Fabio Montomoli
The 14th Annual Texas Guitar Competition and Festival returns to the UT Dallas campus Thursday through Saturday. The competition showcases a wide field of international classical guitarists and awards cash prizes to competition winners.
This year’s festival features performances from renowned guitarists Fabio Montomoli and Xuefei Yang.
Montomoli has been called one of the best interpreters of the international scene with beautiful sound, power and wide variety of timbres.
Yang, admired for her ability to weave Asian and Western musical traditions, has been praised by The New York Times for her “feisty virtuosity, impeccable technique and sensitive musicianship.”
Yang was the first Chinese student awarded a full scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music in London. She has given concerts throughout Asia, Europe and North America. She has also performed with the Barcelona Symphony, the Hallé Orchestra, the Detroit Symphony, China National Philharmonic and Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra.
Xuefei Yang
“Our competition is always an exciting event, and this year more so as we have a record number of competitors. And, with our top international talent in Xuefei Yang from China and Fabio Montomoli from Italy, the weekend promises to delight,” said Dr. Enric Madriguera, the Russell Cleveland Professor of Guitar Studies at UT Dallas. “Our judging panel is of international caliber and ready for the elite level of talent we will hear in our semifinal and final rounds. I predict that the final round on Friday will be very exciting. The Saturday concerts present a wide array of exquisite music for the guitar.”
Thursday's competition is closed to the public. On Friday, UT Dallas' Radiant Guitar Ensemble will perform at 7 p.m. before the top four finalists compete in the International Concert Guitarist Competition at 8 p.m. in the Alexander Clark Center. The finals are free and open to the public.
Both Saturday performances will be in the Clark Center. The Montomoli performance, which starts at 4 p.m., is free and open to the public. Yang starts at 8 p.m. Tickets for that performance are free to UT Dallas students, faculty and staff presenting a valid Comet Card at the box office the night of the event. General admission tickets for the show are $25 for non-UT Dallas attendees. Tickets can be purchased online or by calling (972) 883-2552.