Our annual festival will feature a vast array of events for guitarists of all ages including:
Opening concert with guitarist Ana Vidovic 2020 Philadelphia Classical Guitar Competition Concert by 2018 Competition Winner Congyi Zhang Masterclass with guitarist Ana Vidovic Vendor Fair featuring guitar music, luthiers, composers, repair shops, and more! Professional workshops Student recitals Closing concert with Jay Kacherski
The 2020 Philadelphia Classical Guitar Competition is part of the 2018 Annual Philadelphia Classical Guitar Festival.
There are two separate divisions: 1. The Adult Division is a national competition open to advancing classical guitarists who must be 18 years of age by April 1st, 2020 and residing in the United States.
2. The Junior Division is open to students age 18 and under residing in the United States.
There are three rounds:
> The Preliminary round – The jury will review unmarked/anonymous recordings and select up to 12 advancing competitors from each division. Entrants will be notified if they have advanced to the semifinal round no later than March 3, 2019.
> The Semifinal round - will take place in front of a live audience in Philadelphia, PA on Saturday, April 13, 2019. Time & venue TBA, Free Admission
> The Final round will take place on Sunday, April 14, 2019 at 9:00 AM at the 2019 Philadelphia Classical Guitar Society Festival at Settlement Music School, 416 Queen St. (free parking).
GUIDELINES FOR ALL PARTICIPANTS
Questions can be directed to competition@phillyguitar.com
Winners will be announced later the same day after the festival closing concert.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE
Ana Vidovic is an extraordinary talent with formidable gifts taking her place amongst the elite musicians of the world today. She is known for her beautiful tone, precise technique, well-defined phrasing and thoughtful artistry and musicianship. Her international performance career includes frequent recitals, concerto engagements and festival appearances in most of Europe’s cultural destinations including Amsterdam, Brussels, Budapest, Copenhagen, London, Oslo, Paris, Rome, Salzburg, Vienna, Warsaw and Zagreb. Her tours have also taken her to Australia, Brazil, Israel, Japan, Korea and Mexico. Equally impressive is the fact that she has recorded 6 CDs. Mel Bay Publications has released Ana Vidovic’s DVD entitled “Guitar Artistry in Concert,” a journey through the music of Torroba, Piazzolla and Pierre Bensusan, Sergio Assad, Stanley Myers, Villa-Lobos and Agustin Barrios Mangoré, and “Guitar Virtuoso,” a performance of works by Bach, Torroba, Paganini and Walton. During recent seasons Ms. Vidovic’s prolific career has taken her to London where she has performed at King’s Place twice; Bordeaux and Paris, Carthage (Tunesia), Cuenca (Equador), Vienna’s Musikverein, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, Avezzano and Pescara (Italy), Aachen, Ansbach and Ettlingen (Germany), Japan, Sao Paulo (Brazil), Adelaide, Brisbane and Sydney (Australia), Hong Kong, Bulle (Switzerland), Uppsala (Sweden), Istanbul, Tel Aviv, in addition to the Canadian cities of Calgary, Edmonton Kitchener Toronto and Winnipeg, She has performed throughout the U.S. at major performance venues in Austin, Baltimore, Bethesda (The Strathmore), Boston, Champaign, IL (Krannert Center), Cleveland, Dallas, Dayton, Ft. Worth, Houston, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, Portland (OR), St. Louis, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, San Luis Obispo, Santa Fe, Seattle, Washington, DC and New York City where Ms. Vidovic has performed in recital at the New York Guitar Seminar at Mannes College of Music, Baruch College as well as at the 92nd St. Y. Her dazzling concerto performances have taken place with the Asheville Symphony, Bangor Symphony, Erie Philharmonic, Evansville Philharmonic, Glacier Symphony, Hartford Symphony, Idaho Falls Symphony, Illinois Philharmonic, Knoxville Symphony, Missoula Symphony, Rogue Valley Symphony (Oregon), Westmoreland Symphony (PA), West Virginia Symphony, Wheeling Symphony Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra; and with the Slovene Orchestra and Zagreb Philharmonic. Festival appearances include Le Domaine Forget (Quebec), International Guitar Festival (London), Big Sky, Montana, Caramoor Festival (Katonah, NY), Colorado Music Festival and Lake Tahoe Summerfest. Ms. Vidovic’s 2017-18 season included recitals in Germany (Baden-Baden), Jeunesse Musicale (Vienna), Hong Kong, Peoria IL, Chicago, Washington, DC (Marlowe Guitar Series), Los Angeles, and Jacksonville (FL) and a concerto engagement with the Idaho Falls Symphony, in addition to a tour to Japan where she performs almost annually. Her 2018-19 season begins with an appearance at New York City’s Le Poisson Rouge followed by concertos with Washington, DC’s Apollo Orchestra and Orchestra Iowa. Further recitals take place in New York City (New York City Classical Guitar Society), Boston, Washington, DC,. (Dumbarton Oaks), Austin, Cleveland, San Francisco and the Hawaiian Islands in addition to London, Baden-Baden and a tour to Japan. Ms. Vidovic has won an impressive number of prizes and international competitions including first prizes in the Albert Augustine International Competition in Bath, England, the Fernando Sor competition in Rome, Italy and the Francisco Tarrega competition in Benicasim, Spain. Other top prizes include the Eurovision Competition for Young Artists, Mauro Giuliani competition in Italy, Printemps de la Guitare in Belgium and the Young Concert Artists International Auditions in New York. In Croatia, the guitarist has performed Symphony Orchestra of the Croatian Radio and Television, as well as having been featured in three television documentaries by the eminent Croatian film director Petar Krelja. Ana Vidovic comes from the small town of Karlovac near Zagreb, Croatia, and started playing guitar at the age of 5. At age 7, she gave her first public performance and at the age of 11 she was performing internationally. She became the youngest student at age 13 to attend the prestigious National Musical Academy in Zagreb where she studied with Professor Istvan Romer. Ms. Vidovic’s reputation in Europe led to an invitation to study with Manuel Barrueco at the Peabody Conservatory from which she graduated.
This full day of classical guitar events includes the PCGS Annual Classical Guitar Competition finals, a masterclass with festival opening performer Ana Vidovic, professional workshops, student recitals, vendor fair, and a recital by the PCGS Concert Ensemble. In addition to these exciting events are concerts by the 2019 Philadelphia Classical Guitar Competition Adult Division Winner, and a closing concert with Jay Kacherski.
This is an opportunity for all of the classical guitar lovers in the Philadelphia area and beyond to come together and enjoy a full day of events focused on the instrument that they love.
2019 PCGS Competition 1st Place and Peter Segal Prize Winner Recital Congyi Zhang
Student Recitals
PCGS Concert Ensemble
Guitar Workshops
Vendors Fair
Congyi Zhang bio:
Congyi Zhang is a guitarist from Beijing, China, currently living in New York City. Congyi first learned to play classical guitar under his father’s instruction at the age of eight. He attended Central Conservatory of Music of China Middle School under Professors Zhi Chen and Jiajiong Li, graduated from Central Conservatory of Music of China in Beijing in 2016 with his Bachelor of Music degree studying with Jie Li, and is now a second-year Master of Music scholarship student at Mannes School of Music, College of Performing Arts at The New School in New York City, in the studio of Professor Michael Newman.
Honors and awards for Congyi include the First Prize and the Peter Segal Award at the major 2019 Philadelphia International Classical Guitar Competition, the 2018 JoAnn Falletta International Guitar Competition (the Greiner Award for Best Performance of a Contemporary Guitar Concerto, and a top prizewinner in the overall competition), and the 2018 Charlottesville International Competition. He received the first place award and was the only full-scholarship student at CCOM Middle School. His concert performances have been at Weill Recital Hall, Carnegie Hall, National Centre for the Performing Arts, Manet Club, Peking University, Grand Hall of CCOM, Tishman Hall in New York City, the Frick Collection, SUNY Oneonta, and venues throughout China, Canada, and the United States.
Congyi also enjoys playing fingerstyle guitar and mandolin, as well as performing in ensembles including Chinese dulcimer, er-hu, other guitars, flute, violin, piano, and larger ensembles. He premiered new works by Xue Rui and Hong Liu at the Golden Hu Qin Competition, winning first and second prize for the two composers. One of his first New York performances was with MACE, playing Frank Zappa's “G-Spot Tornado” and “Dog Meat.”
Congyi performed in Leo Brouwer’s New York City master class during Brouwer’s first classes in the United States in over three decades. His performance of Ernesto Cordero’s “Concierto Antillano” marked its premiere performance with Buffalo Philharmonic. He also premiered new music by Dutch composer Jan Bartlema at Peking University.
"Virtuosismo" and "technical dominance" are the words used by the press to describe American guitarist, Jay Kacherski. A native of New York, Kacherski has performed around the world as a soloist and member of the highly praised Texas Guitar Quartet. He has collaborated with Grammy-winners and nominees such as the chamber choir Conspirare and Chilean flutist Viviana Guzman, as well as with Piazzolla's successor, Argentinean bandeneonist Daniel Binelli with the New Orleans Opera company. Kacherski has performed at distinguished festivals and venues such as the Festival International de Guitarra de Taxco, the Florida Guitar Foundation, the Brevard Music Center, Round Top, the Festival Internacional de Guitarra del Conservatorio Nacional de Música, Mexico City, and the New Orleans International Guitar Festival. Jay Kacherski spent two years living in Mexico as a Fulbright Scholar and member of the guitar faculty at the Escuela Nacional de Música, the music conservatory for the National University of Mexico (UNAM) researching, performing, and promoting contemporary classical guitar music of Mexico. His guide and teacher for this work was the world-renowned Mexican guitarist Juan Carlos Laguna. Kacherski has since premiered many new works from Mexico and has created a complete catalog of Mexican guitar works with links to videos, audio, scores, and more that can be found at www.kacherskiguitar.com. Jay Kacherski is currently on the guitar faculty at Loyola University, the University of New Orleans, and McNeese State University, as well as NOCCA, the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts. He is an Associate Editor for Soundboard Magazine, the director of the Francis G. Bulber Youth Orchestra Guitar Program, and the Artistic Director of the Houston Classical Guitar Festival and Competition in Texas. He holds a doctorate degree from the University of Texas at Austin, a master's degree from the Eastman School of Music, and undergraduate degrees from Florida Southern College where he graduated with honors.
Philadelphia Classical Guitar Society Address: 2038 Sansom street - Philadelphia, PA 19103 Phone: +1 (215) 567 2972 Email: info@phillyguitar.com
