15th Annual Texas Guitar Competition and Festival

Congratulations to the 15th Annual Guitar Competition Winners

Main competition

First Place Winner Silviu Ciulei

Classical and flamenco guitarist Silviu Octavian Ciulei was born in Constanta, Romania. He began his musical studies at the age of six and attended the High School of Arts in Constanta.  By age thirteen, he had won his first performance prize. In Romania, Silviu won many prizes including First Prizes in the National Music Olympics, and was First Prize winner and Gold Medalist three times consecutively in the “George Georgescu” International Music Performance Competition.  He graduated at the top of his class and was selected to perform the  Concerto in A major opus 30 by Mauro Giuliani with the Black Sea Philharmonic Orchestra.

Second Place Winner Stephen Lochbaum

Stephen Lochbaum began his classical training at a late age and achieved much in a short span of time. Within six years he had earned a Master’s degree from the University of Victoria under Dr. Alexander Dunn, won the National Music Festival of Canada, had radio and television debuts, and had the immense honor of studying and performing alongside legendary guitarist Pepe Romero. As well as playing classical guitar, Stephen is also an established jazz guitarist. He has appeared in numerous international Jazz, Tango, and Flamenco festivals with the Corbet/Lochbaum duo, as a soloist and ensemble player. Their recordings are heard regularly on CBC national radio across Canada.

Third Place Winner Joerg Holzmann

Joerg Holzmann was born in 1985 in Schwabmuenchen, Southern Germany. He had his first guitar lessons at the age of 7. Joerg was a student of guitar from 2005 to 2013 at Staatliche Hochschule für Musik und darstellende Kunst in Stuttgart, and from 2014 to present, Judicael Perroy in Paris. He is a guitar teacher at a music school and performs at concerts in Germany, Spain, Italy and other european countries.

Fourth Place Winner Ian Tuski

Classical guitarist Ian Tuski has concertized as a soloist and chamber musician throughout the United States, Italy, Spain and Puerto Rico. Recent performances have been broadcast live on Spanish National TV and have been featured in the Spanish television show “Pueblos del Dios.” He has also performed as a soloist with the New Haven Chamber Orchestra as well as at the New England Guitar Society, Iglesia de San Martin in Fromista, Spain and on the ‘Sounds of Saturday’ Concert Series at the Milwaukee Art Museum. A committed educator, Ian previously helped found three classical guitar programs in the New Haven Public Schools and also created New Haven’s first All City Guitar Ensemble through Yale University’s All City Honors Ensemble program which featured young guitarists from throughout the city. He has also taught at the Morse Summer Music Academy at Yale University and is currently teaching at the Orpheus Academy of Music in Austin, TX. He is currently pursuing his Doctorate at UT-Austin under the guidance of renowned guitarist Adam Holzman.

Dean’s Awards Winners
Best Performance of Set Piece in Semi-Finals: Stephen Lochbaum
Best Performance of Set Piece in Finals: Silviu Ciulei
Audience Choice Award: Silviu Ciulei

Youth Division II (15-18 year-olds)
First = Gwenyth Aggeler
Second = Noah Eckstein
Third = Chloe Odorico

Youth Division I (11-14 year-olds)
First = Aytahn Benavi
Second = Lev Baker
Third = Alex Youn

In The News

Classical Chords to Come Together for Guitar Competition, Festival