Biography

Known as “the Sound Painter” of the guitar for producing the most fascinating variety and scope in sound colours on the planet, Jan Depreter is considered among the top 10 of performing classical guitarists in the world today.

A graduate of the Lemmens Institute Leuven and the Royal Conservatories of Antwerp and The Hague, Depreter holds several Master Degrees in Music and is a prize-winner at more than 15 competitions from Tokyo to Paris, including top prizes in Alhambra, Paris, Tokyo, Vienna, as well as the Francisco Tárrega and Andrés Segovia competitions in Spain. After winning the prestigious Printemps de la Guitare international concerto competition he was awarded the gold medal of Queen Fabiola of Belgium.

Having played the stages of the Far and not-so-far East, both Americas, the Russian Federation, Australia and all throughout Europe, the only continent Depreter has not played is Antarctica. But he doubts the penguins would be interested.

Apart from the guitar, Depreter is also an accomplished baritone singer, pianist and lutenist. One day he intends to learn the bagpipes.

Depreter has performed for most ruling monarchs of Europe. Recent performances include successful tours in the U.S.A., the U.K., Germany, France, Portugal, Spain, the Tchaikovsky Hall in Moscow, and in his homeland Belgium, where every year since 2010 in November he founded, organises and hosts the most important event for the guitar in Northern Europe, the Antwerpen Gitaarfestival & International Guitar Competitions.

Upcoming tours and participations this season are in Parma (Paganini Festival) and Verona (Italy), the Ronda International Guitar Festival (Spain), Nendaz (Switzerland), Murnau Grenzenlos (Germany) wich will be broadcasted live on national German radio.

Since 2002 Depreter has regularly been invited to teach masterclasses all over the world, including the recent start-up of the first Guitar Mentorship on the popular Tonebase platform, the Guitar Foundation of America (GFA), the Royal Conservatories of Amsterdam, Scotland and Paris, the West Dean Festival in the U.K. and most recently assesing the Master and Bachelor exams and teaching Masterclasses at the Prins Claus Conservatoire, Groningen, The Netherlands.  

His popular compositions for solo guitar are played worldwide and published by Ricordi.

Acclaimed CD-productions with Klara, Sony and Brilliant Classics highlight his artistic achievements. His complete recording of Turina (Brilliant Classics, 2015) was named “classical guitar album of the year” by the German Kultur Radio Bayern. About “Dedication – music for Julian Bream” (QBK, 2018) Classical Guitar Magazine wrote “deep and wistful, celebrating Bream’s joy of the guitar, a true “Dedication” to Bream in his 85th year.” Julian Bream himself wrote Depreter a thank-you note, calling the CD “fascinating”. 2019 saw the release of Depreter’s complete works for solo guitar by Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos. “Belgian guitarist extraordinaire Jan Depreter shines on Villa-Lobos,” Classical Guitar Magazine wrote. In 2020theworld premiere recording of the Klavierbüchlein für Anna-Magdalena Bach (1725) was released, his second CD for the Brilliant Classics label.          

Recipient of the Cultuurprijs from the his hometown, Jan Depreter is considered a cultural ambassador of Flanders. His recording of Armand Coeck (Legend, Klara) is the only classical guitar recording selected as one of the 100 most important recordings by Belgian artists in history by EMI.

Jan Depreter has a deep love, academic knowledge and understanding about the classical guitar and as such enjoys excellent private relations with all top luthiers in the world. He also has one of the most formidable guitar collections in Europe.

Jan Depreter currently lives with his cat Lelie in Antwerp, where he teaches guitar at the Academy of Deurne. Apart from reading Terry Pratchett novels he still feels playing the guitar is probably the most fun anyone could have by themselves.