Southern Guitar Festival & Competition

June 12 -14, 2020

Schedule

June 12-14, 2020

Due to COVID-19 regulations, all competitions will be virtual this year.

This year’s Southern Guitar Festival will be virtual! See below for our list of concerts, workshops, panels, and lectures.
Registration fees and procedures will be announced soon, here and via email to competitors.

Schedule of Events:

NEW: Public admission to all of our concerts, workshops, and panels is available at a discounted rate of $30 (normally $90) with our All-Access Pass! Click here to purchase. Registered competitors will have free access to all sessions as part of their registration.

All times are listed in Eastern Standard Time, and all events are subject to change.

Competitors are able to attend all workshops, including the networking session, at no charge. Members of the public wishing to attend a workshop (excluding the networking session) must purchase a Public Workshop Admission ticket for each workshop that they would like to attend by clicking here.

The opening and closing ceremonies, as well as the finalist video livestreams, will be available to view live online at no charge.

Friday, June 12

  • 9 AM – 9:15 AM: Opening Ceremony (free and open to the public)
  • 9:30 AM – 11:30 AM: Ensemble Finalists’ Video Livestream* (free and open to the public)
  • 1:15 PM – 2:15 PM: Concert & Q&A: MM Guitar Duo (Maja Radovanlija & Milena Petković) (buy ticket)
  • 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM: Lecture & Q&A: Dušan Bogdanović’s Synthesis of Styles by Maja Radovanlija (buy ticket)
    A lecture examining composer Dušan Bogdanović’s the synthesis of the Western classical tradition (Baroque music elements) and Balkan traditional music.
  • 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM: Lecture & Q&A: Citizen Artist with Matthew Hinsley, Executive Director of Austin Classical Guitar (buy ticket)

Saturday, June 13

  • 9 AM – 11 AM:  Division II, Division III  Video Livestream* (free and open to the public). Judges will select 10 videos randomly per division to stream.
  • 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM: Expert Panel with Adam Kossler, Mak Grgic, Kenney Elkomous, Brian DuFord, and Mia Pomerantz-Amaral (buy ticket)
  • 1:15 PM – 2:15 PM: Concert & Q&A: Austin Wahl (buy ticket)
  • 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM: Workshop & Q&A: Cigar Box Guitar Building by Joseph Tollefsen (buy ticket)
    In this workshop, the assembly of a cigar box guitar will be shown through video, with commentary and instructions. The instructor will be available for Q&A at the end.

    • Participants attending this workshop are recommended to have the following materials: cigar box or other container/box, 1 inch x 2 inch x 3 feet piece of hardwood, 3 tuning pegs, pencil or small piece of wood, 5/16-inch by 1.5-inch bolt or comparable piece of material, 1/4-inch x 2 inch x 20 inch piece of hardwood, 3 guitar strings, and varnish (optional). A number of common hand tools will be necessary, including: a handsaw, an electric drill with a range of bit sizes, sandpaper (rough to fine), knife (optional). For questions pertaining to materials, email Joseph directly at [email protected].
  • 4 PM – 5 PM: Lecture & Q&A: Musical Careers Re-imagined—Embracing New Cultural Perspectives with Lynn McGrath (buy ticket)
    A musician’s ability to adapt and develop a broader career perspective has never been more important than it is today. Diversifying skill sets is one option, but that’s simply not enough. Lynn will discuss how can examine the ways in which our views and biases hold us back from the opportunities that may lead to greater financial security, greater personal fulfillment, deeper connections with others, and a feeling of purpose—on the stage and beyond.

Sunday, June 14

  • 8:30 AM – 11:30 AM: All College / Pro Division Finalists’ Video Livestream* (free and open to the public)
  • 11:45 AM – 12:45 PM: Panel Discussion With Judges And Artists: Ulyana Machneva, Rovshan Mamedkuliev, Maja Radovanlija, Marco Sartor, Austin Wahl, Yameng Wang (buy ticket)
  • 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM: Awards Ceremony (free and open to the public)
  • 2:15 PM – 3:15 PM: Concert & Q&A: Raphaël Feuillâtre, 2018 GFA Winner (buy ticket)
  • 3:30 PM (exact end time TBD): Networking
    An opportunity for prospective students to “shop around” for the perfect guitar program. During the event, students and professors will talk one-on-one in several private, 10-minute sessions (in Zoom breakout rooms). Availability is very limited; registration steps will be announced here and via email.

 

*For the Youth Ensemble, College/Pro Ensemble, and College/Pro Solo divisions, all of the finalists’ videos will be streamed. For solo divisions II and III, stream a small selection of the top video submissions, selected by our judges, will be streamed. During each livestream, videos of competitors from countries with the greatest timezone differences (e.g. China) will be given priority.