The Ibison Guitar Duo, Chad Ibison and Janet Grohovac, are Grammy-nominated guitarists whose performances have been praised as “superb and sublime” (Austin American-Statesman) while presenting a “refined and elegant style” (This is Classical Guitar). The duo performs throughout the United States and abroad, with recent appearances at the Fundación Guitarra Viva tour in Chile; the esteemed Brevard Music Festival in North Carolina; the Canada West tour of Banff, Edmonton and a one-week residency at Calgary’s GuitarFest West; Festival Internacional de Guitarra de Taxco, Mexico; Christ Church Cathedral series, Canada; Ticino Musica’s concerts in Lugano, Switzerland; and the Houston Classical Guitar Festival and Competition. They also manage a successful Austin-based guitar studio, where the duo teaches close to seventy students a week. 

Ibison and Grohovac perform on Martin Blackwell guitars handcrafted in the Sunshine Coast of BC, Canada.

Chad Ibison, guitar

American guitarist Chad Ibison has captivated audiences across North America and abroad through his imaginative musical interpretations and charismatic stage presence. Hailed as “very versatile in terms of contrast and range of expression” (Classical Guitar Canada) with “masterful phrasing combined with technical precision” (ClassicalGuitar.org), Composer Gregory Sullivan Isaacs described Ibison’s impact as a performer in the Fort Worth Star Telegram as “Chad gave an incendiary performance. His approach was, at the same time, aggressive and intimate. He melded with the instrument, and the result was brash, expressive and technically secure.” Along with his critical acclaim, Ibison has accumulated ten first place awards among his eighteen top prize wins at international guitar competitions including the Guitar Foundation of America, JoAnn Falletta Concerto Competition and Boston’s New England Conservatory Guitarfest. He participates regularly at guitar festivals as a performer, teacher and judge. Ibison resides in Austin, where he is professor of guitar, directs the ensemble at Austin Community College and maintains a private studio in Hyde Park. 

Janet Grohovac, guitar

Canadian-American classical guitarist Janet Grohovac is a passionate performer and sought after instructor based in Austin, Texas. She holds a doctor of musical arts degree and a master of music degree from The University of Texas at Austin and a bachelor of music degree from the University of Victoria, British Columbia. As a dynamic concert artist, recent performances include solo concerts for Austin Classical Guitar Society’s Salon and Cactus series, the Central Valley’s Guitarraganza festival in California, and Victoria Conservatory of Music’s Summer Guitar Academy in Canada. Grohovac has accumulated many top prize awards in competitions, including first place as a soloist in Southern Guitar Competition and Northwest Guitar Competition and finalist in the international guitar competitions at Lone Star Guitar Festival and in Montreal, Tennessee, and Dallas. In addition to performing, Grohovac is a professor and directs the guitar program at Concordia University. She also directed the guitar programs as professor at Huston-Tillotson University and Texas Lutheran University, is invited regularly to teach masterclasses and adjudicate competitions at universities and guitar festivals throughout North America, and has served as a clinician for the Lullaby Project through Carnegie Hall’s Musical Connections Program.