Biography

Last updated on June 30, 2024

Suvan Agarwal (b.2001) is an American guitarist with international experience. He has won numerous prizes, namely a first prize at the 2024 Josefina P Tuason International Guitar Competition and the 2024 Oberlin Conservatory Bach Competition, as well as at the 2022 Tuesday Musical competition, where in addition to first prize in the guitar category he won the audience prize in the final round, open to winners from all instrument categories. He has performed in both the United States and Japan.

Suvan started playing guitar at the age of five taught by Frank Longay, creator of the Suzuki guitar method. During high school he studied guitar under the guidance of Alexandra Viloteau (née Iranfar). Suvan recently graduated from Oberlin College and Conservatory, where he studied guitar under Stephen Aron and obtained two bachelors degrees in guitar performance and physics. He has participated in masterclasses with David Russell, Leo Brouwer, and Raphaela Smits, among many others. He has also had instruction from Gentaro Takada, and participated in the 2024 Aspen Music Festival where he spent 4 weeks studying under Sharon Isbin. Suvan will soon enter the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, where he will pursue a masters degree studying under professors Matthew McAllister and Allan Neave. He is a recipient of the prestigious ABRSM post-graduate fellowship.

In addition to his musical activities, Suvan's interests include physics and computer science. In 2022, Suvan was a recipient of a National Science Foundation (NSF) scholarship to conduct geophysics research at the University of Hawaii, and in 2023, a scholarship from the Friends of the University of Tokyo (FUTI) foundation to conduct geophysics research at the University of Tokyo Earthquake Research Institute. He studied abroad at Waseda University in 2022, and was the first Oberlin College student ever to receive the Bridging Scholarship from the United States-Japan Bridging Foundation. Suvan was born in Japan and grew up in Sunnyvale, California. His mother is Japanese-American and his father is Indian. He speaks English and Japanese.