19th Annual Texas Guitar Competition and Festival

Congratulations to the 2020, 19th Annual Guitar Competition Winners!

Adult Competition

First Place winning $3000: Samuel Hines

Praised for, “Virtuosity and deep musical interpretation”, Samuel Hines is an award-winning guitarist from Southern California. World-renowned Cuban guitarist, René Izquierdo has described his pupil as, “A profound musician, Samuel Hines has matured to become a remarkable guitarist. His artistry will touch many!” An Augustine Strings Artist, Hines maintains a busy performance schedule and has been a guest artist at the 2018 Florida Guitar Festival, 2018 East Carolina Summer Guitar Festival, 2018 Latino Arts Strings Festival in Wisconsin and the 5th Latin-American Guitar Festival in Chicago, among others. Hines has won prizes in over 35 competitions, with recent first prizes including the 2019 Houston Guitar Festival, the 2019 Gohar and Ovanes Andriassian Competition at Cal State LA, the 2019 New Orleans International Guitar Festival, the 2019 Appalachian Guitarfest, the 2017 Florida Guitar Festival, the 2017 East Carolina University Guitar Festival and the 2015 Sierra Nevada International Guitar Festival. Hines was also a competitor at the prestigious Parkening International Guitar Competition, selected as one of 15 competitors from around the world at the 2012, 2015 and 2019 editions. His educational background includes a Bachelor of Music from Vanguard University of Southern California with Michael Nigro and a Master of Music at University of the Wisconsin-Milwaukee with René Izquierdo. Hines is pursuing his Doctor of Musical Arts with Maja Radovanlija. Samuel Hines plays a 2014 Antonio Marin Montero on Augustine Regal Blue Strings.

Second Place winning $2000: Ivan Petricevic

Ivan Petricevic was born in 1987, Belgrade, former Yugoslavia. He studied with Ante Cagalj at the “Elly Basic” Conservatory in Zagreb, Croatia, and continued his studies with Alvaro Pierri and Walter Würdinger at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, Austria, with Roberto Aussel at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz in Cologne, Germany and with Tomasz Zawierucha at the Folkwang University of Arts in Essen, Germany. As a guitarist, he has won over 30 awards in various international competitions, including first prizes at “Concourse International de Guitare” organized by Paris Guitar Foundation ( 2018, France), XXI Concurso Internacional de Guitarra Ciudad de Linares Andrés Segovia (2014, Spain), Concurso Internacional de Guitarra Comarca el Condado (2015, Spain), at the Hermoupolis Guitar Festival (2014, Greece), at the Peloponnese Guitar Festival (2016, Greece), at the Fiuggi Guitar Festival (2013, Italy). He was earned a scholarship from the Tokyo Foundation (2009), a Viktor Bunzl Scholarship (2011) and regular scholarships from the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna (2008, 2010). Petricevic is regularly invited to perform at major concert halls and festivals such as Sommerliche Musiktage Hitzacker (Germany), Lyon Guitare Classique (France), Gitarrenfestival Deggendorf (Germany), Festival de Guitarra de Petrer (Spain), Shenzhen Concert Hall (China), GHM Guitar Art Festival (China), Festival Internacional Andrés Segovia Madrid (Spain), Auditorio Miguel Delibes in Valladolid (Spain), with Vienna Musikverein (Austria), Rheinhessen Musikfestival (Germany) Bangkok Guitar Festival (Thailand), Klaipėda Concert Hall (Lithuania), St Cyprian’s Clarence Gate in London (UK), Hong Kong Guitar Festival (China), Thrace Guitar Festival (Greece) , Mozarthaus Wien, Guitar Days Festival in Zagreb (Croatia), at the Festival Internazionale dell’Adriatico in Pescara (Italy), Nordhessen Musikfestival (Germany), Festival Béarn (France) and Euroclassic Festival (Germany). He has performed with Webern Symphonie Orchester, Orchestra Simphonique de Chatillon, Shenzhen Chamber Orchestra, Hong Kong Metropolitan Pop Orchestra, Kammerorchester Plochingen, Mostar Symphonie Orchestra, Rheinische Orchestra and Sinfonieorchester der TH Köln.

Third Place winning $1000: Kyle Khembunjong

Kyle Khembunjong was raised in Las Vegas, Nevada and began his classical training at the age of seventeen under the guidance of guitarist Ricardo Cobo at the University of Nevada Las Vegas School of Music. Khembunjong has received acknowledgments from various highly-esteemed foundations, organizations and competitions across the United States, including first prize awards from the University of Denver Guitar Festival & Youth Competition, the Orange County Guitar Circle International Youth Competition, the Appalachian GuitarFest Competition, the Rotary Club Dan Stover Music Scholarship Regional Competition and the UNLV Performing Arts Center Classical Guitar Competition. He is also a recipient of the 2018 National YoungArts Foundation Merit Winner in Classical Guitar, the 2018 Gateway Arts Foundation Scholarship, and is a winner of the Nevada Music Educators Association Solo & Ensemble Command Performance competition. Khembunjong graduated from the College of Southern Nevada High School Dual-Enrollment program with an Associate of Arts degree and is currently pursuing a baccalaureate degree in guitar performance at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Fourth Place winning $500: Anthony Mariano

Anthony Mariano was born in Washington DC, but grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Albuquerque is where he began to learn the classical guitar. Mariano attended the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where he earned his Bachelor’s degree with David Tanenbaum and graduated with honors. Mariano then went on to study with Adam Holzman at the University of Texas at Austin, where he earned a Master’s degree and where he is currently pursuing his Doctorate of Musical Arts (DMA). Along with his studies and holding a private studio in Austin, Mariano performs with his violinist wife, Camille Schiess. Mariano served as Concertmaster for the second annual New Mexico All-State Guitar Ensemble in 2011. He was chosen by the UT Austin faculty in 2013 to perform in the school’s annual Guitarrada, an event featuring music played on some of the world’s finest historical guitars. In June of 2016, he performed as a guest at the New Mexico Classical Guitar Festival. A member of the Austin Classical Guitar Society, Mariano conducts community guitar ensembles that perform throughout Central Texas and serves as Guitar Coordinator for the University of Texas String Project, the largest string project of its kind.

Martha and John Nye Audience Choice Award winning $500:

Ivan Petricevic

Youth Division II (15-18 year-olds)

First Place winning $300 plus $250 additional from Alhambra: David Manzanares
Second Place winning $200: Zara Terrazas-Graham
Third Place winning $100: Aiden Suskic

Youth Division I (11-14 year-olds)

First Place winning $300 plus $250 additional from Alhambra: Nima Moin
Second Place winning $200: Brandon Kim
Third Place winning $100: Junnosuke Tomita