| 2025 International Concert Artist Competition |
International Concert Artist Competition (ICAC)Welcome to our International Concert Artist Competition page. This year's iteration will take place at the University of Louisville, Kentucky. Important Dates
WhereUniversity of Louisville, Kentucky, USA. For WhomThis year's competition is open to competitors of all nationalities ages 17-35 as of June 21, 2025 (the last day of the competition). Past GFA Rose Augustine Grand Prize Winners are not eligible to compete. Required/Set Piece
HowFIRST, become a member of the GFA (if you are not already!) Join Here, and then register and pay for the event. To Register for the competition click the Apply Now button on the right side of the screen. *Membership is required, and is the first step, but you must register for the competition after becoming a GFA member. Simply becoming a GFA member will not tell us you wish to compete! Prizes*$25000 in cash prizes! **Other prizes include: *All amounts subject to 30% withholding for non-US citizens. **Please note that these prizes are subject to change. ***Contract is between the winner and Naxos. GFA will prepay the fee for the recording, and then recover that amount from tour profits. ApplicationApplication and Fees must be submitted and paid ONLINE no later than 11:59PM PST May 1, 2025. No late entries will be considered. Payment of all Entry Fees is due in full at time of registration. See links below for more information! 
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“Compete to take your place in history next to former GFA winners like Antigoni Goni, Judicael Perroy, Marcin Dylla, and Marko Topchii! We are honored to showcase the top talent in the world of classical guitar each year at the GFA International Concert
Artist Competition.
Though only one guitarist will win the coveted Rose Augustine Grand Prize, including a 50-concert tour, a Carnegie Hall Debut, and a Naxos recording contract, we aim to promote all artists who compete through the livestream of all rounds of competition. Competitors are also invited to participate in masterclasses and enjoy all events at the convention. We look forward to sharing your music with our international audience for classical guitar!” Martha Masters
Competition Director Competition DetailsICAC PrizesRose Augustine Grand Prize • $10,000* 2nd Prize • $7,000* 3rd Prize • $5,000* 4th Prize • $3,000* Important *All prizes subject to mandatory 30% federal tax withholding for foreign prize-winners; US prize-winners will be issued an IRS-1099 Form. *All donated prizes are subject to the delivery by the sponsor. GFA will do everything possible to ensure delivery of all prizes, but GFA will not be held responsible if donor does not deliver a prize as listed above. All Semifinalists will receive a $500 Travel Stipend. Foreigners must provide receipts to avoid tax withholding. Preliminary Round Panel of 5 judges, TBA. Semifinal and Final Rounds Panel of 7 judges, TBA. Eligibility This year's competition is open to competitors of all nationalities, who may not be older than 35 years of age on June 21, 2025 (the last day of the competition), and must be at least 18 years of age by June 1st, 2026 (the year following the competition). Past GFA Rose Augustine Grand Prize Winners are not eligible to compete. Preliminary Round June 16th - 17th: Performance before a panel of five (5) judges. All rounds are open to the public. Performance order for the preliminary round will be determined by random draw, and announced at the Competitor’s Orientation Meeting. This meeting will be held on Zoom, and will be recorded for any competitors who are not able to attend at that time. Competitors will perform a free choice program of 10 minutes along with the Set Piece in the order of their choosing. The total performance time, including the Set Piece, must not exceed the length of the Set Piece plus the 10 minute program. The judges have the option of stopping the candidate during any of these performances. All works in all rounds 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 Wednesday evening at the beginning of Intermission. All decisions by the judges are final. Semifinal Round Thursday, June 19th, 10:00 am - 6:00 pm: Performance order for this round will be determined by a lottery. The twelve (12) candidates will perform before a panel of seven (7) new judges. The repertoire for this round will be a maximum 25 minute program, including the required piece, the first movement of Miklós Rózsa's Sonata for Guitar Op.42, as part of their 25-minute program Four (4) competitors from this round will advance to the Final Round. Announcement of the four (4) competitors to advance will be made Thursday evening at the beginning of Intermission. Final Round Saturday, June 21st, 5:00 pm: Performance order for this round will be determined by a lottery. Four (4) candidates will perform before a panel of the same seven (7) judges. Finalists will perform a free choice program of 30 minutes along with the Set Piece. The total performance time, including the Set Piece, must not exceed the length of the Set Piece plus the 30 minute program. All decisions by the judges are final. Pieces from previous rounds may NOT be repeated in later rounds, with the exception of the Set Piece. All competitors are required to submit their free choices for all rounds via a link to be provided after the registration deadline has closed. Any changes to your submitted program may be made until May 15, after which programs may not be altered. Competitors who do not submit programs by this date will be disqualified, and no refund will be provided. All works in all rounds 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. When the competitor takes their seat, the timekeeper will allow up to 30 seconds for tuning, settling in, etc., at which point timing will begin uninterrupted for the allotted time. For the preliminary and final rounds, the set piece is not included in the total time allotment. Timing will be measured as follows: • If the competitor starts with the set piece, the timekeeper will start the timer with the last note of the set piece. • If the competitor inserts the piece in the middle of their program, the timekeeper will stop the timer with the last note of the preceding free choice piece, and restart the timer with the last note of the set piece. Performance order for all rounds will be determined by random draw. Only candidates prepared to perform the entire program in accordance with the rules will be permitted to take the stage. Announcement of the semifinalists will be made Tuesday evening at the beginning of Intermission. Announcement of the finalists will be made Thursday evening at the beginning of Intermission. The Awards Ceremony will take place immediately following the finals. The judges have the option to stop any candidate during any performance. All rounds are open to the public and streamed on GFA’s Facebook and Youtube channel. All decisions by the judges are final. Sponsor
The Augustine FoundationThe ICAC Rose Augustine Grand Prize is presented by the Augustine Foundation. |
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