Prizes:
Division 1:
$500 First Prize
$250 Second Prize
$100 Third Prize
Judges: Olga Amelkina-Vera, Fernand Vera, and Claudio Zangirolami

Division 2:
$1000 First Prize
$500 Second Prize
$200 Third Prize
Judges: Randall Avers, Angelo Favis, and Valerie Hartzell

For more than twenty years, Adam Holzman, recording artist, concert performer, soloist and educator, has been at the forefront of a generation of guitarists. Born in New York City in 1960 Adam began the guitar at the age of 7 as a student of his older brother Bruce and continued his private study with Albert Valdes Blain and Eliot Fisk. He returned to work with his older brother Bruce Holzman at Florida State University where he received his Musical Degrees. In addition he studied in the master classes of Oscar Ghiglia in Siena at the Academia Musicale de Chigiana and at the Aspen music festival. Twice he was chosen to perform in the historic master classes of the legendary Andres Segovia.

Born in Managua, Nicaragua Isaac Bustos began playing popular Latin-American music on the guitar by ear at age 11. By age 12, he was accepted into the Conservatorio Nacional de Musica in Managua where he received top honors in guitar performance. Isaac immigrated to the United States with his family in 1988 and continued his studies with Juan Mercadal, Carlos Molina and Rene Gonzalez. An extensive performance career has taken Bustos to Canada, Central America, Europe and all over the US.  He has gained critical acclaim and is quickly becoming recognized as one of the top young guitarists of his generation. “Soulful and virtually flawless,” hails the Portland Oregonian and the Boston Globe writes, “In warm, round tones, the notes of Bach cascaded from the guitar, every note correct and played without hesitation.” He has made several Radio and Television appearances and has been invited to perform in the Portland Guitar Festival, the St. Joseph Guitar Festival, the Eastfield College Guitar Festival, Texas Guitar Festival, and the Classical Minds Festival. Isaac has appeared as soloist with the Orchestra of New Spain, The Baytown Symphony Orchestra and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Maestro JoAnn Falletta.

An impressive array of top prizes include: First Prize – 2006 Miami International Guitar Competition, Miami, FL; First Prize – 2005 Texas International Guitar Competition, Dallas, TX; First Prize – 2004 Lachine International Guitar Competition, Lachine, QC, Canada; First Prize – 2004 St. Joseph International Solo Guitar Competition, St. Joseph, MO; First Prize – 2004 Portland Solo Guitar Competition, Portland, OR; First Prize – 2004 East Carolina University Solo Guitar Competition, Greenville, NC; First Prize – 2002 University of New Hampshire Concerto Competition, Durham, NH; Top Prize – 2003 Appalachian State University Solo Guitar Competition, Boone, NC; Top Prize – Second International JoAnn Falletta Concerto Competition, Buffalo, NY; Top Prize – 2006 Columbus State University Solo Guitar Competition, Columbus, GA; Top Prize – 2007 Southwest International Guitar Competition, San Antonio, TX; Top Prize – 2008 IX Concurso Internacional Guitarras Alhambra, Valencia, Spain;

In addition, Bustos has performed in several premieres of new music for guitar. Most recently, works by composers Peter Askim for solo guitar, Andrew Dickinson for four guitars, a work for two guitars and electronic sound effects by Jeremy Cumbo and “After Sylvius” a solo guitar work written for Isaac by composer/guitarist Frank Wallace. 

João Paulo Figueirôa began his formal music training with his father, and later with Dr. Mario Ulloa at Universidade Federal da Bahia where he received his Community College Artist Diploma and his Bachelor’s degree. His years of study in Brazil under the guidance of Dr. Ulloa were so successful that he gained national recognition. Dr. Ulloa writes: “Joao Paulo Figueirôa is one of the best guitarists of his generation,” and Dr. Eduardo Meirinhos, head of the guitar department at the University of Goiania - Brazil, wrote: “Joao Paulo possesses a refinement and a musical understanding, in addition to a technique that is idiomatic to the instrument.” At the age of twenty-two, he decided to carry on his studies with Professor Bruce Holzman at The Florida State University, where he obtained a Masters Degree and currently is finishing a Doctor of Music Degree.

His first concert occurred at the age of 14 and he made his orchestral debut a few years later in Salvador - Bahia. During his undergraduate career, Mr. Figueirôa gave over one hundred live performances, including solo recitals and appearances on TV and radio shows. He has performed in several cities in Brazil such as São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, Caxias do Sul, Aracajú and Salvador. Figueirôa has also performed in Argentina at Mar Del Plata and Buenos Aires. His US appearances include Tallahassee (FL), Miami (FL), Kansas City (MO), Boston (MA) and Los Angelis (CA). Summer 2005, the TV channel TVE – Bahia, recorded a special about his life and broadcasted a live concert on national television. He has also performed with different orchestras and conductors such as Piero Bastianelli, Paulo Novais and Welligton Gomes, playing concertos by Ponce, Rodrigo and Vivaldi.     

Mr. Figueirôa is laureate in more than a dozen guitar competitions. His awards include the first prize at the Fourth Annual Musicalis National Competition in 2000, and was a prize winner of the 2^nd National Competition of Young Soloists hosted by the  Orquestra Sinfonica da Bahia -Brazil – in 2003. In 2004 he was the National First Prize Winner of the MTNA (Music Teacher’s National Association Collegiate Artist Competition) and the first prizewinner at the Columbus State Guitar Symposium in 2007.

As an educator, João Paulo Figueirôa has held faculty positions in Brazil and the United Sates and he has been in demand as a master class teacher. Currently he is a graduate assistant at The Florida State University where he was nominated for an outstanding teaching assistant award in 2006.

A Brazilian musician of outstanding facility and musical insight, Eduardo Costa plays with an enthusiasm and energy that captures audience’s imagination and draws them into a world of spontaneity, creation and wonder.  Eduardo is a first prizewinner in the following competitions: 5th St. Joseph International Guitar Competition (2007); Portland International Guitar Competition (2007); IV Beeston Guitar Competition (2006); XV Souza Lima Guitar Competition (2004); VIII Musicalis Guitar Competition (2004); XIII Rising Project – USP – Classical Music Competition (2003).  He is also the second prizewinner in Sholin Guitar Competition (2007).   As a result of winning competitions in the U.S. he has been invited to play in Portland, Houston, Boston and St. Joseph.

Eduardo has played solo recitals in Tucson, Brasília, Campos do Jordão, São Paulo, Guaratinguetá.  In demand also as an ensemble player, Eduardo was a member of the Trio Opus 12, (along with leading Brazilian guitarists Paulo Porto Alegre; ex Brazillian Guitar Quartet member) and Daniel Murray - the trio also played as a quartet with Edelton Gloeden (also ex-BGQ member). As a member of the Quartz Guitar Quartet, Eduardo won first prize in the University of São Paulo "Rising Project" Competition in 2003. He has performed with Quartz in Campos do Jordão, Curitiba, Santos, São Carlos, Osasco, Bauru and São Paulo.

Lauren Kesgen Guidry cut her musical teeth at the age of fifteen in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina where she grew up.   Shortly thereafter, she began performing jazz, funk, and folk music at local and regional music venues.  After receiving the Ione M. Allen Music Scholarship to UNC-Asheville, Lauren earned a B.A. in classical guitar performance and was awarded the honor of Distinction in Music.
Lauren has performed classical guitar in many large and small venues in North Carolina and New Orleans, including the international Bele Chere Festival of Asheville, Pack Place Auditorium, and the Biltimore Estate.  Lauren has also taught professionally for eight years, and is currently a guitar tutor at Tulane University in New Orleans.
In May of 2006 Lauren completed her M.F.A. in classical guitar performance at Tulane under the tutelage of Elias Barreiro. At the 2006 'Classical Minds' Guitar Festival she was on full scholarship as a student assistant.  She has participated in master classes with Randall Avers, Valerie Hartzell, and Elliot Frank at the ‘Classical Minds’ Guitar Festival in Houston.  She has also had a master class with Miroslav Loncar and has studied privately with Christopher Berg.  Lauren currently teaches at Tulane University as an Adjunct Faculty member. 

Lauren Kesgen Guidry is Assistant Director of the 2007 'Classical Minds' Guitar Festival.

Fernand Vera (b.1974) is a native of Houston, TX, where he earned his Bachelor’s of Arts in Music degree with Terry Gaschen from the University of St. Thomas in 1998.  That year, he was the recipient of the Music Chair’s Performance Award.  Upon completion of undergraduate work, Fernand studied privately with Houston-based Valerie Hartzell-Nejako, a former student of Manuel Barrueco, and explored the folk guitar tradition of South America during his three-month stay in Ecuador.  In the summer of 2002, he completed his Master’s of Music degree Summa Cum Laude in Guitar Performance from the University of North Texas College of Music in Denton, TX, where he studied under Tom Johnson.  He has performed in master classes with well-known artists such as Pepe Romero, Ricardo Cobo, Simon Dinnigan, Lorezno Micheli, Roberto Aussel, and Antigoni Goni.  He has performed nationally and overseas, launching his European performing career in the summer of 2002, when he played a solo concert for Gomel Classical Guitar Society in Belarus. 

He also performs in a duo, Kithara Duo, with his wife Olga Amelkina-Vera.  They have performed as guest artists at the Montgomery Guitar Festival, the 2^nd annual Mesquite Guitar Festival, 2004 and 2005 "Classical Minds" Guitar Festival at the University of Houston, Moores School of Music, and live on "The Front Row with Dean Dalton," a program on Houston's classical radio station KUHF 88.1.  Kithara Duo were featured as soloists in the performance of Antonio Vivaldi's "Concerto for Two Mandolins" by the Flower Mound Chamber Orchestra in 2004 under the baton of Beau Benson. They have performed as soloists and in ensemble with voice for the Foundation of Modern Music and Col Canto.  In January of 2006, 2007, and 2008, they co-directed, along with the Music Conservatory of Texas, the Classical Guitar Weekend Workshop at The Music Conservatory of Texas in Frisco.

In March of 2007, he was a prizewinner in the Rantucci International Guitar Competition and in June of 2007 he was a prizewinner in the Eastfield Guitar Competition.  Currently, Fernand is working on a Doctorate degree in Guitar Performance at the University of North Texas. He is faculty at Collin County College in Plano, TX, as well as a Teaching Fellow at the University of North Texas.
Fernand Vera is the assistant director of the "Classical Minds" Guitar Festival at University of Houston. 

Olga Amelkina-Vera (b.1976) is a native of Belarus, a former republic of the Soviet Union.  Having begun her musical studies at an early age first on cello and then on piano, she had not discovered the classical guitar until 1998, when she came to the United States to do her undergraduate work at the University of St. Thomas.  There she was the only recipient of the Basilian Fathers’ full academic and music scholarship. After starting her guitar studies with Terry Gaschen at UST, she also became part of Valerie Hartzell's private studio.  Olga graduated with her Bachelor’s of Arts in Music Summa Cum Laude and, a year later, entered the Master’s program in guitar performance at the University of North Texas with Tom Johnson.  She graduated with her Master's of Music degree Summa Cum Laude in December 2004. Olga received a full scholarship and an invitation from Valerie Hartzell to be a teaching assistant at the Close Encounters Voice and Guitar Festival at the University of Houston, Moores School of Music in the summer of 2003.  She has also studied privately with Robert Guthrie and Kris Anderson.  She has performed in master classes for such artists as Adam Holzman, Elena Papandreou, Denis Azabagic, and Stanley Yates.  In 2007, Olga was a finalist in the University of Texas at Dallas International Guitar Competition.  

Olga has collaborated extensively with vocalists, most notably with the Houston-based soprano Tracy Rhodus.  Her recent musical interests include composing for guitar ensemble, as well as studying the viola da gamba and the English 17th-C phenomenon of playing viol music from tablature.  

Currently, Olga is faculty at the North Lake College in Irving, TX, a private instructor at the Music Conservatory of Texas in Frisco and a Doctor of Musical Arts student at the University of North Texas.  

In 2005, Alejandro returned to the University of Texas and is currently studying to obtain his doctorate in music, once again under the tutelage of Adam Holzman. In 2006 and 2007, Mr. Montiel was named a finalist in the Texas Guitar Competition. From 2005 - 2008, Alejandro served as a private instructor through the Austin Classical Guitar Society’s educational outreach program, where he worked with the guitar faculty at McCallum High School and Martin Middle School to further their already established classical guitar programs. Alejandro was one of two student assistants under full scholarship for the 2007 "Classical Minds" Guitar Festival in Houston, TX. Mr. Montiel has been featured in public radio interviews and performances throughout the US. In January 2008, Alejandro was appointed to the music faculty in Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, TX.

In addition to his studies and instruction, Alejandro also performs as a founding member of the award-winning Texas Guitar Quartet and the Duo Gran Colombia. Mr. Montiel plays on a 2003 Jean Rompré guitar

Alejandro is one of the three student assistants at the 'Classical Minds' Guitar Festival, where he will have a full scholarship.