GUITARS INTERNATIONAL
is pleased to present the twenty-fifth annual
Cleveland International Classical Guitar Festival®
in cooperation with the sixth annual
James Stroud Classical Guitar Competition
hosted at the
Cleveland Institute of Music
June 5 - 8, 2025
 
Jason Vieaux (USA)
Grammy Winner
Hao Yang (China)
Alan Mearns (Ireland)
Petra Polácková (Czech Republic)
Helen Zhibing Huang (China)
Antonis Hatzinikolaou (Greece)
Patrick Sutton (USA)
Kimberly Patterson (USA)
Jonathan Leathwood (England)
Laura Snowden (England)
James Piorkowski (USA)
Guitar Festival About Festival Profiles Stroud Youth Competition Schedule Tickets Lodging & Museums Directions Reviews & News Contact

[One of] two of the most important annual American classical guitar events
(Classical Guitar Magazine)

 
WELCOME

Please join us to celebrate the 25th annual Cleveland International Classical Guitar Festival®. This June we look forward to sharing art music: solo and ensemble, old and new with old friends and new from around the USA and beyond. Featured events include: 6 concerts by internationally renowned guitarists and supporting musicians, performance premieres, 6 lectures, 5 master classes, private lessons, a demonstration of fine concert guitars, and the 6th annual James Stroud National Classical Guitar Youth Competition.

Armin Kelly, Founder and Artistic Director
Cleveland International Classical Guitar Festival®
 
Sixth Annual
JAMES STROUD NATIONAL CLASSICAL GUITAR YOUTH COMPETITION: 
SEMI-FINAL ROUND
Thursday, June 5: 9:45am-12:15pm; 1:30-4:00pm


Location: Cleveland Institute of Music, Mixon Hall,11021 East Blvd., Cleveland, Ohio 44106 (Directions)
Description: Sixteen Stroud Competition Semi-Finalists ages thirteen to eighteen will perform before the public and a panel of internationally acclaimed  judges. This year's four Competition Finalists will be announced immediately after Thursday evening's Hao Yang Concert. See this years' Semi-Finalists' Biographies.
Admission: Free and open to the public, no tickets or passes required
2025 Semi-Final Round Judges: Christoph Harlan (USA), guitar; Antonis Hatzinikolaou (Greece), guitar; Lynn McGrath (USA), guitar; James Piorkowski (USA), guitar; Ricardo Saeb (Mexico), guitar; Laura Snowden (England), guitar; and John Marcel Williams (USA), guitar
Information: Click HERE or call CIM at 216-791-5000
 
Solo Guitar & Guitar with Soprano
HAO YANG, guitar with Helen Zhibing Huang, soprano
Concert: Thursday, June 5, 7:30 - 9:30 pm

Hao Yang: First Prize Winner of the 2024 Koblenz International Guitar Competition, recipient of the Clifton Foundation’s Emerging Artists Award, and a Winner of the 2021 Astral National Auditions.


Special 25th Anniversary Ticket Price: $1.00.
Purchase tickets HERE. All purchased tickets will be held for pickup at the CIM Pogue Lobby Festival ticket table starting 45 minutes before each Festival concert. Donations gratefully accepted to support this year's CICGF performing artists.
Location: Cleveland Institute of Music, Mixon Hall,
11021 East Blvd., Cleveland, Ohio 44106 (Directions)
Works To Be Performed: Guitar solos by Berkeley, Brahms, Mendelssohn, and Tedesco; Guitar and Voice Duos by Britten, Gerhard, Goss, Ordway, Villa Lobos, and Chinese composers Ai, Jiping, Zi, and Zhu.
Information: Click HERE or call 216-752-7502
Sample Artists' Duo Video: Quiet Moonlit Night by Zhao Jiping
Sample Artist Solo Video: Torre Bermeja, Op. 92 No. 12, by Isaac Albéniz (1860–1909)

Pre-Concert Lecture presented by Jonathan Leathwood: Beyond Transcription, A Conversation with Alan Mearns
Thursday, June 5,  6:00 to 7:15 pm, CIM Room 217
Admission: Free and open to the public, no tickets or passes required
Description: Alan Mearns’s transcriptions of Bach and other composers have electrified audiences and critics far beyond the confines of the classical guitar world. His approach is a fundamentally imaginative one—perhaps not surprising from such a multi-faceted artist: Alan is not only a virtuoso guitarist but also a poet, composer, and singer-songwriter. His transcriptions seek to recreate the excitement of the original music in terms of the guitar.
 
Five CICGF
MASTER CLASSES
Friday, June 6, 9:30 am - 12:30 pm; 2:00 - 5:00 pm


TO PERFORM IN ONE OR MORE MASTER CLASS CONTACT: Armin Kelly at 216-752-7502 or at armin@guitarsint.com

To Observe a CICGF Master Class: FREE and open to the public, no tickets or passes required.
Location: Cleveland Institute of Music, 11021 East Blvd., Cleveland, Ohio 44106 (Directions)

Master Class 1: Friday, June 7, 9:30 am to 12:30 pm 
Instructors: Patterson/Sutton Duo (USA), cello and guitar
Location: CIM Room 201
Master Class 2: Friday, June 7, 9:30 am to 12:30 pm
Instructor: Petra Polácková (Czech Republic), guitar
Location: CIM Room 229
Master Class 3: Friday, June 7, 9:30 am to 12:30 pm 
Instructors: Jonathan Leathwood.(England), guitar.
Location: CIM Room 227
Master Class 4: Friday, June 7, 2:00 to 5:00 pm
Instructor: Alan Mearns (Ireland), guitar
Location: CIM Room 201
Master Class 5: Friday, June 7, 2:00 to 5:00 pm 
Instructor: Jason Vieaux (USA), guitar
Location: CIM Room 229
 
Cello and Guitar
PATTERSON/SUTTON DUO (USA)
Concert: Friday, June 6, 7:30 - 9:30 pm

The highest level of individual and ensemble playing… gorgeous. (Soundboard Magazine)


Ticket Price: $25.00. Purchase tickets HERE. All purchased tickets will be held for pickup at the CIM Pogue Lobby Festival ticket table starting 45 minutes before each Festival concert.
Location: Cleveland Institute of Music, Mixon Hall,
11021 East Blvd., Cleveland, Ohio 44106 (Directions)
Duo cello and guitar works by: Bellafronte, Duplessy, Goss, Piazzolla, and Villa-Lobos
Information: Click HERE or call 216-752-7502
Sample Artist Video: Doloroso by Jaime Zenamon

Pre-Concert Lecture presented by Master guitar maker Antonis Hatzinikolaou: The Guitar Maker's Art, Understanding the Instrument
Friday, June 6,  6:00 to 7:15 pm, CIM Room 217
Admission: Free and open to the public, no tickets or passes required
Description: Winner of the Royal Academy of Music's prestigious Julian Bream Performance Prize, adjudicated by the great maestro himself, Antonis Hatzinikolaou, has, in addition to his concert and conservatory teaching duties, spent many years researching and perfecting his guitar making skills by designing and constructing fine concert guitars. He has been fortunate to learn his craft next to Greek master guitar makers Nicholas Ioannou (New York) and George Pandelias (Athens). His work has been inspired by the Hermann Hauser I and Robert Bouchet traditions and influenced by a number of great luthiers of our time such as Dominique Field and Jeffrey R. Elliott.
 
Demonstration of 
Fine Classical Guitars
ANTONIS HATZINIKOLAOU (GREECE)
Saturday, June 7, 10:30 am - Noon


Location: Cleveland Institute of Music, CIM Mixon Hall,11021 East Blvd., Cleveland, Ohio 44106 (Directions)
Description: Virtuoso classical guitarist/master guitar maker Antonis Hatzinikolaou (Greece) will perform on eight individually handcrafted concert guitars, provided by Guitars International from around the world, to illustrate each instrument’s unique musical attributes.
Admission: Free and open to the public. no tickets or passes required
Information: Click HERE or call 216-752-7502
 
Solo Guitar
ALAN MEARNS (IRELAND) 
Concert: Saturday, June 7, 3:00 - 5:00 pm

"I haven't been as nicely surprised for many, many years! What an achievement!"
(Sergio Assad)


Ticket Price $25.00. Purchase tickets HERE. All purchased tickets will be held for pickup at the CIM Pogue Lobby Festival ticket table starting 45 minutes before each Festival concert.
Location: Cleveland Institute of Music, Mixon Hall,
11021 East Blvd., Cleveland, Ohio 44106 (Directions)
Works by: Albéniz, Bach, Chopin, Falla, Mearns, and Weiss
Information: Click HERE or call 216-752-7502
Sample Artist Video: Gnossiene No.1 by Erik Satie     

Pre-Concert Lecture presented by Jonathan Leathwood: Working with Composers, A Practical Guide for Guitarists
Saturday, June 7,  1:30 to 2:45 pm, CIM Room 217
Admission: Free and open to the public, no tickets or passes required
Description: Much of the guitar’s modern repertoire is written by non-guitarists—skilled professional composers working closely with a great performer: think of all the music written for Segovia, Bream, Starobin, and others. In this lecture, we’ll explore what goes into a collaboration: what composers need to know, how to help make a piece more playable, and how to guide a composer in harnessing the guitar’s unique resonance. I’ll offer real examples from my own collaborations.
 
Grammy Award Winner
JASON VIEAUX (USA)
Solo Guitar
CIM Faculty Concert: Saturday, June 7, 7:30 - 9:30 pm

"[Jason Vieaux is] among the elite of today's classical guitarists"
(Gramophone)


Ticket Price $30.00. Purchase tickets HERE. All purchased tickets will be held for pickup at the CIM Pogue Lobby Festival ticket table starting 45 minutes before each Festival concert.
Location: Cleveland Institute of Music, Mixon Hall,
11021 East Blvd., Cleveland, Ohio 44106 (Directions)
Works by: Albeniz, Bach, Ponce, and Vieaux
Information: Click HERE or call 216-752-7502
Sample Artist Video: In A Sentimental Mood by Duke Ellington

Pre-Concert Lecture presented by Jonathan Leathwood: Julian Bream as We Knew Him, A Conversation with Jonathan Leathwood and Laura Snowden
Saturday, June 7,  6:00 to 7:15 pm, CIM Room 217
Admission: Free and open to the public, no tickets or passes required
Description: After his retirement, the legendary British guitarist Julian Bream devoted his energies to mentoring younger players and commissioning new music from fine composers for them to play. Jonathan Leathwood and Laura Snowden both worked with Bream extensively at different times and on a variety of projects and repertoire. In this session, Jonathan and Laura will discuss their impressions.
 
Solo Guitar & Guitar with Voice
LAURA SNOWDEN (ENGLAND)
Concert: Sunday, June 8, 1:00 - 3:00 pm

"[P]ossessing] multi-dimensional gifts, imagination and fearless artistic sensibility...." (Acoustic Guitar Magazine)


Ticket Price: $25.00. Purchase tickets HERE. All purchased tickets will be held for pickup at the CIM Pogue Lobby Festival ticket table starting 45 minutes before each Festival concert.
Location: Cleveland Institute of Music, Mixon Hall,
11021 East Blvd., Cleveland, Ohio 44106 (Directions)
Works for solo guitar & guitar with voice: Bach, Chopin, Couperin, Mertz, Snowden, traditional song arrangements, and Villa Lobos
Information: Click HERE or call 216-752-7502
Sample Artist Video: The strange world of spiders by Laura Snowden

Pre-Concert Lecture presented by Jonathan Leathwood: Playing with Ease, An Introduction to the Alexander Technique for Guitarists
Sunday, June 8, 11:30 to 12:45 pm, CIM Room 217
Admission: Free and open to the public, no tickets or passes required
Description:The Alexander Technique is a method for identifying and undoing harmful patterns of movement. Using the principles of the technique, musicians can play with greater ease, deepen their connection to the music, and relate the activity of playing the guitar to the activities of everyday life. Join me in this informal workshop: you are welcome to bring your guitar or simply observe and ask questions.
 
Viennese and Modern Guitars
PETRA POLACKOVA (CZECH REPUBLIC)
Concert: Sunday, June 8, 4:00 - 6:00 pm

"[Polácková's] playing was so technically secure and musically insightful, it was unimaginable that anything she played could possibly be difficult." (Cleveland Classical)


Ticket Price $25.00. Purchase tickets HERE. All purchased tickets will be held for pickup at the CIM Pogue Lobby Festival ticket table starting 45 minutes before each Festival concert.
Location: Cleveland Institute of Music, Mixon Hall,
11021 East Blvd., Cleveland, Ohio 44106 (Directions)
Solo works by: Matejka, Mertz, Ponce, and Schubert
Information: Click HERE or call 216-752-7502
Sample Artist Video: El testament D'Amelia arranged by Miguel Lpbet (1878–1938)

Pre-Concert Lecture presented by Jonathan Leathwood: The Guitarist’s Touch, Right- and Left-Hand Expression
Sunday, June 8,  3:00 to 3:50 pm, CIM Room 217
Admission: Free and open to the public, no tickets or passes required
Description: This is a workshop about being a magician on the guitar. To make a beautiful sound on the guitar, basic movement and positioning are key. But some guitarists are able to produce uniquely expressive sounds and colors with an almost imperceptible movement of the right hand, often bringing in the left to give the sound more weight or using a certain kind of vibrato to make the tone ‘float’. So what exactly are they doing? Let’s explore and find out!
 
Sixth Annual
JAMES STROUD NATIONAL CLASSICAL GUITAR YOUTH COMPETITION:
FINAL ROUND
Over $20,000.00 In Cash Prizes
Sunday, June 8, 6:30 - 8:30 pm


Location: Cleveland Institute of Music, Mixon Hall, 11021 East Blvd., Cleveland, Ohio 44106 (Directions)
Description: The four 2025 Stroud Competition Finalists will perform before the public and a panel of internationally acclaimed  judges. Prizes will be announced at the end of this Round.
Information: Click HERE 
Watch the 2025 Stroud Competition Final Round HERE.
2025 Final Round Judges: Stephen Aron (USA), guitar; Antonis Hatzinikolaou (Greece), guitar; Jonathan Leathwood (England), guitar; Alan Mearns (Ireland), guitar; Petra Polácková (Czech Republic), guitar; Laura Snowden (England), guitar; and Jason Vieaux (USA), guitar


 
Closing Dinner
25th ANNUAL CLEVELAND INTERNATIONAL CLASSICAL
GUITAR FESTIVAL®
Sunday, June 8, 9:30 pm


Location: Valerio's Ristorante
12405 Mayfield Road, Cleveland, Ohio 44106
Admission: Open to all Festival participants.
Telephone: 216-421-8049
Attendees pay their own tab.

DONATE
Support Cleveland International
Classical Guitar Festival events
with a tax deductible donation.
2025 Program Book
Additional Support Provided By:
  • The Augustine Foundation
  • Alpha Graphics
  • ClevelandClassical.com
  • Cleveland Chamber Music Society
  • Cleveland Scene
  • David W. Hershberger
  • Friends of CICGF
  • Glidden House
  • Les Delices
  • Pat Kilkenny
  • Rodgers Tuning Machines
  • The Plain Dealer
  • This is Classical Guitar
  • Thompson Hine LLP
  • WCLV 104.9 FM
  • WCPN 90.3 FM