Register for the 2010 GFA Convention and International Concert Artist Competition

MARTHA MASTERS, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

JOANNE CASTELLANI, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

BEGIN DATE: JUNE 22, 2010 ~ END DATE: JUNE 27, 2010

PRIZES

1ST PRIZE: $7,500

GFA SPONSORED INTERNATIONAL CONCERT TOUR

NAXOS CD RECORDING,

MELBAY DVD

~ ~ ~ ~

2ND PRIZE: $3,000

3RD PRIZE: $1,500

4TH PRIZE: $750

*All prizes subject to mandatory 30% federal tax withholding for foreign prize-winners; US prize-winners will be issued an IRS-1099 Form.

All Semifinalists will receive a $500 TRAVEL STIPEND. Foreigners must provide receipts to avoid tax withholding.

OTHER MAJOR PRIZES awarded to all

Finalists will include:

• Generous String Packages donated by Savarez and D'Addario.
• Gift Certificates donated by Clearnote, Editions Orphee, GSP & Strings by Mail.
• KLING-ON products.
• Scores donated by Editions Daminus.

JURY

Preliminary Round:
Michael Andriaccio
Randall Avers
Petar Katona
Zoltan Katona
Ana Vidovic

Semifinal and Final Rounds:
Jorge Caballero
Robert Duke
Matt Dunne
Adam Holzman
Ronn McFarlane
Atanas Ourkouzounov
Berta Rojas

COMPETITION RULES

ELIGIBILITY

Open to competitors, regardless of nationality or age, who are at the outset of their careers and who are not represented by major management.

REQUIRED PIECE: DARIUS MILHAUD, "Segoviana", Heugel & Co.,

Alphonse Le Duc Editions

Competitors' Orientation Meeting, Monday, June 21 at 8:00 pm and is required of all competitors. This meeting will determine the performance order for the three-day Preliminary Round by means of a Lottery - numerical order draw. If you have a travel delay that prevents you from attending the meeting, you will need to provide proof upon arrival of earlier travel plans to be granted a slot in the Preliminary Round.

All competitors will be asked to proof the printed documents with their free choices for all rounds at the Competitors' Orientation Meeting. Any changes to your submitted program may be made at this meeting, after which programs may not be altered.

PRELIMINARY ROUND

• June 22 - 24: performance before a panel of five (5) judges. This round is closed to the public.

• Each candidate must perform the following in the order of their choice.

• Set Piece; a work specially composed for the competition, herein after referred to the "set piece". Each registered competitor will receive the set piece on May 2 after receipt of all registration fees and materials by the declared Deadline Date.

• A free choice program not to exceed ten (10) minutes.

The judges have the option of stopping the candidate during any of these performances.

All works are to be performed from memory with the exception of the set piece, for which memorization is optional. Should you choose to read the score, a page-turner will be permitted.

Twelve (12) competitors from this round will advance to the Semifinal Round. Announcement of the twelve competitors to advance will be made Thursday evening at the beginning of Intermission.

All decisions by the judges are final.

SEMIFINAL ROUND

• June 25, 11:00 am - 4:00 pm: Performance order for this round will be determined by a Lottery - numerical order draw. The twelve (12) candidates will perform before a panel of seven (7) new judges. This round is open to the public.

• Each candidate will be limited to fifteen (15) minutes of total playing time.

The competitor may choose to play their free choice, or the required piece

first, at their discretion. The judge's choice will be the final piece for all

competitors. The selections for this round will be:

• One free choice piece not to exceed five (5) minutes.

• Milhaud, "Segoviana".

• Judge's Choice. This piece, or portion thereof, will be chosen from the candidate's proposed program for this round.

When the competitor takes his/her seat, they will be allowed up to thirty (30) seconds for tuning, settling in, etc., at which point timing will begin uninterrupted for the fifteen (15) minute allotted time. The judges have the option of stopping the candidate during any of the three (3) pieces.

Any repertoire may be repeated in any of the rounds at the discretion of the competitor.

Four (4) competitors from this round will advance to the Final Round. Announcement of the four (4) competitors to advance will be made Friday evening at the beginning of Intermission.

FINAL ROUND

• June 27, 6:30 pm: Performance order for this round will be determined by a Lottery - numerical order draw. Four (4) candidates will perform before a panel of the same seven (7) judges. This round is open to the public.

• Finalists will perform their proposed program along with the Set Piece.

• The total performance time, including the Set Piece, must not exceed the length of the Set Piece plus the twenty-five (25) minute program. Players will be timed from the moment the first note is played (initial entry/tuning time will not be counted provided it is within reason), and the timer will run throughout the performance, including the time between pieces. The timer will be stopped at the first note of the set piece and will resume at the conclusion of the Set Piece. Players who exceed the twenty-five (25) minute time limit on their free choice program will be stopped.

Any repertoire may be repeated in any of the rounds at the discretion of the competitor.

All decisions by the judges are final.

JUDGING

Judges will evaluate each competitor in several categories. Based upon this, they will vote their choice of the twelve (12) competitors from the Preliminary Round to move on to the Semifinal Round. All votes will be tallied and the twelve (12) competitors with the highest votes shall advance to the Semifinal Round. Should a tie result, judges will discuss and revote on only the tied competitors.

In the Semifinal Round, judges will evaluate each competitor in several categories. They will vote their choice, all votes will be tallied and the four (4) competitors with the highest votes shall advance to the Final Round. Should a tie result, judges will discuss and revote on only the tied competitors.

In the Final Round, judges will evaluate each competitor in several categories. The judges shall vote First, Second, Third and Fourth Prizes. To determine this, judges will be asked to vote ordinals for each competitor. No ties will be allowed in the Final Round and in the case of a tie, judges will discuss and revote on the tied competitors to determine who will advance to the higher prize.

APPLICATION

DEADLINE: Application and Fees must be submitted and paid ON-LINE no later than May 1, 2010. No late entries will be considered.

All applications to the competition should include the following:

• ICAC Registration Fee of $250.00.
• Competition Registration requires an active GFA Membership. If not an active member, an additional fee of $50.00 - general membership, or $30.00 - full-time student.
• Free Choice Program not to exceed twenty-five (25) minutes.
• Photo and Short Bio to be uploaded.

*Competitors will receive essential competition materials only upon receipt of the completed application and fees by the above-mentioned Deadline of May 1, 2010, after which the 2010 Set Piece will be emailed on May 2, 2010.

For further information, please contact Martha Masters, Artistic Director at:

Martha Masters, Artistic Director, GFA International Concert Artist Competition.

Participation Waiver: As a Competitor in the Guitar Foundation of America International Concert Artist Competition, I agree to waive any recording and or photo rights in or on any medium, during any aspect of my participation in this Competition. Further, I consent to the unlimited and unrestricted use of my name and image in any format or medium for use by The Guitar Foundation of America. Additionally, by submitting this application to enter this competition, I state that I accept all of the terms set forth in the Rules of the Competition.