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The Parkening International Guitar Competition honors Christopher Parkening's lifetime commitment to fostering musical excellence in young artists as demonstrated by his mentor, the great Spanish guitarist Andrés Segovia. It is held on the beautiful campus of Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, where Christopher Parkening is Distinguished Professor of Music.

The first Parkening International Guitar Competition was held at Pepperdine University in 2006. With generous grants from Howard and Roberta Ahmanson, the Parkening International Guitar Competition is usually held every three years. To receive notifications about the next competition, join our e-mail list below.

 2019 Competition
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
 2015 Competition
Competition ResultsNationalityAge During Competition
Meng Su
Jack Marshall Prize & Gold Medal
About Meng Su
China 27
Rovshan Mamedkuliev
Silver Medal
Russia 28
Tengyue Zhang
Bronze Medal
China 21
Alec Holcomb
Fourth Place
USA 19
Andrea Roberto
Fifth Place
Italy 19
Sanel Redžić
Sixth Place
Bosnia and Herzegovina 26
Additional Competitors Nationality Age During Competition
Riccardo Calogiuri Italy 25
Fabian Cardozo Argentina 28
Silviu Ciulei Romania 29
Vladimir Gapontsev Russia 29
Emre Gökalp Turkey 27
Samuel Hines USA 23
Alberta Khoury Australia 19
Kyuhee Park South Korea 29
Marko Topchii Ukraine 24
Judges
Lynn Harrell Lee Holdridge Charlotte Lee
Angel Romero David Thomas  

Young Guitarist Competition

Competition ResultsNationalityAge During Competition
Ashwin Krishna
First Place
USA 17
Xu Kun (Alan) Liu
Second Place
Canada 13
Nolan Harvel
Third Place
USA 14
Grace Sheppard
Fourth Place
USA 16
Johanthan Pryde
Fifth Place
USA 16
Additional CompetitorsNationalityAge During Competition
Katelyn Biesiadecki USA 15
Erick Chipana Bolivia 17
Sedona Farber USA 14
Kendrick Shen USA 15
Kyle Wong USA 15
Judges
Martha Masters Marc Regnier Patrick Russ
 2012 Competition
Competition ResultsNationalityAge During Competition
Petrit Çeku
Jack Marshall Prize & Gold Medal
About Petrit Çeku
Kosovo 27
Rafael Aguirre
Silver Medal
Spain 27
Florian Larousse
Bronze Medal
France 24
Solomon Silber
Fourth Place
USA 29
Alberta Khoury
Fifth Place
Australia 16
Additional Competitors Nationality Age During Competition
Tim Callobre USA 19
Riccardo Calogiuri Italy 22
Silviu Ciulei Romania 26
RIcardo Escobar USA 26
Fabian Freesen Germany 28
Samuel Hines USA 20
Adam Kossler USA 28
Nemanja Ostoich Serbia 28
Andrea Roberto Italy 16
Marko Topchii Ukraine 21
Judges
Dave Grusin Costa Pilavachi David Russell
Julie Smith Jim Svejda  

Young Guitarist Competition

Competition ResultsNationalityAge During Competition
Alec Holcomb
First Place
USA 17
Noah Kim
Second Place
USA 16
Jennifer Kim
Third Place
USA 13
Sean Keegan
Fourth Place
USA 15
Ashwin Krishna
Fifth Place
USA 14
Additional CompetitorsNationalityAge During Competition
Sergio Gallardo Bolivia 17
Samuel Garry USA 14
Wu Love USA 17
Savid Steinhardt USA 15
Audra Vigil USA 15
Judges
Pat Russ Dave Thomas Pablo Sáinz Villegas
 2009 Competition
Competition ResultsNationalityAge During Competition
Emanuele Buono
Stotsenberg Prize Gold Medal
About Emanuele Buono
Italy 21
Ian Watt
Silver Medal
Scotland 18
Juuso Nieminen
Bronze Medal
Finland 29
Rafael Aguirre Miñarro
Fourth Place
Spain 24
Silviu Ciulei
Fifth Place
Romania 23
Additional CompetitorsNationality Age During Competition
Yuri Aleshnikov Russia 24
Michael Bautista USA 30
Carlo Corrieri Italy 20
Colin Davin USA 21
Alexei Khorev France 30
Laura Klemke Germany 28
Marco Sartor USA 30
Andrew Stroud USA 28
Edward Trybek USA 27
Aleksandr Tsiboulski Australia 29
Judges
Nancy Allen Manuel Barrueco Stephanie L. Challener
Thomas Frost Costa Pilavachi  

Young Guitarist Competition

Competition ResultsNationalityAge During Competition
Tim Callobre
First Place
USA 16
Ji Yeon Kim
Second Place
Korea 16
Daniel Tekunoff
Third Place
USA 16
Andrea Roberto
Fourth Place
Italy 13
Chaconne Klaverenga
Fifth Place
USA 16
Additional CompetitorsNationalityAge During Competition
Matar-Itai Batyonathan USA 17
Bruce Buescher USA 17
Alec Holcomb USA 14
Noah Kim USA 13
John-Marcel WIlliams USA 14
Judges
Pat Russ Dave Thomas Pablo Sáinz Villegas
 2006 Competition
Competition ResultsNationalityAge During Competition
Pablo Sáinz Villegas
Gold Medal Stotsenberg Prize
About Pablo Sáinz Villegas
Spain 28
Petrit Çeku
Silver Medal
Croatia 20
Roberto Morón Pérez
Bronze Medal
Spain 26
Michael Bautista
Fourth Place
USA 27
Robert Belinić
Fifth Place
Croatia 24
Additional CompetitorsNationality Age During Competition
András Csáki Hungary 24
João Paulo Figueiroa Brazil 26
Christian Haimel Austrai 25
Fan-Chen Huang USA 22
Samuel Klemke Germany 27
Goran Krivokapić Montenegro 27
Marco Sartor Uruguay 27
Jorgen Skogmo Norway 23
Andrew Stroud UK/USA 25
Edward Trybek USA 24
Judges
Eliot Fisk Thomas Frost Lynn Harrell
Gilbert Hetherwick Miryam Yardumian  

Young Guitarist Competition

First PlaceNationalityAge During Competition
Meng Su
China 18
FinalistsNationalityAge During Competition
Golzalo Arias
Chile 17
Iren Arutunyan
Armenia 17
Tim Callobre
USA 13
Liying Zhu China 15
Additional CompetitorsNationalityAge During Competition
James Burdick USA 17
Arturo Castro Mexico 18
Joseph Jacks USA 17
Travis Johnson USA 13
Julia Sinclair USA 16
Ariadne Smith USA 17
Judges
Pat Russ John Sutherland Dave Thomas

Contact

Parkening International Guitar Competition
Pepperdine University
Lisa Smith Wengler Center for the Arts
24255 Pacific Coast Highway
Malibu, CA 90263

theparkening@pepperdine.edu

Applications and Competitors
310.506.4079

Sponsorship Inquiries
310.506.4594

Media and Publicity
310.506.4055

Competition Staff

Christopher Parkening
Artistic Director
About Christopher Parkening

Rebecca Carson
Executive Director

Paul Vacchiano
Competition Manager

Parkening International Guitar Competition

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