Raphaella Smits plays worldwide in her unique way on eight-string guitars and historical instruments. She has been praised as ‘an uncommonly musical guitarist’ (Tim Page, New York Times), ‘Une Grande Musicienne’ and ‘one of the most sensitive and cultured performers of our time’ (Jean Bernard, Diapason, FR).
In 2019, she received a unique award “Por su aporte a la Guitarra y la Cultura” in Argentina at the Festival Guitarras del Mundo.

In addition to stage-work, Raphaella Smits has realized 25 albums, many of which are listed as indispensable to refined music lovers. To this day, she continues to produce new, valuable recordings.

Raphaella Smits is widely acclaimed as an inspiring pedagogue for both guitar and chamber music. She taught at the Lemmens Institute / LUCA School of Arts in Leuven, Belgium, from 1986 to 2022. Now, she continues to give regular masterclasses in Europe, in North and South America, and in Japan.

Organizers of international music competitions request Raphaella as a member or as president of the jury because of her exceptional and unbiased judgment and her empathetic afterthoughts with the candidates.

Raphaella studied classical music at the Royal Conservatories of Antwerp and Brussels. Simultaneously she went to José Tomàs to perfect her playing at the “Catedra Andrès Segovia” in Spain. At that time she already gave her first concerts and became a convincing advocate for the eight-string guitar.

In 1986 Raphaella Smits was the first woman to win the first prize of the “XX Certamen Internacional de Guitarra Francisco Tarrega”, the famous international guitar competition in Benicasim, Spain. That victory confirmed the progression of a successfully started career, after previous prizes in competitions in Granada and Palma de Mallorca.
The jury presidents, Segovia and Narciso Yepes, both expressed their admiration for Raphaella’s musicality and prophetically espressed confidence in her future achievements.

Aitor is a natural guitarist from Barcelona who has a warm sound and subtle expressiveness as his hallmark. Thanks to his way of interpreting music, he manages to keep the listener surrounded by the environment full of timbres and colors. These interpretive nuances come largely from the tradition of the Catalan school of guitar, as among his teachers we can find Àlex Garrobé and Guillem-Pérez Quer.

Aitor has received advice from important guitar soloists such as: Zoran Dukic, Margarita Escarpa, Pavel Steidl, Ricardo Gallén, Aniello Desiderio, among others.

He was invited to develop his soloist work at emblematic places in Barcelona, such as Teatrino del Liceu, el Auditori, el Palau Güell or el Recinto Modernista de la Torre de las Aguas de Barcelona, also in this city. He has participated in international festivals such as the Hersbruck Guitar Festival in Germany, the Vasaros Klavisas muzikiniai pokalbiai or the Kretingale Muzikinis Festivalis in Lithuania. In 2019 he made his debut in China, performing recitals in the city of Beijing.

Apart from all of the above he carries out important educational work, both nationally and internationally. On the one hand he is a member of the teaching staff of the Escola Municipal de Castellar del Vallés, as well as the Chamber Music Summer Course at Castellar de´n Hug, where he has been giving classes since 2014. As for his international teaching work, he has participated in the Masterclasses for students from the Xi’aN and Beijing conservatories in China. He is usually invited to form part of the jury at different international competitions for young performers.

In March 2022, he recorded his first album entitled “Homenajes” under the JSM Records record label in which the Guitarlift brand collaborated on the project.

Ramón Vergara S., Bachelor of Arts with a major in Music Performance, Specialty Classical Guitar, and Performer with a major in Classical Guitar, both with Highest Distinction at the University of Chile.
He has performed recitals as a soloist and integrating Chamber Groups, in Albania, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, Spain, Italy, Morocco, Peru and Uruguay, and has also been interviewed by newspapers, magazines, radio and television of the countries mentioned above.
Between 2018 and 2019 he has premiered several works by composers from Albania, Chile and Cuba, highlighting the premiere in Spain of the Quintet “Baladas del Decamerón Negro” by the legendary composer Leo Brouwer, as part of the worldwide celebration for its 80th anniversary.
He is currently a member of the Duo Hispania: verso y madera, Finalis Terra Theater Company and Artistic Director of the International Guitar Festival and Competition “Ciudad de Mula”.