

The Sena Performers European Guitar award originates from the Eddy Christiani Award. The award was named after the first guitarist in Europe with an electric guitar: Eddy Christiani.
He bought his guitar in 1939, an Epiphone model Electar Model M. This guitar has cost 495 guilders, an astronomical sum, back in those days. When WW II broke out, he had to hide for the Germans. With the Allied troops he went to the front lines and played in an English army orchestra, called The Army Troupers. In 1946 he returned to the Netherlands.
The Sena Performers European Guitar Award, as the award is called now, has grown into an international award for guitar players, who have made their tracks. With their sounds they were very meaningful for the development in the pop music and, especially, for the electric guitar music. Nothing, after the World War, has had such a big influence on culture except for pop music. The most important instrument within pop music is the electric guitar. With de electric guitar, guitar heroes are able to create their own kind of sound, a sound that touches a million of people all over the world, a sound that binds people, a sound that will always remain.
2006 – Leendert Haaksma
2007 – Dany Lademacher
2008 – Adrian Vandenberg
2009 – Jan Akkerman
2010 – Steve Lukather
2011 – Brian May
2012 – George Kooymans
2014 – Slash
2015 – Walter Trout
2016 – Steve Vai
2017 – Joe Bonamassa
2018 – Joseph Satriani
2019 – John Petrucci
2020 – Jimi Hendrix
2022 – Steve Hackett

Designing the
Sena Performers European Guitar Award
The design of the Sena Performers European Guitar Award is inspired by the electric circuitry in the very first pre-amps that made the electric guitar sound possible. The guitar-like shape of the award is an actual configuration of a few of the electronic components on the pre-amp circuit-board.
The shape is handcrafted from metal and fitted to a solid wood base to support the weight. The award represents 3 core elements of the electric guitar: The shape, the sound and the wood. Just add some good vibrations and you’re ready to go.
Dating back to the beginning of the 20th century, this brand new technology didn’t know what it was going to be responsible for.
Bentall_Bommeljé © 2006