Romanian guitarist Dragos Ilie has established himself as one of the most creative and expressive young guitarists of his generation. After listening to his father play,  Dragos fell in love with the guitar at an early age. He went on to enroll at the Popular School of Arts and later the National College of Arts in his native city (Iasi) in the studio of Professor Marius Timpau. Dragos also studied with Dr. Daniel Dragomirescu at the National Music Conservatoire of Iasi.

His dedication for the art of the guitar led Dragos to success in competitions in his home country of Romania and across Europe. The numerous scholarships and grants Dragos has been rewarded includ the MOL Foundation Scholarship for Young Artists and the “Young Talents" Grant offered by the Margareta Principess Foundation, with the support of the Royal House of Romania.

Dragos has placed in over 35 national and international competitions, and received more than 20 first prizes. These include the Indiana Guitar Festival, Iasi Guitar Festival, Columbus Guitar Symposium, ECU Guitar Festival, Texas A&M Guitar Competition, and Florida Guitar Festival. Dragos has also found opportunities to perform and teach masterclasses in the United States and Europe.

After recovering from a chronic music-related injury,  Dragos remains deeply invested in the study of Body Mapping, technique that focuses on body awareness, and injury prevention for musicians. Currently, Dragos is under training to become a licensed practitioner so that he can  help fellow musicians coping with injury and adopt technique to help prevent it in the first place.

Dragos holds a Bachelors Degree in Music Performance from the Schwob School of Music at Columbus State University, where he was the recipient of the Woodruff Award, a prestigious four year scholarship for completing his studies in the studio of the acclaimed teacher, composer, and performer Andrew Zohn. Dragos is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree at the University of Austin Texas, serving as Teaching Assistant for the guitar studio, led by one of the most prestigious figures in classical guitar, Adam Holzman.