The JoAnn Falletta International Guitar Concerto Competition is a competition for classical guitarists from all over the world.Official competition web page
/ref> The competition was launched in 2004 by

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

member stations

WNED-FM WNED-FM (94.5 MHz) is a non-commercial radio station licensed to Buffalo, New York. WNED-FM offers a classical music radio format. It is owned by the Western New York Public Broadcasting Association (formerly the Western New York Educational TV ...

WNED-TV WNED-TV (channel 17) is a PBS member television station in Buffalo, New York, United States. It is owned by the Western New York Public Broadcasting Association (doing business as Buffalo Toronto Public Media) alongside NPR member WBFO (88.7 F ...

and the

Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra located in Buffalo, New York led by Music Director JoAnn Faletta. Its primary performing venue is Kleinhans Music Hall, which is a National Historic Landmark. Each season it p ...

(BPO). It was named in honor of the BPO's music director,

JoAnn Falletta JoAnn Falletta (born February 27, 1954 in Queens, New York) is an American conductor. Biography Falletta was raised in the borough of Queens in an Italian-American household. She was educated at the Mannes College of Music and The Juilliard Sch ...

. It was the world’s first concerto competition for classical guitarists with accompaniment by a full symphony

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

. The art directors are Joanne Castellani and Michael Andriaccio (Castellani-Andriaccio Duo) and Donald K. Boswell (President and CEO, Western New York Public Broadcasting). To date there have been only three absolute winners of the competition who won all possible awards (1st Prize, Musicians Favorite Award, and Audience Favorite Award): 2004:

Marcin Dylla Marcin Dylla is a Polish classical guitarist who has won over fifteen international classical guitar competitions. He was born in Chorzów, Poland, and took lessons at the Ruda Śląska Music High School, attended the Academy of Music in Katow ...

(Poland),The Buffalo News: Guitarist from Poland steals audience hearts, Gold medal
/ref> 2014:

Marko Topchii Marko Topchii ( uk, Марко Топчій ; born January 7, 1991) is a classical guitarist from Ukraine. Topchii has won more than 100 awards worldwide in the international classical guitar competitions in the professional category. Among them ...

(Ukraine)The Buffalo News: Talent galore as Ukraine’s Topchii hits peak in Falletta guitar finals
/ref> and 2016: Anton Baranov (Russia).

Rules

* The competition has occurred every two years since 2004, always in the city of

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

. * The participants have to play required pieces and freely chosen pieces from memory. * The finals of the competition are taking place in the

Kleinhans Music Hall Kleinhans Music Hall is a concert venue located on Symphony Circle in Buffalo, New York. The hall "is renowned for its acoustical excellence and graceful architecture." Kleinhans is currently the home of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, a regu ...

, a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

with exquisite acoustics and a large seating capacity of 2,839. It is the largest known concert hall that hosted the final of the classical guitar competition. * In addition to the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places there are three special awards: Audience Favorite Award and Musicians Favorite Award. While the Audience Favorite is a quite common award in the public music competitions, the Musicians Favorite Award is representing the professional recognition of the orchestra member musicians. The William and Carol Greiner Award, new for 2018, is awarded to the competitor(s) advancing to the final round with a recently composed, lesser-known work from the repertoire list.Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra: JoAnn Falletta International Guitar Concerto Competition
/ref>

Winners

/ref> *2018 **1. Prize: Bokyung Byun (South Korea) **2. Prize: Tengyue Zhang (China) **3. Prize: Congyi Zhang (China) **Musicians Favorite Award (Special prize): Bokyung Byun (South Korea) **Audience Favorite Award (Special prize): Tengyue Zhang (China) **William and Carol Greiner Award (Special prize): Congyi Zhang (China) *2016 **1. Prize: Anton Baranov (Russia) **2. Prize: Andras Csaki (Hungary) **3. Prize: Alec Holcomb (USA) **Musicians Favorite Award (Special prize): Anton Baranov (Russia) **Audience Favorite Award (Special prize): Anton Baranov (Russia) *2014 JoAnn Falletta International Guitar Concerto Competition: 2014 winners
/ref> **1. Prize:

(Ukraine) **2. Prize: Ekachai Jearakul (Thailand) **3. Prize: Chad Ibison (USA) **Musicians Favorite Award (Special prize):

(Ukraine) **Audience Favorite Award (Special prize):

(Ukraine) *2012 The Buffalo News: Turkish guitarist wins Falletta competition; Celil Refik Kaya takes big chances with selection of intense performance pieces
/ref> **1. Prize: Celil Kaya (Turkey) **2. Prize:

Petrit Çeku Petrit Çeku (born 2 June 1985) is an Albanian classical guitarist. Biography Born in Prizren, Kosovo , Çeku was inspired to play guitar by his father from the age of six. He attended the Lorenc Antoni music school from age 9 to 17, where he t ...

(Croatia) **3. Prize: Ekachai Jearakul (Thailand) **Musicians Favorite Award (Special prize):

(Croatia) **Audience Favorite Award (Special prize):

(Croatia) *2010 The Buffalo News: Russian 'Tsar of the Guitar,' 28, places first in Falletta competition
/ref> **1. Prize: Artyom Dervoed (Russia) **2. Prize: Nemanja Ostojic (Serbia) **3. Prize:

Thomas Viloteau Thomas Viloteau (born 1985) is a French classical guitarist. Life and career Viloteau began his studies at the age of 12 in Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône in southern France. From 1998, Viloteau continued his studies at the Escuela de Música Juan Ped ...

(France) **Musicians Favorite Award (Special prize):

(France) **Audience Favorite Award (Special prize): Artyom Dervoed (Russia) *2008 The Buffalo News: Plucking a guitar champ Uruguayan is winner of Falletta Competition
/ref> **1. Prize: Marco Sartor (Uruguay) **2. Prize: Laura Klemke (Germany) **3. Prize: Benjamin Beirs (USA) **Musicians Favorite Award (Special prize): Laura Klemke (Germany) **Audience Favorite Award (Special prize): Marco Sartor (Uruguay) *2006 The Buffalo News: Guitar contest winner found Buffalo worth a return trip Pablo Garibay defeats natives of Nicaragua, Japan in Falletta's international competition
/ref> **1. Prize: Pablo Garibay (Mexico) **2. Prize: Masao Tanibe (Japan) **3. Prize: Isaac Bustos (USA) **Musicians Favorite Award (Special prize): Pablo Garibay (Mexico) **Audience Favorite Award (Special prize): Masao Tanibe (Japan) *2004 **1. Prize:

(Poland) **2. Prize: Pablo Garibay (Mexico) **3. Prize: Rene Izquierdo (Cuba) **Musicians Favorite Award (Special prize):

(Poland) **Audience Favorite Award (Special prize):

(Poland)

Jury

*2018 ** Irina Kulikova (Russia) ** Francisco Bernier (Spain) ** Eric Sessler (USA) ** Michael Newman (USA) ** Sean Samimi (USA) ** Michael Andriaccio (USA) ** Joanne Castellani (USA) *2016 **

Antigoni Goni Antigoni Goni (born 8 March 1969) is a Greek guitarist, recording artist, and performer, who was the founder and Chair of the Pre-College Division of the Guitar Department at the Juilliard School Goni was born in Athens, Greece, and studied with ...

(Greece) **

Jeffrey McFadden Jeffrey McFadden is a Canadian classical guitarist, and a recording artist for Naxos Records. He is known for his recordings of works by composers of the romantic era such as Fernando Sor and Napoleon Coste. His latest recording features the wo ...

(Canada) ** Donald Crockett (USA) **

Mark Delpriora Mark Delpriora (born 1959) is an American classical guitarist and composer. Delpriora is currently Chair of the Guitar Department at the Manhattan School of Music, where he has been on the faculty since 1989. Mark is also on the faculty of The ...

(USA) ** Jeff Cogan (USA) ** Michael Andriaccio (USA) ** Joanne Castellani (USA) *2014 **

Ana Vidović Ana Vidović (born 8 November 1980) is a classical guitarist originally from Croatia. A child prodigy, she has won a number of prizes and international competitions all over the world. Early life Vidović was born on November 8, 1980, in Karlo ...

(Croatia) ** Micaela Pittaluga (Italy) ** Dale Kavanagh (Canada) ** Thomas Kirchhoff (Germany) ** David Osenberg (USA) ** Michael Andriaccio (USA) ** Joanne Castellani (USA) *2012 **

Berta Rojas Berta Rojas (born 23 September 1966) is a Paraguayan classical guitarist that won two Latin Grammy Awards on 2022 in its 23rd edition with her latest album entitled "Legado", the first in the "Best Classical Music Album" category, becoming the f ...

(Paraguay) ** Eduardo Fernández (Uruguay) ** Ricardo Iznaola (Venezuela) ** Adam Holzman (USA) ** Tony Morris (USA) ** Michael Andriaccio (USA) ** Joanne Castellani (USA) *2010 ** Ernesto Cordero (Puerto Rico) ** Micaela Pittaluga (Italy) ** Ernesto Bitetti (Argentina) **

Michael Colina Michael Dalmau Colina (born November 16, 1948) is a GRAMMY-winning American musician, composer, producer and engineer. He has written music for television, film, theatre, dance and live performances on concert stages throughout the United States, ...

(USA) ** Laura Oltman (USA) ** Michael Andriaccio (USA) ** Joanne Castellani (USA) *2008 ** Eduardo Fernandez (Uruguay) ** Enrique Muñoz Teruel (Spain) ** Brian Head (USA) ** David Leisner (USA) ** Tony Morris (USA) ** Michael Andriaccio (USA) ** Joanne Castellani (USA) *2006 **

(Poland) ** Eduardo Pascual Diez (Spain) **

Miguel del Águila Miguel del Águila (born September 15, 1957) is an Uruguayan-born, American composer of contemporary classical music. Life Miguel del Águila (also spelled Miguel del Aguila), was born in Montevideo. In 1978, del Águila moved to California, ...

(USA) **

David Frost Sir David Paradine Frost (7 April 1939 – 31 August 2013) was a British television host, journalist, comedian and writer. He rose to prominence during the satire boom in the United Kingdom when he was chosen to host the satirical programme ' ...

(USA) ** Jeff Cogan (USA) ** John Landis (USA) ** David Dusman (USA) ** Michael Andriaccio (USA) ** Joanne Castellani (USA) *2004 **

Jack Behrens Jack Behrens (born 25 March 1935) is a Canadian composer, music educator, and writer of American birth. A member of the Canadian League of Composers and an associate of the Canadian Music Centre, his music has been performed throughout North Ame ...

(Canada) **

Carlos Bonell Carlos Antonio Bonell (born 23 July 1949) is an English classical guitarist of Spanish origin. He has been described by ''Classical Guitar'' magazine as "one of the great communicators of the guitar world". Career Born in London, Bonell started ...

(UK) **

Roberto Sierra Roberto Sierra (born 9 October 1953) is a Puerto Rican composer of contemporary classical music. Life Sierra was born in Vega Baja, Puerto Rico. He studied composition in Europe, notably with György Ligeti in Hamburg (1979–1982), Germany. Af ...

(USA) ** Bruce Holzman (USA) ** John Landis (USA) ** David Dusman (USA) ** Michael Andriaccio (USA) ** Joanne Castellani (USA)

External links

Official competition webpage

Official competition Facebook page

Official competition Twitter page

References

{{reflist Classical music awards Guitar competitions Classical guitar Music competitions in the United States Competitions in the United States