James Stroud Classical Guitar Competition Final Round October 16, 2020, at 7:00 p.m. US Eastern Time


Streaming begins
Friday, October 16, 2020, at  7:00 p.m.
US Eastern Time

JAMES STROUD CLASSICAL GUITAR COMPETITION
FINAL ROUND

Presented in cooperation with the
Cleveland International Classical Guitar Festival®
and the
Cleveland Institute of Music


PROGRAM

AYTAHN BENAVI (Texas)

Dionisio Aguado (1784–1849)

    Rondo no. 2 in A minor 

Angelo Gilardino (b. 1941)

    The Joyful Island  (conceived and written for Aytahn Benavi)

Vicente Asencio (1908–1979)

    La Joia, Collectici Intim 

PATRICIA HERNANDEZ (Florida)

John Dowland (1563–1626)

    Fantasia No. 7

Johann Kaspar Mertz (1806–1856)

   
Fantasie Hongroise, Op. 65, No. 1

Mauro Giuliani (1781–1829)

    Grand Overture, Op. 61

IAN TUBBS (Indiana)

Johann Sebastian Bach  (1685
1750)

    From: Suite in E minor, BWV 996
        Prelude and Presto

Johann Kaspar Mertz  (1806–1856)

    Fantasie Hongroise, Op. 65, No. 1

William Walton (1902–1983)

    From: 5 Bagatelles
        I. Allegro 

Nikita Koshkin (b.1956)

    From: The Prince's Toys
        IV. Playing Soldiers

ERIC WANG (California)

Nikita Koshkin (b.1956)

    From: Sonata No. 2
        Allegro


Johann Sebartian Bach
(16851750)

    From: Prelude, Fugue, and Allegro, BWV 998  
        Fugue


Manuel M. Ponce (1882–1948)

    From: Sonata Romantica
         Allegro non troppo e serioso

FINAL ROUND JURY

Stephen Aron (USA), Mark Delpriora (USA), Matteo Mela (Italy), Lorenzo Micheli (Italy), Nigel North (England), Marco Sartor (Uruguay), Jason Vieaux (USA).

FINALISTS' BIOGRAPHIES

Aytahn Benavi is 18 years old and lives in Austin, Texas. He began studying guitar at the age of 5. Aytahn enjoys performing solo, as well as with the Austin Classical Guitar and Austin Bella Corda guitar orchestras. His favorite musical experience was playing on the NPR show ?From The Top. Aytahn is currently a senior at the Liberal Arts and Science Academy, and enjoys playing tennis in his free time.

Patricia Hernandez is 16 years old and has been playing the classical guitar for 9 years. She has a strong passion for music and performing, which she aims to use to spread goodness. As a 7 year old girl, Patricia started her classes with Doctor Federico Musgrove Stetson at the Hess Conservatory of Music and has been studying with him privately and in other conservatories ever since. Currently she is a scholarship student at the Miami Conservatory of Music. She also studies with Professor Rafael Padron as a soloist and as a part of the Miami Guitar Duo, alongside her twin sister. Patricia has received master classes from various artists such as Jason Vieaux, Martha Masters, René Izquierdo, Irina Kulikova, the Kupinski Guitar Duo, Jorge Luis Zamora and others. She has attended, competed, and won many classical guitar competitions in the past 5 years. Patricia is excited to see what the world of classical guitar will bring her in life and plans on further fulfilling her passion while impacting others with her instrument.

Ian Tubbs is 15 years old. Since 2016, Ian has received top prizes in several competitions, including Guitar Art Festival in Serbia, Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, Columbus State Guitar Symposium, Latino Arts Guitar Festival in Wisconsin, Texas A&M Guitar Symposium, Orange County Guitar Circle at Chapman University, and the University of Louisville Guitar Festival. He has also had the privilege to play in guitar ensembles at the University of Indianapolis, Latino Arts Guitar Festival and the Bloomington Classical Guitar Society at the Jacobs School of Music, and with a guitar orchestra in Belgrade, Serbia. In 2018, Ian was awarded the Bloomington Classical Guitar Society Aspiring Artist Award, after which he performed a solo concert in Auer Hall at the Jacobs School of Music.  In addition to practicing and performing, Ian enjoys soccer, engineering, church youth group, reading, and photography.

Eric Wang is a 10th grader at Valley Christian High School in his hometown of San Jose, California. He started classical guitar at age 4. He has won 1st prize in many classical guitar competitions including Guitar Foundation of America Competition (2018, Youth Junior Division) and Parkening International Guitar Competition (2019, Youth Division). In 2020 National YoungArts Competition, he was a Silver Award winner. Eric was a featured classical guitarist on NPR’s "From the Top."