Who are your Guitar Heroes?
Hey tonebuddies!
Let's talk about our guitar heroes and who inspired us to pick up the instrument in the first place. Whether it's the iconic Andrés Segovia, the virtuosic John Williams, or the contemporary genius Ana Vidovic, we all have those classical guitarists who have left an indelible mark on us. 
So, who are your guitar heroes? What makes them special to you? Is it their technique, their interpretation of the music, or their unique sound? Share with us their videos and recordings 
that have blown your mind. 
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For me, it was professor Javier Calderon at the University of Wisconsin as well as Tom McComb at UW Stevens Point and Kevin Gallagher at Lawrence Conservatory
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Marco Tamayo
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Marco Tamayo and Anabel Montesinos
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The first classical guitarist whose playing I fell in love with is Bream. His interpretations of certain pieces (such as Nocturnal or La Maja de Goya) are just miraculous.
For modern players, it depends on what day you ask me. Here are a few that pop into my head: Smits, Redzic, Polackova, Kulikova.
If we open it up to lute and period instruments, well the list is just too long!
(Did I mention Clapton, Page, and Hendrix?)
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Eric Phillips What!!!
No Jeff Beck?!! 
I'm crushed.
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Jack Stewart Yes, Jeff Beck was in there too. So was EVH as my teen years were in the 80s.
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Eric Phillips Eric Johnson?
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Many hero's I admire and draw inspiration from but my real driving force and
influence to open up and commit to classical guitar came from:
Andrew York - Denouement Album + Sunburst (modern classical)
David Cullen (bluesy jazz classical player)
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I had been wanting to learn classical guitar for years, but finally when I saw Ana Vidovic play a recital in Miami I felt motivated to actually get started. Other key figures who attracted my heart and ears are the maestros Carles Trepat. and Berta Rojas. Thank you Tonebase for brining Ana in to teach Asturias (Leyenda), that was a real treat for me!
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Bream, since I first started listening over 60 years ago. The breadth and depth of his repertoire and those wonderful colors! My former teacher, Berta Rojas, whose courage, virtuosity and passion for the music always comes through. And many, many others!
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Not the most original choices, but I'd say Segovia and Bream. What they did to expand the repertoire and bring legitimacy to the instrument changed everything.
Not too shabby players either.
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I met the incomparable Celil Refik Kaya thru your wonderful tonebase ! I started studying privately with him right after hearing his tone base lesson on Koyunbaba. He is my guitar hero -both as a performer , composer and incredible teacher ! Thank you Tonebase ! Kim
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Paco di Lucia, Paco Peña and Grisha Goryashev. Also Bert Jansch.
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Matt Hall I love Bert one of the best in his genre
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My first hero was Andres Segovia. The poetry of his Maestro recording on the high fi system that my husband and I built was magical. Of course Bream and Williams are inspirational as well. Currently Ana Vidovic and Jason Vieaux are my mentors. The Tonebase artists are wonderful, and I’ve learned from each one I’ve watched.
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Marilyn Blodget Vidovic is remarkable. There's a college nearby that draws in some significant talent for recitals and usually they make me very motivated to play. After seeing her play for a couple of hours from about 10-feet, I quit playing for a few days. It's like I wasn't even playing the same instrument, lol. Really an amazing performer.
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Steve Price I know what you mean! I had a MasterClass with her on Bach Prelude 998. She was so supportive and helpful. Truly a lovely human!
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Marilyn Blodget What a great opportunity. Good for you.
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martin Martin Zimny. Full stop.
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One of my guitar heroes is Borbála Seres. Her Napoleón Coste interpretations are simply breathtaking. One of those guitarist who inspired me to play Classical Guitar again.
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Gabriel She is fantastic. You may already be aware but she has a couple of workshops recorded here and she ran a two-week intensive that was amazing. She genuinely changed the way I approach music.
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Steve Price That's great. Thank you for telling me. Yes, I've seen her livestreams, and I agree that the two-week intensive was amazing.
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Celil Refik...such lovely sound an rich interpretations.....such a clean player too. And then Antigoni Goni...her hands! I love to watch how they caress the guitar and it's clear how deep her love for the instrument goes.
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Heidi yes! Antigoni is incredible and the first classical guitarist that I saw live that completely changed the way I listened to music
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My guitar hero is Johannes Moller (https://johannesmoller.com/). His guitar compositions completely out of this world. It's hard for me to pick something in particular (My top 3 will be: Ananda, Ethereal dreams, Broken mirrors) (https://www.youtube.com/@johannes81/videos). Beside being a composer he is a great player too and the guitars he producing with true temperament frets just outstanding (https://johannesmoller.com/sueno-series).
