Eliza Balmuth (b. 1999) is a classical guitarist from Fort Worth, TX.  She fell in love with the guitar at the age of eight upon discovering her father’s childhood guitar in the closet. Since then, she has had the privilege to study under Mitch Weverka, Matteo Mela, Chad Ibison, Bryan Burns, and Rene Izquierdo.

     Eliza has regularly performed and attended festivals in the United States and abroad, including, among others, Cleveland International Classical Guitar Festival, Camino Guitar, Festival de Guitare International de Paris, Domaine Forget, Long Island Guitar Festival, and The Volterra Project.  She has played in the master classes of Marcin Dylla, Rovshan Mamedkuliev, Judicaël Perroy, Adam Holzman, Jason Vieaux, Grisha Goryachev, Duo Melis, Lorenzo Micheli, Paul Galbraith, Alvaro Pierri, Giampaolo Bandini, and Aniello Desiderio, among many others.  Recipient of the Roz Rosenthal Award for Outstanding Student in Music, she has won top prizes in national and international youth competitions including the Columbus State Guitar Symposium, Texas Guitar Festival, East Carolina University Summer Guitar Festival, and Long Island Guitar Festival.

     She enjoys playing chamber music.  Her former duo with classical guitarist Sean McCrary was invited to give three concerts in 2016 as part of the annual summer concert series presented by CaminoArtes in Romanesque churches for the pilgrims along El Camino de Santiago in Castilla-León, Spain. They also performed Vivaldi's Concerto for Two Mandolins in G Major with the Collin College Guitar Festival guitar orchestra, presented recitals at the Houston Classical Guitar Workshop and the 4th Annual Collin College Guitar Festival, and premiered Grip, written for them by Joseph Williams II, at the Texas Guitar Conference at Mary Hardin Baylor.

     Eliza is currently pursuing a B.M. in Musicology and a B.A. in English through Oberlin College and Conservatory’s Double Degree Program where she also studies historical plucked strings under Michael Manderen.  When not practicing guitar, she enjoys exploring nature, reading Renaissance literature, and spending time with the family cat.