Biography
Irina Kircher & Alfonso Montes
The German guitarist Irina Kircher and the Venezuelan guitarist-composer Alfonso Montes, made their debut as a duo in 1984.Irina Kircher
Born in Stuttgart, Germany, 1966 she began to play the guitar at the age of six and at the age of nine she was accepted as a special student at the "Hochschule fur Musik and darstellende Kunst" where she studied with Professor Dr. Mario Sicca.
As early as ten years old Irina won the first of several prestigious guitar prizes, winning the German "Young Musician of the Year" award in 1976, a feat she then repeated at the next occasion of this competition.
Alfonso Montes
Born in Cuidad Bolivar, Venezuela in 1955 his early involvement with folk music developed into formal studies with Leopoldo Igarza in Caracas. In 1976 he won a scholarship from the Venezuelan Cultural Council which enabled him to study for six years in London with the British composer John William Duarte during which time he obtained the Performance Diploma of the Royal College of Music. (ARCM-1980).