" Dragos is a narrator who uses the guitar to tell a story from his captivating, thoughtful perspective.”
-Lorenzo Micheli
“Beautiful tone, sensitivity and great musicianship. Dragos has a wonderful command of our instrument!
A bright present and even brighter future."
-Rene Izquierdo
Romanian guitarist Dragos Ilie has delighted audiences across Europe, Asia and the United States with his charismatic and dynamic interpretations. At an early age, Dragos fell in love with the instrument after listening to his father play. His first teachers included professor Marius Timpau and Dr. Daniel Dragomirescu, in his native city of Iasi.
He has received awards in over 40 international competitions, with more than 20 Grand Prizes. Dragos placed in some of the most prestigious guitar events, including the Guitar Foundation of America (GFA), the Koblenz International Festival, Changsha International Guitar Festival, the Tokyo International Guitar Competition, Culiacan International Competition, Columbus Guitar Symposium. He has performed, taught masterclasses and workshops across the United States, Europe, and Asia and has been featured in Classical Guitar Magazine, Soundboard Magazine, Gendai Magazine, Acoustic Guitar Magazine, as well a series of lessons and workshops on Tonebase. Performances with orchestras include the “Transylvania” State Philharmonic Orchestra, the National Radio Orchestra of Romania, and the Chamber Radio Orchestra.
Dragos is also active in the chamber music scene. As of 2021 he has joined the Austin Guitar Quartet, group that had their first recording “The Singing Guitar” nominated for Grammy’s, along the award winning “Los Angeles Guitar Quartet”, “Texas Guitar Quartet” and “Conspirare” choral ensemble. Recent performances of the quartet include Steve Reich’s Electric Counterpoint, together with Austin Ballet.
Together with the celebrated Romanian violinist Alexandru Tomescu, Dragos performs often in Romania and abroad. Since embarking on the “Stradivarius Tour - Paganini Magic”, which included 17 concerts over 13 Romanian cities, the two have performed in France, Italy, and the United Kingdom. An upcoming CD project is soon to be released.
In 2020 Dragos joined Ex-Aequo, a nonprofit organization striving to make a statement in the guitar world. In the prospect of a pandemic affecting the musical lives of so many, Ex-Aequo launched a series of online workshops, masterclasses and concerts, as well a competition with a large number of attendants. 200 applicants. Latest project includes the commission of 9 new works for the guitar, written by eminent Black American Composers. An audio and visual CD along was published, and it is available on all platforms.
Passionate about integrating Romanian repertory within the global scene, Dragos recorded a project that blends both arrangements (Porumbescu, Bartók) and works of living Romanian composers. The album, which also contains music from around the world, was recorded together with the Romanian National Radio was released in 2023, since receiving warms reviews in musical press. Upcoming recording projects include two volumes of Sonatas for Guitar by Thomas Matiegka, for the well-established Naxos Records.
Dragos has completed a Doctoral degree at the University of Austin Texas, where he served for 4 years as Teacher Assistant at the class of the performer, recording artist, and teacher Adam Holzman. He also holds a Bachelor's Degree from “Schwob School of Music” - at Columbus State University, at the class of composer and pedagogue Andrew Zohn, receiving the prestigious scholarship for studies "Woodruff Awards".
Currently, he is Assistant Professor at the University of Arts “George Enescu” in Iasi, Romania.
Aside the canonical guitar pedagogy, Dragos is also invested in the study of Body Mapping, technique focusing on body awareness and injury prevention for musicians.
Dragos plays a 2017 Gernot Wagner, kindly donated by Carson McKowen, and a 2023 Martin Blackwell.
