Contact

For any questions about the festival, please Simon directly at:

Simon Farintosh, festival director

Simon Farintosh is an award-winning guitarist, composer, and educator based in Victoria, British Columbia. Named one of CBC’s ‘30 Under 30 Classical Musicians’ in 2023, he is known for his unconventional programming choices, connecting with audiences by integrating the classical guitar with more contemporary musical forms such as ambient electronica. His debut album Noctuary (2023) features an extended original composition for solo eight-string guitar. Amassing over 2 million streams on Spotify, his first EP Aphex Twin for Guitar (2021) features transcriptions of pieces by British electronic artist Richard D. James, fusing two seemingly disparate types of music. His second EP Seascapes (2021) consists of original compositions inspired by the captivating landscape of the Pacific Northwest, combining solo guitar with atmospheric synth textures. Many of Simon’s arrangements and compositions are published by Les Productions d’Oz, Bergmann Edition and Musicnotes.com.

Simon began his guitar studies in 2004 at the Victoria Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Dr. Stephen Lochbaum, Bradford Werner, and revered pedagogue Dr. Alexander Dunn. Simon continued to study with Dr. Dunn at the University of Victoria, where he earned his Bachelor of Music Degree in 2018. Simon’s musical pursuits later took him to Milwaukee, WI, where he completed a Master’s Degree at The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2020. Here, he was a student and teaching assistant to Rene Izquierdo, a renowned Cuban virtuoso and one of North America’s most sought-out guitar instructors. Currently, Simon is in the finishing stages of a Doctorate of Musical Arts at the University of Toronto, where he is a student of Jorge Caballero and Dr. Jeffrey McFadden. He has also studied Alexander Technique privately with Nancy Sicsic. His doctoral thesis is centred around devising an effective sight-reading curriculum for undergraduate guitar students.

Simon’s performances have garnered him top awards in various national and international competitions. He was the 1st Prize winner of the 2018 Northwest Guitar Festival in Spokane, WA, and has been a finalist in the Canadian National Music Festival, GuitarLab International Competition, Wilson Center Guitar Competition, and the Twisted Spruce Guitar Competition. As a composer, he was recently awarded First Prize in the 2022 Ottawa Guitar Society Composition Competition for his original piece ‘Distant Light.’ He is a six-time recipient of the British Columbia Arts Council Award, and has been a featured performer or visiting clinician for organizations such as The Classical Guitar Society of Tri-Cities (WA), Madison Classical Guitar Society (WI), Ottawa Guitar Society, the Guitar Society of Toronto, Chemainus Classical Concerts, and more. He has adjudicated festivals such as the London Kiwanis Music Festival, Northwest Guitar Festival, and the Canadian National Music Festival.

Simon is currently an instructor at The University of Victoria, where he runs the guitar department. He is also the owner and operator of ReVamp Guitar Academy, which offers virtual lessons to students across Canada and beyond. His students regularly receive top prizes in local and provincial music competitions, as well as excellent scores on RCM examinations. In addition to teaching and performing, Simon is currently president of the Victoria Guitar Society, an organization dedicated to promoting the guitar through outreach and an international concert series.

Simon plays a 2025 double-top guitar by Martin Blackwell and a 2021 8-string guitar by Jeff Sigurdson.