LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The world’s leading classical guitarists will gather at the University of Louisville’s School of Music June 25-30 for the 2013 Guitar Foundation of America Convention and Competition.
The six-day festival, the largest of its kind in North America, will feature concerts, master classes on technique and artistic development, lectures and an international competition. The winner of the top prize will receive $7,500, recording contracts and a 50-city concert tour at venues in the U.S., United Kingdom, Brazil and China.
Stephen Mattingly, guitar instructor and festival host, said the event is expected to attract as many as 700 with about 30 percent of attendees coming from outside the U.S.
“The festival attracts guitar enthusiasts and artists from around the world,” Mattingly said. “The top prize is the classical guitar community”s equivalent to the Van Cliburn Piano Competition.”
Mattingly worked with the Louisville Convention and Visitors Bureau to compete with Vancouver, Canada, and St. Louis, Mo., to be selected for the convention, which is in its 40th year. The bureau estimates that the event will have a $1.5 million economic impact for the city.
Concerts will be held in the Margaret Comstock Concert Hall, School of Music, unless otherwise noted. Featured performers include: