20th Annual Texas Guitar Competition and Festival

UT Dallas > Bass School of Arts, Humanities, and Technology > Events > Texas Guitar Competition and Festival Overview > Past Guitar Competitions > 20th Annual Texas Guitar Competition and Festival

Congratulations to the 20th Annual Guitar Competition Winners

Adult Competition

First Place Winner Ivan Petricevic

Ivan Petricevic was born in 1987 in Belgrade, former Yugoslavia. He studied with Ante Cagalj at the Elly Basic Conservatory in Croatia, and continued his studies with Alvaro Pierri and Walter Würdinger at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Austria, with Roberto Aussel at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz in Germany and with Tomasz Zawierucha at the Folkwang University of Arts in Germany. He has won over 30 awards in various international competitions and is regularly invited to perform at major venues and festivals around the world. Ivan Petricevic was selected as a soloist and chamber musician for the Yehudi Menuhin Foundation’s Live Music Now outreach program in Vienna and Cologne and is a member of successful Duo Accordarra with whom he recorded the album Mas alla del Sueño for the renowned Ars Produktion label in Germany. In 2020 he recorded his solo album Esmeralda’s Waltz at Contrastes Records in Spain.

Second Place Winner Alejandro Rodriguez Ruiz

DMA student and Teaching Fellow at the University of North Texas, Alejandro Rodriguez is a Mexican guitarist based in Texas. He holds a Master of Music from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and a Professional Studies Diploma from the Cleveland Institute of Music. Alejandro has studied with Dr. Isaac Bustos, Rene Izquierdo, Jason Vieaux and Colin Davin, and Thomas Johnson (current teacher). Alejandro won the 2019 James Stroud Competition and took fourth place at the 2019 Appalachian State Solo Guitar Competition. Alejandro has performed at master classes by Alvaro Pierri, Ana Vidovic, Zoran Dukic, Aniello Desiderio, Raphaella Smits and Adam Holzman, among others.

Third Place Winner Ulysses Deleon

Ulysses Deleon was born in Edinburg, Texas and attends the University of North Texas pursuing a degree in Jazz Studies. As a freshman, he was a student at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley under Hector Javier Rodriguez before transferring to UNT.
He is currently studying under Davy Mooney for Jazz Guitar and Thomas Johnson for Classical Guitar. Ulysses Deleon received 1st Place in the 9th Annual Collin College Solo Guitar Competition in 2015.

Fourth Place Winner Calogero Miceli

Calogero Miceli was born in Las Vegas, Nevada. He has attended Oklahoma City University for his Bachelors of Music and Master of Music in guitar performance and is currently attending University of North Texas for a DMA degree. His past and present teachers include Bill Swick, Mel Hallam, Matthew Denman, Stephen Lochbaum and Thomas Johnson.

Alhambra Prize:

Ivan Petricevic

Martha and John Nye Audience Choice Award:

Alejandro Rodriguez Ruiz

The Events

The events of the competition included a lecture by Olga Amelkina-Vera and a master class with David Russell (Grammy award winner) on March 2nd. On March 3rd, we had performances from the UT Dallas Festival Ensemble and internationally renowned guitarist David Russell. March 4th featured a master class with Samuel Hines (2020 Laureate), a concert by the Tyler Jr. College Ensemble, and the final round of competition. Finally, on March 5th, Samuel Hines performed in concert as well as the UT Tyler Guitar Ensemble followed by Javier Garcia Moreno, and we closed with the award ceremony.

Event Program