Born in Athens, Greece, in 1989, Nikos Baroutsakis is a classically trained guitarist with a wide range of interests in different kinds of music. His love for the Buena Vista Social Club, combined with his discovery of the Cuban repertoire for the guitar, led to the release of his debut album, A la Cubana, in late 2024 by Pixaudio. The album is a tribute to Cuban music and was recorded at the legendary Abbey Road Studios. It contains two new commissions dedicated to him by two world-renowned composers for the guitar: Leo Brouwer’s Toccata Cubana and Eduardo Martin’s Rincones Habaneros. Nikos has performed in prestigious venues and organizations such as the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, the Bridewell Theatre, the Electric Ballroom, Bolivar Hall, the Philippos Nakas Conservatory, Sofar Sounds, Debut Opera, the Volterra Project, and the Marchland Festival, where he had the opportunity to collaborate with folk singer Savina Yannatou and jazz guitarist Alex Roth.
Beyond his performing and recording career, Nikos is a dedicated tutor based in London, United Kingdom and is currently the guitar teacher at Riddlesdown Collegiate and Young Music Makers. In addition to his work in schools, he also runs his own private teaching studio. Nikos began his formal studies on the guitar as a teenager with Dimitris Pappas, with whom he obtained his Soloist Diploma. He then moved on to study at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels in the class of Antigoni Goni, where he graduated with both a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree in Music. The final chapter of his studies took place in London at the Royal College of Music as an RCM Award Holder, supported by a Soirée d’Or Award, where he earned an Artist Diploma in Performance under professors Gary Ryan and Charles Ramirez. Nikos has participated in masterclasses with some of the world’s greatest guitarists, including Sergio Assad, Dušan Bogdanović, Zoran Dukić, Eliot Fisk, René Izquierdo, Timo Korhonen, Pablo Márquez, Elena Papandreou, Konrad Ragossnig, Raphaëlla Smits, and Gohar Vardanyan.
Nikos Baroutsakis
Born in Athens, Nikos Baroutsakis is a classically trained guitarist whose debut album A la Cubana — recorded at Abbey Road Studios and featuring new commissions by Leo Brouwer and Eduardo Martin — was released in 2024. He holds degrees from the Royal Conservatory of Brussels and an Artist Diploma from the Royal College of Music.