IKURO 200410

Jonas Khalil
Concert guitarist Jonas Khalil, who lives in Stuttgart, began
taking guitar lessons at the age of eight and was influenced
greatly at that time by the music of the Beatles and Michael
Jackson. By the time he was eleven he was playing in his
first band and beginning to write his first songs. At 14 he
bought himself a 4-track tape recorder in order to let his
creativity unfold properly.
At the age of 20, after finishing school with universityentrance
qualification, he decided to study music and went
to the Musikhochschule in Karlsruhe to study with Prof.
Boris Bagger. He continued his studies with Prof. Olaf Van
Gonnissen in Darmstadt, Prof. Johannes Monno in Stuttgart
and finally with Prof. Laura Young at the Mozarteum in
Salzburg, garnering top marks in all of those courses. He has
attended numerous master classes with renowned guitarists
round the world, which has rounded off his musical
education.
In 2016 he released his first CD, »Debut«, which enjoyed
euphoric acclaim from critics and audiences alike. Alongside
his work as a soloist, Jonas is a popular chamber music
partner and plays in various formations with members of
the Staatsorchester Stuttgart and with »Duo GaJo« together
with Gabriel Faur, solo cellist with the Württembergisches
Kammerorchester Heilbronn and the municipal theatre in
Bern. He has also been a member of various orchestras
for many years, performing at a number of theatres in a
wide range of productions such as Bernstein‘s West Side
Story, Berg‘s Wozzeck, The Who‘s Tommy, Rossini‘s
Barber of Seville and Kurt Weill‘s Die sieben Todsünden
Seven Heavenly Sins, a three-genre (theatre opera-ballet)
production at the Staatstheater Stuttgart (featuring the
Canadian electro clash icon Peaches).
As lead guitarist and songwriter of the band SACRED
STEEL he also pursues his passion for heavy metal – he has
been touring regularly throughout Europe with the band
since 2006 and has recorded four studio albums released
worldwide. Nurturing the talent of young musicians is also
an interest close to Jonas Khalil‘s heart, and for many years
he has been teaching young people of all ages, some of them
in various courses organised by the BDZ (Bund Deutscher
Zupfmusiker – association of German plucked instrument
musicians).
Translation: J. & M.I Berridge, Berlin