I will be traveling to Louisville, Kentucky tomorrow to take part in the Guitar Foundation of America’s International Convention and Competition.

For the competition part, I will be competing in their International Concert Artists Competition which is the most prestigious classical guitar competition in the world.  For the first round of the competition, I have had to prepare a piece newly composed for the competition, Aria by William Bolcom which I received just under two months ago, and ten minutes of free choice repertoire, my choices being Etude No. 6 by Giulio Regondi and the first movement of Sonata Giocosa by Joaquin Rodrigo. Tomorrow I will take part in a drawing to decide what time I will perform in the first round of the competition.

For the convention part, I will be performing with the UT Guitar Quartet in the Ensemble Showcase which features some of the best high school and university ensembles in the country.  We will be playing on Thursday around noon, and our program will be Percuson by Gerardo Tamez, my arrangement of the first movement of Mozart’s Symphony No. 35, and Baiao de Gude by Paulo Bellinati.

There will be three concerts a day to attend and luthiers (guitar makers), vendors, and composers to talk to and try out their wares.  It will be a big week of guitar, and I’m looking forward to it!  I’ll keep you all posted.