Denver Guitar Festival & Competition

Friday, Saturday & Sunday – September 6 –8, 2024

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Welcome to the fifth annual Denver Guitar Festival & Competition at the Lamont School of Music, University of Denver. This three-day celebration of the classical guitar includes guest recitals, lectures, master classes as well as the Josefina P. Tuason International Guitar Competition and Undergraduate & Youth Competitions, totaling over $8000 in prize money.

We hope you can join us in what promises to be an exciting weekend of guitar events!

Laura Husbands, Artistic Director

REGISTRATION & TICKETS - updated link coming soon!

 

Josefina P. Tuason International Guitar Competition

First prize $2500
Second prize $1500
Third prize $750
Fourth prize $500

* $300 cash audience prize

Undergraduate Competition

First prize $1000
Second prize $500
Third prize $300
Fourth prize $200

Youth Competition

First prize $500
Second prize $300
Third prize $150
Fourth prize $50

Contact

Questions? 
Please contact Laura Husbands, Artist Director at laura.husbands@du.edu

All events will take place in the Robert & Judi Newman Center for the Performing Arts, on the University of Denver campus.
2344 East Iliff Avenue
Denver, CO 80210

For questions about the guitar program at DU Lamont, please contact Jonathan Leathwood, Chair of Guitar and Harp at Jonathan.Leathwood@du.edu

  • Schedule

    All events will take place in the Robert & Judi Newman Center for the Performing Arts, on the University of Denver campus.
    2344 East Iliff Avenue
    Denver, CO 80210

    Festival schedule

    Friday, September 6

    9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. Registration & Check-In
    Joy Burns Plaza

    10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Preliminary Round - Josefina P Tuason International Competition
    Hamilton Recital Hall
    Closed to public.

    10:00 a.m. Adam Moore Guitars
    Room 209

    2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m, Preliminary Round (continued)
    Hamilton Recital Hall
    Closed to public.

    7:30 p.m. Guest Artist Recital: Colin Davin
    Hamilton Recital Hall
    $15 Ticket


    Saturday, September 7

    10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Jonathan Leathwood Masterclass
    Hamilton Recital Hall
    Open to the public

    10:00 a.m. Adam Moore Guitars
    Room 209

    1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. Semifinal Round - Josefina P Tuason International Competition
    Hamilton Recital Hall
    Open to the public.

    3:00 p.m.  Undergraduate Competition Check-In
    Joy Burns Plaza

    4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. Undergraduate Competition Preliminary Round
    Hamilton Recital Hall
    Open to the public

    7:30 p.m. Guest Artist Recital: Duo Noire
    Hamilton Recital Hall
    $15 Ticket


    Sunday, September 8

    10:00 a.m.  Jonathan Leathwood lecture: "Perceiving and Shaping Harmony: A Practical Talk for Guitarists"
    Williams Recital Salon
    Open to the public

    10:00 a.m. Youth Competition Check-in
    Joy Burns Plaza

    10:00 a.m. Adam Moore Guitars
    Room 209

    11:00 a.m. Youth Competition
    Hamilton Recital Hall
    Open to the public

    1:00 p.m. Undergraduate Competition Final Round
    Hamilton Recital Hall
    Open to the public

    2:00 p.m. Undergraduate and Youth Competitions Awards Ceremony
    Hamilton Recital Hall
    Open to the public

    3.30 p.m. - 5.30 p.m. Masterclass
    Hamilton Recital Hall
    Open to the public

    3.30 p.m. - 5.30 p.m. Masterclass
    Williams Recital Salon
    Open to the public

    7:30 p.m. Final Round - Josefina P. Tuason International Competition
    Hamilton Recital Hall
    $15 Ticket

    9:30 p.m. Awards Ceremony
    Hamilton Recital Hall
    Open to the public

     

  • Josefina P. Tuason International Guitar Competition

    Competition Rules

    JOSEFINA P. TUASON INTERNATIONAL
    GUITAR COMPETITION

    The Josefina P. Tuason International Guitar Competition is open to classical guitarist regardless of nationality and age.

    Preliminary Round: 7 minutes
    Semi final Round: 10 minutes
    Final round: 20 minutes

    Free-choice programs for all rounds. Competitors may repeat repertoire without penalty. It is expected that repertoire will fit the time limit of each round. Should competitors exceed the time limit, they will be asked to stop playing with no penalty. Up to 12 competitors will be chosen for the semi final round, and 4 for the final round. All competitors will be provided an individual practice room for 1 hour before their performance time. The Preliminary and Semi final round will be judged blindly.

    All decisions by the judges are final. Guitar professors teaching at the Lamont School of Music will NOT be taking part in any judging of the Solo Artist Competition.

    Judges 
    To be announced.

    First prize $2500
    Second prize $1500
    Third prize $750
    Fourth prize $500

    All prizes subject to mandatory 30 percent federal tax withholding for foreign prize-winners; US prize-winners will be issued an IRS-1099 Form. By submitting an application to this competition, participants agree to terms allowing the University of Denver to use audio, recording and photo during the competition.
     

  • Undergraduate Competition

    UNDERGRADUATE COMPETITION

    The Undergraduate Competition is open to all classical guitarists ages 18-22 as of September 6, 2024.
    The Undergraduate Competition will be held in two rounds. Free choice program for all rounds.

    Preliminary round 7 minutes.
    Final round 10 minutes.

    Free-choice program for both rounds. Competitors may repeat repertoire without penalty. It is expected that repertoire will fit time limit of each round. Should competitors exceed the time limit, they will be asked to stop playing with no penalty.

    First Prize - $1000
    Second prize - $500
    Third prize - $300
    Fourth prize- $200

    All decisions by the judges are final.

    Judges for the Youth Competition 
    Laura Husbands
    Jonathan Leathwood
     

  • Youth Competition

    YOUTH COMPETITION

    The Youth Competition is open to all classical guitarists 18 years and under as of September 6, 2024.

    One round: 7 minutes time limit 

    Free-choice program. It is expected that repertoire will fit the time limit. Should competitors exceed the time limit, they will be asked to stop playing with no penalty.

    First Prize - $500
    Second prize - $300
    Third prize - $150
    Fourth prize- $50

    Additionally, all winners are guaranteed admission to the Lamont School of Music* and a minimum scholarship award: 

    First prize = $30,000
    Second prize = $25,000
    Third prize = $20,000
    Fourth prize = $15,000

    *Admission and scholarships are guaranteed provided all the standards for admission into the University of Denver have been met. If the winner is not a senior in high school, admission and scholarship will be awarded upon graduation.     Prize winners may elect to submit more recent audition recordings at the time of admission for additional scholarship consideration. 

    All decisions by the judges are final.

    Judges for the Youth Competition 
    Laura Husbands
    Jonathan Leathwood
     

  • Guest Artists

    Duo Noire

    Duo Noire

    Duo Noire is a "virtuosic pair” (I Care if You Listen) of the pioneering American classical guitarists, Thomas Flippin and Christopher Mallett. Focusing on audience-friendly contemporary music, their concerts offer “profoundly enjoyable” genre-bending repertoire with “spectacular precision” (St. Louis Post-Dispatch).

    After their 2014 EP release, Figments, Duo Noire gained international prominence with the 2018 release of their full-length debut album, Night Triptych, on New Focus Recordings. Named as an Editor’s Choice for top classical music albums of 2018 by both All Music and I Care if You Listen, the album featured new works exclusively written for Duo Noire by accomplished women composers: GRAMMY-nominee Clarice Assad, Courtney Bryan, E.C.M. Artist Golfam Khayam, Mary Kouyoumdjian, Gity Razaz, and Gabriella Smith. 

    Duo Noire’s work has been featured in Acoustic Guitar Magazine, Classical Guitar Magazine, the Guitar Foundation of America's journal Soundboard, and Chamber Music Magazine. Their recordings have aired on radio stations nationwide, including WQXR's New Sounds in NYC. Past highlights include fellowships for contemporary music at the Avaloch Farm Music Institute and the Norfolk Music Festival in Connecticut, as well as concerts at China’s Peking University, the 92 Street Y, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Georgetown University, the New York City and St. Louis Classical Guitar societies, the Omaha Under the Radar and April in Santa Cruz new music festivals, and at the Times Center playing for the MacDowell Colony.

    Thomas and Christopher are graduates of the Yale School of Music. Their name is a combination of “Noir” (Black) and “La Noire” (quarter note). 

     

    Colin Davin

    Colin Davin

    Guitarist Colin Davin has emerged as one of today’s most dynamic artists. Performance highlights include concertos with the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, New Mexico Philharmonic, and Richmond Symphony; and duo collaborations with guitarist Sharon Isbin, harpist Emily Levin, soprano Estelí Gomez, violinist Tessa Lark, and cellist Edward Arron.

    Colin appeared as a featured musical guest on the Late Show with David Letterman alongside the late Jessye Norman. He has performed at venues around the world, including Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, the Alhambra Palace, the Paris Conservatoire, the Fridge Fringe in Dubai, and Afghanistan National Institute of Music.

    Colin Davin is the Director of Guitar Studio and Associate Professor of Guitar at Shenandoah Conservatory. He previously served as Co-Head of the guitar department at the Cleveland Institute of Music, and on the faculty of the Baldwin Wallace Conservatory. He has presented masterclasses at The Juilliard School, Aspen Music Festival, Oberlin Conservatory, and more.

    He holds a Master of Music from The Juilliard School, with Sharon Isbin; a Bachelor of Music from the University of Southern California, with William Kanengiser; and underwent preparatory studies at the Cleveland Institute of Music, with Jason Vieaux.

    Colin Davin plays a guitar by Joshia de Jonge with Augustine Strings.

  • Applications & Competition Registration

    Festival Passes (Admission to all ticketed events):

    • International Competition registration and pass
      $130
    • Undergraduate Competition registration and pass
      $110
    • Youth Competition registration and pass
      $90

    Once competitors have paid their registration fee they will be emailed an application form. This may take up to one business day.

    • Non-Competitor Festival Pass
      $35
    • Concert & Competition Individual Ticket
      $15
  • Places to Stay Near DU

    Information & reservations for hotels near the University of Denver.