Praised as a ‘rockstar of nylon-acoustic music’ (On Sounds), ‘the real deal’ (Classics Today), ‘dazzling’ (ArtsHub) and ‘brilliant’ (Limelight), Australian guitarist Andrew Blanch is as passionate as they come and has made it his mission to promote the unique beauty of the guitar far and wide.  He is a prizewinner in more than ten music competitions, including top prizes at the Whitworth-Roach Classical Music Competition (2015), Melbourne International Guitar Competition (2016), and the Adelaide International Guitar Competition (2019) dubbed the ‘most prestigious guitar competition in the southern hemisphere.’  In November 2019, Andrew was featured on the front cover of Australia’s premiere classical music and arts publication, Limelight, as one of ‘30 young Australian musicians destined for greatness’.

Andrew has collaborated with many leading artists, composers and orchestras throughout his career.  His albums Alchemy (2021) with classical guitarist Ariel Nurhadi, and Suite mágica (2024) with QSO principal harpist Emily Granger reached No. 2 and No. 1 on the ARIA Classical Album charts, respectively.   Alchemy received a nomination for Best Independent Classical Album at the 2021 AIR Awards, and Suite mágica, which has been streamed nearly 1,000,000 times, has been called ‘one of the most extraordinary albums to come out of Australia in a long time’ (Sydney Arts Guide).  Andrew has toured extensively with leading contemporary ensemble Ensemble Offspring, with whom he shared a nomination for Performance of the Year at the 2022 Art Music Awards, with the New Zealand Guitar Quartet, with whom he has recorded a full-length studio album due for release 2024, and is a founding member of the Australian Guitar Quartet, alongside Vladimir Gorbach and the Grigoryan Brothers.  

Andrew has worked with many leading Australian composers in commissioning or premiering new music for the instrument including Elena Kats-Chernin, Robert Davidson, Jessica Wells, Felicity Wilcox, Sally Whitwell, Tristan Coelho, Richard Charlton, Rachel Bruerville, Nardi Simpson, Chris Sainsbury, David Banney, Brent Keogh, and Daniel Rojas, among others.  Andrew commissioned and has made the premiere recording of Daniel Rojas’s Guitar Concerto No. 1 under conductor Emmanuele Baldini in São Paulo, Brazil, due for release late-2025.

Andrew is President of the Classical Guitar Society Sydney, is managed by Tier 1 Arts, plays a 2014 Greg Smallman and Sons guitar, and is sponsored by Augustine Strings and Schertler audio equipment.  Andrew has benefited from considerable mentorship across his career and has particular thanks to his guitar teachers: Christopher Keane, Luke Tierney, Minh Le Hoang, Judicael Perroy, Vladimir Gorbach and especially Timothy Kain.  Andrew holds a Bachelor of Music with First Class Honours from the Australian National University and a Master of Music from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.