Monday, March 24, 2008

UTD announces winners of 2008 Texas Guitar Competition

By Pegasus News wire

The University of Texas at Dallas is pleased to announce the winners of the 7th Annual Texas Guitar Competition, held over March 6-8 at UT Dallas. Nemanja Ostojic of Serbia won the $3,000 first prize. The $2,000 award for second prize went to Mircea Gogoncea of Romania. Scott Borg of Australia took the $1,000 third prize.

UTD

Nemanja Ostojic

Ostojic, studying at Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, Bloomington, for his Master’s of Music degree with Ernesto Bitetti, has attended master-classes with guitarists such as Leo Brouwer, Costas Cotsiolis, Eduardo Isaak, Carlo Marchione and Pavel Steidl. He has won first prizes at several international competitions, including the Guitar Art Competition in Belgrade (2001, 2003), both the Serbian and Yugoslavian State competitions for young musicians (2000, 2003), the Festival of Classical Guitar Sinaya, Romania, the Volos Guitar Festival, Greece, the Niccolo Paganini Guitar Festival, Italy, the Guitar Arts Festival in Montenegro and the Schadt String Competition in Allentown, PA (2008).

Ostojic has performed in Greece, Italy, France, Slovenia, Romania, Germany, Hungary, Montenegro, Russia, Turkey and the United States. He performed as a soloist with the Athens Chamber Orchestra, Bilkent Symphony Orchestra, Belgrade Philharmonic and Saint George Strings, performing with conductors such as Petar Ivanovic, Daragana Jovanovic, Bujor Hoinic and Leo Brouwer.

UTD

Mircea Gogoncea

Gogoncea has won 74 prizes at 70 national and international guitar competitions, beginning when he was six years old. A student at the George Enescu Music High School in Bucharest, his recent first prizes include Alba Iulia competition (2006), the Cluj National Music Olympiad (2007) and the Guitar Foundation of America Youth Solo Competition (2007). He has attended master-classes with noted guitarists such as Odair Assad, Dale Kavanagh, Leo Brouwer, Susana Prieto, Alexander Ramirez and Carlo Marchione. Gogoncea has performed concerts in Romania, Germany, Slovenia, Italy and Turkey, including a concert as a soloist with the Romanian National Radio Orchestra.

Borg has received an Artist Diploma from Yale University and a Master’s of Music from Juilliard. He has studied with Sharon Isbin, Gregory Pikler and Benjamin Verdery. Borg has performed at the Alice Tully Hall and the Apollo Theater in New York. He is currently studying at the New England Conservatory under renowned guitarist Eliot Fisk, who calls Borg a “guitarist of extraordinary accomplishment and dedication” who “posses a tremendous enthusiasm and love for music and the dedication and willingness to work to develop these essential qualities to the fullest.”

More information about this event may be found at http://ah.utdallas.edu/news_events/annual_guitar_competition.html.

UTD

Scott Borg

For information about the many musical, arts, theatre, dance and other performances and exhibitions held throughout the year at UT Dallas, please call 972-UTD-ARTS (972-883-2787) or e-mail utdarts@utdallas.edu. People with disabilities in need of special accommodations may call 972-883-2982, Texas Relay Operator: 1-800-RELAYVV.

Texas Guitar Competition

This unique Texas competition, designed to showcase outstanding classical guitar students, will award $6,000 in cash prizes to the winners. Over the three-day event, students can compete and attend master classes and concerts by internationally recognized guitarists. The Texas Guitar Competition is the fulfillment of a vision shared by the associate dean for the arts, Kathryn Evans, and UT Dallas’ director of guitar studies, Enric Madriguera.

Evans explained, “The Texas Guitar Competition began in 2001 as an idea - and a dream - to fill what was a void in the guitar world in Texas: a first-class competition that would give students from Texas and the United States an opportunity to compete and be awarded prizes for outstanding classical musicianship in guitar. It has, to our delight, grown into an international competition that now attracts guitarists from all over the world.”

Source: UT Dallas

See more stories in:

• Arts > Fine Arts > Classical Music