SEASON OPENING CONCERT

SEASON OPENING CONCERT

Saturday, October 3, 2026 | 3:00 P.M. ET | Gore Recital Hall

Approximately 95 minutes including intermission | Ages 8+ | In Person

Launch the 2026–27 Master Players season with Australia's internationally acclaimed guitar duo, Ziggy & Miles, making their Delaware debut. Praised for their "deeply considered musicianship, immaculate care and superlative technique," these award-winning brothers from Melbourne captivate audiences with extraordinary artistry and remarkable musical chemistry. Winners of numerous international competitions and the 2024–25 Musicians-in-Residence at Harvard University's Dumbarton Oaks, Ziggy & Miles promise an unforgettable event showcasing the beauty and brilliance of the classical guitar.

Australian guitarist brothers making history” (The Age), Ziggy and Miles are two of their home country’s finest young musicians forging an international career. Their performances are known for their “deeply considered musicianship, immaculate care and superlative technique” (Radio 5MBS 99.9 FM). Winners of the 2023 YCA (Young Concert Artists) Susan Wadsworth International Auditions, the brothers have become the first guitar duo and second guitarists to receive this prestigious award in the organization’s 65-year history. They served as the 2024–2025 musicians-in-residence at Dumbarton Oaks under Harvard University.

Ziggy and Miles’ latest album, "Sidekick," was featured as one of WQXR’s (New York’s classical music radio station) “Best New Classical Albums of 2023.” Praised by Soundboard Magazine as “[played] with perfect unanimity and admirable virtuosity,” it showcases new works written for the brothers, their own “transfixingly beautiful” (Limelight) arrangement of Debussy’s "Clair de Lune," and works that have shaped their musical identity from Spain, Latin America and Australia. The title track “Sidekick” is a character piece written for the brothers by award-winning composer Katie Jenkins and ties this theme together. In Jenkins’ own words, “They make fun of each other but need each other, they compete with one another but are stronger together.”

With over 50 awards between them in guitar competitions and local music eisteddfods across their home city of Melbourne, Ziggy and Miles proved their artistry from a young age. A selection of their early accolades includes major prizes in competitions from the Guitar Foundation of America, Adelaide International Guitar Festival and Melbourne Recital Centre. Self-released in 2014, their debut album, Recollections, served as both a tribute to the music that inspired the brothers growing up, and as their first professional milestone to look back upon and "recollect."

Ziggy and Miles are actively involved in community engagement and have a passion for providing education and music to people without access to live performances or high-quality music education. They have collaborated with organisations across Australia and the United States including Melbourne Recital Centre, The Juilliard School and Project: Music Heals Us. One highlight for the brothers was their Music Always tour, partnered with Melbourne Recital Centre. This two-week, 12-concert tour saw the brothers travelling across their home state of Victoria to aged-care facilities, community centers, medical facilities and psychiatric wards. Ziggy and Miles regard this as one of their most emotionally challenging, yet rewarding experiences as musicians to date.

Graduates of The Juilliard School, Ziggy and Miles were the first Australians and first guitar duo accepted into the school’s prestigious Artist Diploma program, where they also received the Norman Benzaquen Career Advancement Grant. During both their master’s and Artist Diploma at Juilliard, they studied under multiple Grammy winner Sharon Isbin, who has shaped and inspired their artistic identities. Their studies have been supported by Australian Foundations, including the American Australia Association, Ian Potter Cultural Trust and Phonographic Performance Company of Australia.

Ziggy and Miles play guitars by Australian luthier Jim Redgate and play Savarez strings.

They are managed internationally by Young Concert Artists.