9th Annual Texas Guitar Competition and Festival

Congratulations to the 9th Annual Guitar Competition Winners

1st Place
Ben Beirs: Ben Beirs received his BM, MM and Graduate Performance Diploma from Peabody Conservatory at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. He has studied with Julian Gray and Roland Dyens and has had master classes with Sergio Assad, Eliot Fisk, Adam Holzman, William Kanengiser, Pepe Romero, David Rusell, Andrew Zohn and other well-known guitarists. In 2007, Beirs won first prize in the National Guitar Workshop International Solo competition and the Baltimore Music Club Competition. In 2008, he won second prize in the Schadt Concerto Competition, in Pennsylvania, and third prize in the Joann Fallette Guitar Competition, in New York.

2nd Place
Adam Kossler: Adam Kossler is a doctoral student at Florida State University. He received his BM from East Carolina University and his MM from Appalachian State University. He has studied with Bill Kossler, Elliot Frank, Douglas James and Bruce Holzman. He won fourth prize in the 2007 Texas Guitar Competition here at UT Dallas. In 2008, he won first prize in the Music Academy of North Carolina International Guitar Competition and second prize in the Appalachian State Guitar Competition.

3rd Place
Matthias Lang: Matthias Lang, originally from Germany, now resides in Denton, Texas where he is pursuing a doctorate degree in music at the University of North Texas. He has attended the Musikhochschule Köln, in Germany, and the Conservatoire Royal de Mons, in Belgium, where he received his MM. Lang hs studied with Prof. Hubert Kappel and Odair Assad and has had master classes with Pepe Romero, Manuel Barrueco, David Russell and many more. In 1998, he won first prize in a guitar competition in Bottrop, Germany. He won first prize in the 2000 and third prize in the 2003 German National Youth Competition. He has performed in Greece, Brazil and all over Germany.

4th Place
Ben Pila: Third place winner in last year’s Texas Guitar Competition, Ben Pila is currently a doctoral student at the University of Southern California. He received his BM from Florida State University and his MM from Juilliard. He has studied with Bruce Holzman, Sharon Isbin and Scott Tennant. He won second prize in the 2007 NGW Solo Competition and the CSU Dominguez Hills International Competition in 2009. Pila won the grand prize in the Tampa Bay Symphony Young Artist Competition.

5th Place
Armin Abdihodzic: Armin Abdihodzic is from Bihac, Bosnia. He received his BA from William Carey University and his MA from East Carolina University. He is currently a doctoral student at the University of North Texas. He has studied with Miroslav Loncar, Elliot Frank and Tom Johnson. In 2009, he won first place in the Mississippi Guitar Festival and the Music Academy of North Carolina International Guitar Competition.