Inspiring more women to pick up the guitar

Classical guitarist Isabel Szanto hopes to inspire more women to take up the instrument. She’s one of 20 finalists who will compete on Australia Day to be named the winner of Parravision.

At her all-girls high school Isabel Szanto was surrounded by female guitarists.

But at university, she is one of only a few female classical guitarists in her course - something she hopes to change by inspiring more females to take up the instrument.

Szanto, 20, studies at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and hopes to become a music teacher and continue as a performer when she graduates.

She has already seen first hand the flow-on effects of being a female music teacher at a local school.

Isabel Szanto in Parramatta Park ahead of the Parravision finals. Picture: Jordan Shields

“When I started, the majority of the students were male and when I came in the reverse has happened,” she said.

Szanto, of Old Toongabbie, picked up the guitar at 12 after switching from the piano, and played contemporary before moving into classical.

She has been named as one of 20 finalists in this year’s Parravision talent contest and will compete in the finals at Parramatta Park on Australia Day.

Szanto said she entered the competition because it was “amazing opportunity to be able to showcase homegrown talent”.

“Studying in the city, a lot of my peers are from the eastern suburbs so to be able to bring that music that I study there to where I live and where I grew up, that’s a big selling point for me,” she said.

Szanto will be hoping to impress the judges, local rapper D Minor and Daddy Cool frontman Ross Wilson, with her version of a Flamenco guitar piece at the finals.

She first learnt the piece for her HSC by carefully watching a guitarist play it on YouTube and replicating the notes after being unable to find the music for it.

“It was a challenge but good fun,” she said.

■ The Parravision final starts at 11am at Parramatta’s Australia Day celebrations