CICGF^® 2021 Performing Artists' Profiles

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

Jason Vieaux (USA)

Jason Vieaux (USA), guitar - Co-Head CIM Guitar Department

Grammy Award Winner

[Jason Vieaux is] perhaps the most precise and soulful classical guitarist of his generation.... (NPR)

Grammy-winner Jason Vieaux, “among the elite of today's classical guitarists” (Gramophone), is the guitarist that goes beyond the classical. NPR describes Vieaux as, “perhaps the most precise and soulful classical guitarist of his generation.” Among his extensive discography is the 2015 Grammy Award ...

Colin Davin (USA)

Colin Davin (USA), guitar - Co-Head CIM Guitar Department

Mr Davin is the real thing, a player with a virtuoso's technique, a deeply expressive musicianship, and a probing imagination. (American Record Guide)

Hailed for his "precision, musical intelligence, and passion” (Clevelandclassical), Colin Davin has emerged as one of today’s most dynamic young artists. Regarded as one of the most exciting talents of the classical guitar today, he has earned a reputation as a virtuoso guitarist and interpreter of great refinement...

Molly Barth (USA)

Molly Barth (USA), flute

Grammy Award Winner

[F]erociously talented.... (The Oregonian)

Molly Barth is constantly in motion. This Grammy Award-winning flutist, professor and clinician moves effortlessly from concert hall to teaching studio to rehearsal room to orchestral section. Molly needs fuel for this fire. Molly is fueled by visceral communication...

Jordan Chase (USA)

Jordan Chase (USA), composer

Jordan Chase writes music that is innovative and appealing to diverse audiences and performers alike. His music is described as “lyrical, rhythmically jagged and stark in majesty” (The Boston Musical Intelligencer).

The 2021-2022 season will see multiple recording releases, as well as premieres. In realms of passing dreams, for solo guitar and five pre-recorded guitars, will be released as a music video, featuring John Marcel Williams on guitar, and produced by Andrew Bohman...

Robert Gruca (USA)

Robert Gruca (USA), guitar

Robert Gruca is a brilliant player with gorgeous tone and a flawless sense of rhythm. (Audaud.com)

Classical guitar virtuoso Robert Gruca is an exciting young musician who performs a wide range of solo, chamber, and concerto repertoire. He made his concerto debut In 2004 performing Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez with the Marquette Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Nuvi Mehta. Since then he has performed with the Cleveland Orchestra in the USA and Europe under the direction of both Franz Welser-Möst and...

Drew Henderson (Canada)

Drew Henderson (Canada), guitar

Drew is an amazing guitarist, recording engineer, and video producer. (This is Classical Guitar)

Classical guitarist Drew Henderson is an active performer, teacher, recording artist and music producer living in Toronto, Canada. Drew earned a Master’s degree in Music at the University of Toronto where he studied with Eli Kassner and Jeffrey McFadden. After his post graduate degree, Drew was awarded a grant from the Canada Council for the Arts to study in Italy with Lorenzo Micheli, Matteo Mela and Massimo Lonardi...

Emily Levin (USA)

Emily Levin (USA), harp

Emily Levin was a standout. Levin...drew nuanced timbres and textures while making the mechanics of her instrument disappear. (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Emily Levin is the Principal Harpist of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and Bronze Medal Winner of the 9th USA International Harp Competition. The youngest principal harpist of a major American orchestra, Emily has performed at Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the World Harp Congress, the Aspen Music Festival, and with the Jerusalem and Colorado Symphony...

Duo Melis (Spain and Greece)

Duo Melis (Spain & Greece), guitars

Their Bay Area debut... revealed an ensemble notable for sensitive musicianship, virtuosic panache, and stylish performances. (San Francisco Classical Voice)

One of the world's most lauded guitar duos, Duo Melis has performed at many of the most prestigious Festivals and concert halls in Europe and America. Their repertory extends from the Baroque period to the music of Piazzolla and Ginastera...

Kimberly Patterson USA), cello

[A] superb cellist... (Chicago Sun Times)

Hailed by the Chicago Sun Times as a “superb cellist,” Dr. Kimberly Patterson has earned recognition for her artistry as a solo, chamber, and orchestral musician. A Juilliard graduate, Dr. Patterson was the founding cellist for the Tesla Quartet, winners of the 2012 Fischoff Chamber Music Competition as well as prizewinners of the 2012 London International Quartet Competition and the 2013 Bordeaux International Quartet Competition. She has given chamber recitals in...

Petra Polácková (Czech Republic)

Petra Polácková (Czech Republic), guitar

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

Since 2002 classical guitarist Petra Polácková has won numerous national and international guitar competitions. As a result of her competition successes she has been invited to perform at many of Europe’s most prestigious guitar festivals, including: Bonn, Vienna, Rust, Mikulov, Budapest, Madrid, Genéve, and Tel-Aviv, Jerusalem...

James Stroud (USA)

James Stroud (USA), Stroud Competition Founder and Director

$10,000.00 First Prize

The James Stroud Classical Guitar Competition was founded to help create opportunities for the next generation of classical guitarists age 14-18 residing in the United States. Its founder's hope is that this competition will help further these students' artistic and musical pursuits of advanced music studies and professional music careers...

Patrick Sutton (USA)

Patrick Sutton (USA), guitar

Patrick Sutton's performance was absolutely beautiful. (Opus Colorado)

Dr. Patrick Sutton is an award-winning guitarist, chamber musician and recording artist from Evergreen, Colorado. He was a featured artist at the 2016 Guitar Foundation of America Convention. His eclectic performing and teaching career has taken him to conflict zones, three coasts of Africa, both ends of Vietnam, border towns, major cities, as well as myriad music societies, universities, and concert halls in-between...

Dieter Hennings Yeomans

Dieter Hennings Yeomans (Germany)

Mr. Hennings has won first prize in several prestigious competitions including the 2008 Aaron Brock International Guitar Competition (Toronto) and the 2005 Eastman Guitar Concerto Competition.

The musical endeavors of Dieter Hennings Yeomans span from new music on guitar to early music for lute, baroque guitar, and theorbo and can be heard on the Nonesuch, Bridge, Parma, Nre Branch, and Innova recording labels. Mr. Hennings has been a soloist with Canada’s New Music Concerts Ensemble...

2022 CICGF 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

CICGF® 2021 Performing Artists' Profiles

CICGF^® 2021 Performing Artists' Profiles