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Jury
There will be a set jury of five voting members for all rounds of the competition plus two Safety Jurors in the event of conflict of interest (i.e. if a competitor is a student of one of the jury members, etc.) as well as the Jury President (whose vote will only be counted in the event of a draw). JURORS Dr. SCOTT MORRIS (Classical Guitarist, Recording Artist, Director, 2007 GFA Conference)  Scott Morris gave his New York recital debut at Carnegie Hall in April of 1998. A former student of some of the world's greatest guitarists such as Scott Tennant, Sharon Isbin, Benjamin Verdery, William Kanengeiser, Pepe Romero, John Dearman and Jack Sanders, Scott is now a respected performer in his own right.He has studied at Yale University, the USC Thornton School of Music, the Aspen Music Festival, the Mozarteum (Salzburg, Austria) and Claremont Graduate University from which he holds the degree of Doctorate of Musical Arts. He has been the winner of numerous awards and competitions from the American String Teachers Association, Claremont Graduate University, Artists International, the Aspen Music Festival, CSU Summer Arts, the Glendale Symphony, the USC Thornton School of Music and the Yale School of Music. He is heard regularly on classical radio stations throughout North America and Europe. Dr. Morris performs and tours both as a soloist and as a member of the Hollywood Guitar Duo and has performed throughout North America, Europe and Asia. John Dearman of the Grammy Award winning Los Angeles Guitar Quartet produced his debut CD, Invocation. Niko Bolas, who has produced such artists as Neil Young and Melissa Etheridge, is producing Scott's latest CD. The new recording, named Danza, is scheduled for release on June 21, 2005 by Eroica Classical Recordings and includes the music of Villa-Lobos and Paganini. Scott Morris currently lives in Los Angeles, California and is the Director of Guitar Studies as California State University, Dominguez Hills. VALERIE HARTZELL (Classical Guitarist, Recording Artist, Director, Classical Minds Festival, Houston)  Valerie Hartzell began her classical guitar studies on a half-size Ramirez at the age of three. At the age of six, she studied with maestro Alexandre Lagoya at the Académie Internationale d’Eté in Nice, France. She has participated in master classes with several internationally acclaimed artists, including Ako Ito, Castellani-Andriaccio Duo, David Russell, Antigoni Goni and Elena Papandreou.In 1991, Ms. Hartzell made her debut performing Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s “Concerto for guitar and orchestra” with the New Philharmonic Orchestra of Irving, Texas. She made her international debut in San Mamete, Italy at the Festival del Piccolo Mondo in August 1994. She has performed in Europe, Canada, the U.S. and has appeared on television in Nice, FR. From September 29-October 5, 2002 she toured the Carolinas in order to promote her first cd, Fuoco! The tour included Saluda, NC, Wofford College, SC, Appalachian State University, NC and Elon University, NC. She also performed at East Carolina University in January of 2003. In March of 2007, Ms. Hartzell performed with studio members of the Houston Grand Opera at the Rienzi Recital Series. She has performed in many festivals, including the Montgomery College Guitar Festival, 'Close Encounters' Voice and Guitar Festival at University of Houston (where she performed and co-directed the festival along the side of Katherine Ciesinski), the Eastfield College Guitar Festival and Competition in Mesquite, and the first Classical Guitar Weekend Workshop at The Music Conservatory of Texas in Frisco. In August 2003, Ms. Hartzell was the first performer to win the “K-Artist of the Month Contest” sponsored by Houston’s former classical station, KRTS, 92.1FM. Additionally, she was a prizewinner at the Portland Guitar Competition, the East Carolina University Competition and Festival, and the Appalachian Guitar Festival and Competition. She has won 1st prizes at the 10th International Guitar Competition “Simone Salmaso” in Viareggio, Italy and at the Concours de Guitare Classique Heitor Villa-Lobos in Nice, France. At the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University, Ms. Hartzell was awarded the highest undergraduate scholarship for the classical guitar and studied with Manuel Barrueco earning her Bachelor’s Degree in 1997. She was awarded a Graduate Teaching Fellowship at Radford University with Robert Trent and was placed as Adjunct Faculty while studying for her Master’s Degree in Music. She received her performance degree in May of 1999 and currently, she is a Professional Teacher at Moores School of Music, University of Houston and is Adjunct Faculty at the Houston Community College. Valerie Hartzell is the creator and director of the "Classical Minds" Guitar Festival at Moores School of Music, University of Houston. DAVID NEWSAM (Guitarist, Recording Artist, President, Boston Guitar. Society, Professor, Berklee School of Music, Dartmouth)  David Newsam grew up in Connecticut where he was a student of Robert Shaw. He is a graduate of Berklee College of Music in Boston where he studied with Jim Kelly, Larry Baione and William Leavitt. David recently completed his studies in the Modern American Music program at Longy School of Music where he studied with Thom Noren and Charlie Banacos.David currently works as an assistant professor in the guitar department at Berklee where he has taught since 1989. He is also employed as a senior lecturer in music at Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH where he teaches guitar and jazz improvisation. David created the jazz guitar program at the University of New Hampshire where he teaches, directs the UNH Jazz Guitar Ensemble and coaches jazz ensembles. He is a former faculty member of the National Guitar Summer Workshop. David performs solo and group engagements throughout New England. He has performed in concerts and clinics with many noted musicians, among them guitarists Jim Hall, Bucky Pizzarelli and Howard Alden, pianists Dave McKenna and James Williams, drummers Ed Shaugnessy, Louis Bellson, Bob Moses and Alan Dawson, and jazz legends Clark Terry, Phil Wilson, Joe Williams and Milt Jackson. He has extensive theater experience including performances with Jack Jones, Mitzi Gaynor, Dianne Carroll, The Fifth Dimension, The Shirrelles, and Carol Channing. Recent concert appearances include performances at Berklee College of Music, Longy School of Music, Dartmouth and St. Anselm Colleges, The House of Blues and the Boston Hatch Shell. David is the author of the book, Making Money Teaching Music, published by Writer's Digest Books. David's repertoire includes the works of important American composers like Duke Ellington, George Gershwin, Richard Rogers and Cole Porter. He also explores the rich history of Latin American guitar, including works by Leo Brouwer, Garoto, Astor Piazzolla, H. Villa-Lobos, and the songs of Antonio Carlos Jobim and Luis Bonfa. David combines his extensive knowledge of American jazz music and improvisation with the compelling rhythms of Latin America. Taking inspiration from the innovative Laurindo Almeida, Gene Bertoncini, Wes Montgomery and Jim Hall, David uses guitar to create unforgettable interpretations of North and South American influence. JEAN-FRANÇOIS DROULEZ (France - Conductor, Director of Chorale & Orchestra Divertimento) MATTHEW TURNER (England) British ‘cellist, Matthew Turner works with a various avant guarde and traditional music ensembles in Europe. He performs regularly throughout France. SAFETY JURORS (in the event of conflict of interest) MICHAEL FUSON (US - Guitarist, Recording Artist), http://www.michaelfuson.com/ One of the region’s leading (classically-trained) rock guitarists, Michael has performed in venues throughout the US including Gazzari’s and the Troubadour on “The Strip,” in Los Angeles (some of the former haunts of Elton John, John Lennon and Nelson). Michael completed his Bachelor’s a classical violinist and has worked in concert, studio and commercial aspects of the music industry for the past 25 years. THOMAS RANSOM (US - Guitarist, Producer, Owner, Ransomed Studios) A graduate of Berklee School of Music (Boston), Ransom is a renowned producer and owner of Ransomed Productions (US). He has produced and engineered numerous internationally-released CDs and has been cited for his flawless production in such magazines as Audiofile, Gramophone (US) and Les Cahiers de la Guitare (France). Additionally, Thomas has released three of his own CDs and has written and arranged numerous instrumental and vocal compositions for radio and television productions. |
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The only American-born guitarist to win First Prize at the International Toscanini Competition (Italy), Anthony is a product of the Konservatorium der Stadt (Vienna) and New England Conservatory (Boston) with additional study at Harvard University, the Université Catholique de Lille (France), ARCUM (Rome) and the Accademia di Studi “L'Ottocento” (Vigevano, Italy).