""The Little One"" Painting

Simonne Draper is an acoustic-classical composer and guitarist, a member of the Czech Composers Society, and a Voting Member of The Recording Academy™ for the Grammy Awards®. Although she obtained a law degree at university, she has been devoted to music composition since childhood. Later, she studied at the conservatory with renowned guitar composer Milan Tesař, where, in addition to guitar performance, she also received guidance in composition as part of her lessons. During her studies, she regularly performed with other guitarists in Prague churches and local concert halls. In 2016, she became a member of the Czech Composers Society. Her debut album, Portraits in Guitar, was released in 2019 by MSR Classics, now part of Parma Recordings. The album received positive acclaim from publications including Fanfare, American Record Guide, and Concertonet, and gained airplay on around a thousand radio stations worldwide, including BBC Radio Kent, Radio Six International, and Radio Classic Prague. As an active classical guitarist and composer, she collaborates with award-winning artists who present her music at concert venues and festivals. She enjoys exploring different genres and creates modern interpretations of her work in collaboration with outstanding artists, including Grammy® winners. Her second album of original music, Silence of Eclipse, was released in 2024 by Bongo Boy Records. Her music has recently achieved international recognition. In 2025, her works, arranged for violin and harp and performed by Duo Beautiful Strings, were awarded Winner in the category Best Original Composition for Espanola at the Best Classical Musicians Awards and received 2nd Place in the Composition category for Canzonetta dell’Acqua at the World Classical Music Awards. Her compositions have appeared on numerous compilation albums across various genres, including seasonal and Christmas releases. As purely instrumental music, they were also accepted for the first round of Grammy Awards® consideration and were later included on an FYC compilation albums featuring Grammy contestants.