Classical Guitar Festivals

Annual Texas Guitar Competition and Festival

February 28 – March 2, 2013
UT Dallas Alexander Clark Center (formerly known as the Conference Center)

This unique Texas competition, designed to showcase outstanding classical guitar students, will award approximately $8,000 in cash prizes to the winners. Over the three-day event, students can compete and attend master classes and concerts by internationally recognized guitarists. We have a youth competition for ages 11-18 as well as the main competition for college-level students.

This years guest artists will be Gustavo Costa and Eliot Fisk

Annual Texas Guitar Competition and Festival

International Concert Guitarist Competition Guidelines:

Application Deadline:
January 7, 2013 (for international students living outside the US)
January 21, 2013 (for applicants in the US)
The following materials must be submitted by each competitor, including previous winners. Previous first place winners are ineligible to compete. A committee will pre-screen and select the initial field of competitors who will be invited to participate in the competition.

1. A completed application form (PDF)
2. A letter of recommendation by their guitar instructor. Letters must be sent with the application. No application will be considered without an enclosed letter of recommendation.
3. Application Fee $50 (make checks payable to The University of Texas at Dallas).
4. Applications without the required fee will not be considered.
5. A cassette tape or CD (no mini CDs please!), not to exceed 10 minutes playing time, with the following:

A first or a final movement from any of the J.S. Bach Suites, Sonatas, and Parititas for solo instruments transcribed for guitar - this includes the Prelude, Fugue, and Allegro.

AND one selection from the following list of works by John Duarte:

• Birds Op. 25 II (The Swan) - Tuscany Music TPS-046 (4'20)
• Homage to Antonio Lauro Op. 83, II and III - Universal Edition 29176 [4'40]
• Appalachian Dreams Op. 121 (Fantasia & Darling Cora) - Schirmer Ed 4112 [4'40]
• Musikones Op. 107. - Terpsichore I (Epirotikos) and Terpishore III (Kalamaianos) - Berben Edizioni Musical [4:27]

Submit letter, tape, and application fee to:

The University of Texas at Dallas
Attn: Kathryn Evans
School of Arts and Humanities JO31
800 W. Campbell Rd.
Richardson, TX 75080-3021

Preliminary Round - Thursday in AH1:
Invited players will play the recorded works submitted with their application (link) in the first round of the competition.
Final Round - Friday evening in the Clark Center:
The top FOUR final competitors will play a program of 25 minutes in length. All competitors will be required to play the set piece "Movement I: Allegro Moderato" from Joaquin Rodrigo’s Sonata Giocosa. The rest of the program will consist of free selections from two (2) or more of the following style periods. Pieces should not duplicate the preliminary round, but performers may use unplayed movements from works included in the preliminary round. The order of the final program is at the discretion of the performer.

Renaissance
Baroque
Classical
Romantic
Contemporary

Applicants selected for the preliminary round of the competition will be asked to submit their 25-minute final program on the day of the final competition in advance. The judges will determine if the program does not meet the requirements of the final round and request a change of program if it is determined that the program does not cover at least two distinct periods.
Contestants who wish to have a pre-determination of their final program may email it to Dr. Enric Madriguera.
Performers will be judged on the following:

Program
Technique
Interpretation/Style
Performance Characteristics

Youth Competition Guidelines:

Application deadline: January 28, 2013
The following materials must be submitted by each competitor:

1. A completed Youth application form (PDF).
2. A letter of recommendation by their guitar instructor. Letters must be sent with the application. No application will be considered without an enclosed letter of recommendation.
3. Application Fee $25 (make checks payable to The University of Texas at Dallas).
4. Applications without the required fee will not be considered.

Submit letter, tape, and application fee to:

The University of Texas at Dallas
Attn: Kathryn Evans
School of Arts and Humanities JO31
800 W. Campbell Rd.
Richardson, TX 75080-3021

Competition - Saturday:
Division I (ages 11-14): 10 am - 2 pm, in AH1
Competitors must play two contrasting pieces not to exceed 7 minutes total.
Example: Carcassi Etude, and a Brouwer Prelude, or similar.
Division II (ages 15-18): 10 am - 2 pm, in AH1
Competitors must play two contrasting pieces not to exceed 10 minutes total.
Example: a movement of a Rodrigo or Brouwer work, and a fantasy by John Dowland, or similar.