Rene Gonzalez
Some of the nation’s finest guitarists will converge on MTSU’s Wright Music Building June 1–4 for the tenth annual Tennessee Guitar Festival and Competition. This marks the first year that the festival will have a national-level competitive element.
A total of more than $3,600 in prizes will be available. In the Solo Competition, a $1,500 first prize is sure to lure some of the finest guitar masters from across the country. The finals of the Solo Competition will be held at 8 p.m. Saturday, June 4.
Youth guitarists age 18 and younger who have not begun college may enter the Youth Competition, where they will vie for first, second and third prizes of $300, $200 and $100, respectively.
Among the headliners scheduled to attend this year’s festival are Roger Hudson, Rene Gonzalez and Jose Lezcano, who are slated to perform at 8 p.m. Wednesday, June 1. Matt Palmer will take the stage at 8 p.m. Thursday, June 2. William Kanengiser will perform at 8 p.m. Friday, June 3. Admission for all concerts is $10.
Kanengiser is a Grammy Award-winner and founding member of the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet. His repertoire includes arrangements of the works of Mozart, Bartok and Handel, among others. Kanengiser has been a member of the faculty of the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music since 1983.
Recipient of the 2010 Up-and-Coming Guitarist of the Year award from Guitar International magazine, Palmer began his formal studies with Dr. William Yelverton, professor of guitar at MTSU, and earned his master’s degree at Appalachian State University.
Matt Palmer
“He has performed at this festival three times, and every time he has received a standing ovation,” says Yelverton of Palmer. “Matt is the most gifted guitarist I’ve seen in my 22 years of college teaching. He is simply one of America’s finest young virtuosos.”
Lezcano, a two-time Grammy Award nominee, is a professor of music at Keene State College in New Hampshire. He has been described by New Millennium Guitar magazine as “a superb guitarist as well as a first-rate composer and arranger.”
Hudson holds a master’s degree in music theory from Georgia State University. The late country legend Chet Atkins praised his “great compositions.” According to Hudson’s website, rogerhudson.com, “He has never abandoned his American roots, and Hudson’s compositions are flavored with Blues, Jazz and the varied influences of his youth.”
Gonzalez is an associate professor and program director of classical guitar at the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music. He also is founder of The Ruck Ensemble, a professional classical guitar group.
In addition, a composers’ workshop and a luthier/vendor fair are part of the festivities. For more information, visit mtsu.edu/~yelverto/guitfest.html or e-mail Yelverton at yelverto@mtsu.edu.
