Vladimir Gapontsev was born in Volzhsky, Russia, in 1985 and started playing guitar at the age of 11. In 1997, he won the city’s guitar competition. In 2000, he entered the Volga Municipal College of Arts, and in 2004 continued his studies at the Volgograd Conservatory in the class of Sergei Matokhin.
While studying at the Conservatory, he became a scholarship holder of the Administration of the Volgograd Region (2002), the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation (2003), as well as the Federal Agency for Culture and Cinematography (the program “Young Talents of Russia”, 2006).
Since 2005, Vladimir has been a regular participant and member of the jury of international festivals in Russia and Europe.
Winner of more than 25 international classical guitar competitions, including Guitar Gems (Israel), Tabula Rasa (Volgograd), Guitar Magic (St. Petersburg), Forum Guitarre Wien (Austria), Pattaya Competition (Thailand), Hanoi competition and others. Semi-finalist of the GFA competition (USA, 2017).
In addition to recitals and teaching, Vladimir is actively engaged in chamber music, arrangement and composition. He also performs guitar concerts with symphony orchestras in Russia and abroad, collaborates with musicians of various genres — from classical to jazz, bossa nova and folk. As a studio musician, he has recorded over 1,000 works and guitar parts in various genres.