Francisco Correa

Guitarist Francisco Correa has earned widespread international recognition for his work both as a recitalist and in collaborative chamber settings. A committed promoter of contemporary works, with particular attention to those from his native Colombia, he has partnered with a wide range of composers, several of whom have composed pieces expressly for him. His solo discography continues to grow, with the 2023 album Winterbourne marking a recent addition.

Born in Boyacá, Colombia, Correa claimed multiple competition victories there before completing his undergraduate studies in 2003 at the Juan N. Corpas University Foundation in Bogotá. He relocated to Europe in 2006 to pursue advanced training, obtaining a jazz guitar qualification in Paris and his first master’s degree in guitar performance in Barcelona; among his mentors was Judicael Perroy. In 2015 he earned a second master’s degree from London’s Royal Academy of Music. That same year he co-founded the Alba Duo with flutist Samantha Pearce. He maintains an active partnership with his wife, flutist and mezzo-soprano Emily Andrews, as the Correa-Andrews Duo. Both musicians have also appeared independently with guitarist David Massey—Correa in Duo Correa-Massey and Andrews in the Andrews Massey Duo—and the three artists together launched CarmenCo in 2019, presenting the program “Creating Carmen.” Correa’s first solo recordings appeared in 2019 on Música de la Tierrita, while CarmenCo issued its self-titled debut album that year. Further collaborators include sopranos Charlotte Schoetters and Lorena Paz.

Correa’s engagement with new music led him to give the Latin American premiere of Stephen Goss’ Guitar Concerto with the National Symphony Orchestra of Colombia. He has also collaborated with and introduced works by composers Gerald Garcia, Mark Houghton, and Pedro Barreiro. The 2020 Ibermúsicas Funding Award enabled him to commission and premiere Barreiro’s Suite Warmikuna, written in tribute to four socially and culturally significant Ecuadorian women; the award further supported a recording of the piece, released by AM Records in 2021. Correa moved to the Deux-Elles label for the 2023 album Winterbourne, which features Goss’ Winterbourne Preludes and Houghton’s 12 Preludes, Op. 79. He serves as artistic director of Bath’s International Guitar Foundation Festival and Summer School as well as the Ham Farm Festival in Bristol, where he also directs the Classical Guitar Society Ensemble.