[460] Guitar Festival At MTSU Attracting Top-Notch Musicians

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 10, 2011
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Dr. William Yelverton, yelverto@mtsu.edu;
concertguitar@comcast.net

GUITAR FESTIVAL AT MTSU ATTRACTING TOP-NOTCH MUSICIANS
Pros Show How It’s Done as Amateurs Compete for Prizes, Learn in Workshops

(MURFREESBORO) – 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 per person.
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.
“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.”


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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, www.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. All applications must be received by Friday, May 27.
Supporters of the event include the Tennessee Arts Commission, the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, Nashville Arts magazine, the D’Addario Music Foundation, the Arts Builds Communities Program, the MTSU Instructional Development Committee, the MTSU Office of Sponsored Programs and the MTSU School of Music.
For more information, go to http://frank.mtsu.edu/~yelverto/guitfest.html or e-mail Yelverton at yelverto@mtsu.edu or concertguitar@comcast.net.


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ATTENTION, MEDIA: For color jpegs of headliners slated to attend the Tennessee Guitar Festival and Competition, contact Gina Logue in the MTSU Office of News and Media Relations at 615-898-5081 or gklogue@mtsu.edu.


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Founded in 1911, Middle Tennessee State University is a Tennessee Board of Regents institution located in Murfreesboro and is the state’s largest public undergraduate institution. In September 2011, MTSU will celebrate its 100th year anniversary with special events and activities throughout the year — kicked off by a Blue-Tie Centennial Gala on Friday, Sept. 9.

For MTSU news and information, go online to mtsunews.com.