the Wassenhove House, and the Castle of Gaasbeek. In 2021 she was invited for the project 'De Klank van het Vleeshuis', and in 2024 she recorded the album Au Salon with pianoforte player Thomas Boodts, commissioned by the Music Museum Vleeshuis and released worldwide on the Et’cetera label. Au Salon is inspired by nineteenth-century Antwerp salon concerts and this album features instruments from the museum’s collection.
Wills began studying guitar at the age of eight. She completed her Master degrees in Guitar with greatest distinction in Belgium at the Royal Conservatoire of Antwerp with professors Roland Broux and Nico Couck, and in Glasgow, at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland with professors Sasha Savaloni, Matthew McAllister and Allan Neave. She has participated in international masterclasses with Sean Shibe, Matthew Cochran, Paul Galbraith, Alberto Mesirca, Katrin Klingeberg, Stephanie Jones, Johan Fostier, Meng Su, Laura Young, Rafael Aguirre, João Carlos Victor, and Adriaan Lauwers (baroque guitar).
Emma performs on a classical guitar built by the Belgian luthier René De Bondt. She also plays an original Romantic guitar, a René Lacote model (Henri à Rouen) dating from around 1820, acquired with the support of Vocatio,and she performs on a replica Baroque guitar built by luthier Charlotte De Ley.
