Competitors
The Parkening International Guitar Competition is the most prestigious classical guitar competition in the world, honoring Christopher Parkening's lifetime commitment to fostering musical excellence in young artists as demonstrated by his mentor, the great Spanish guitarist Andrés Segovia.
The 2019 Parkening International Guitar Competition will be held at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California on May 30–June 1, 2019.
Tickets to all rounds of the Competition are now on sale.
To receive notifications about the competition, join our e-mail list below.
| Competitors | Nationality | Age During Competition |
|---|---|---|
| Bokyung Byun |
USA | 24 |
| Riccardo Calogiuri |
Italy | 29 |
| Javier García Verdugo | Spain | 25 |
| Samuel Hines | USA | 27 |
| Alec Holcomb |
USA | 23 |
| Junhong Kuang | China | 19 |
| Beiyan Liu | China | 20 |
| Christopher Mrofchak | USA | 27 |
| Cody Noriega | USA | 26 |
| Alex Park | USA | 26 |
| Miguel Checa Paz | Spain | 20 |
| Sergey Perelekhov | Russia | 21 |
| Andrea Roberto | Italy | 23 |
| Marko Topchii | Ukraine | 28 |
| Tengyue Zhang | China | 25 |
| Judges | ||
| Mia Bongiovanni Assistant General Manager of Media and Presentations for the Metropolitan Opera |
Charlotte Lee President and Founder of Primo Artists |
Steve Schoen Former Vice President of Sony Music Masterworks and Sony/BMG |
| David Thomas Recording Producer |
Pablo Sáinz Villegas 2006 Parkening International Guitar Competition Winner |
|
Competitors should prepare the following pieces:
ROUND 1 (approximately 15 minutes)
MAURO GIULIANI: VARIATIONS ON A THEME BY HANDEL, Op. 107 (5:10 minutes with no repeated B sections; Public Domain). Available as a free download on: imslp.nl
JOHN WILLIAMS: ROUNDS (4:30 minutes; published by Hal Leonard Corporation, 2015)
SERGIO ASSAD: AQUARELLE (III. Preludio e Toccatina) (4:00 minutes; available as a download from SheetMusicPlus.com).
No free pieces.
ROUND 2 (Not to exceed 30:00 minutes of music)
J.S. BACH: CHACONNE IN D MINOR (13:00 minutes; from Partita II in D Minor for Violin Solo) Schott Music: edited by Andrés Segovia. Available through Hal Leonard Corporation at halleonard.com.
TORROBA: FOUR SELECTIONS FROM CASTLES OF SPAIN* (7:00 minutes)
1) Rumor de copla
2) Manzanares del real
3) Romance de los pinos
4) Turegano
*This suite, with the exception of the first movement, Rumor de Copla, is available
for purchase here.
For a copy of Rumor de Copla, please contact the competition office.
BROWER: DANZA CHARACTERISTICA (2:15 minutes) Available through Hal Leonard Corporation at halleonard.com.
Free choice piece(s), not to exceed 8:00 minutes (works from the preliminary round may not be included)
FINAL ROUND
(choose ONE of the following)
JOAQUÍN RODRIGO: CONCIERTO DE ARANJUEZ Schott & Co. Ltd. Available through Hal Leonard Corporation at halleonard.com.
JOAQUÍN RODRIGO: FANTASÍA PARA UN GENTILHOMBRE Schott & Co. Ltd. Available through publisher at schott-music.com and halleonard.com.
CASTELNUOVO-TEDESCO: CONCERTO NO. 1 IN D MAJOR Schott & Co. Ltd. Available through Hal Leonard Corporation at halleonard.com.
MANUEL PONCE: CONCIERTO DEL SUR Peer International Corporation edition. Available through Hal Leonard Corporation at halleonard.com.
ELMER BERNSTEIN: CONCERTO FOR GUITAR AND ORCHESTRA Bernal Music, tnv.net.
In addition to the concerto, finalists will present an encore piece of their choice, not to exceed five minutes (the piece may be selected from a previous round).