Guitar Foundation of America

Last updated
Guitar Foundation of America
AbbreviationGFA
Formation1973 (1973)
Type 501(c)(3)
Purpose"The Guitar Foundation of America inspires artistry, builds community, and promotes the classical guitar internationally through excellence in performance, literature, education and research."
Location
  • Palos Verdes Peninsula, California
ServicesGuitar lessons, guitar shop, competitions, concerts
Key people
 Martha Masters (president)
Brian Head (artistic director)
Sherwin Servande (vice president)
Pam Gerken (vice president, treasurer)
Robert Lane (vice president, secretary)
Website guitarfoundation.org

The Guitar Foundation of America (GFA) is an American classical guitar nonprofit organization that was founded in 1973 at the National Guitar Convention sponsored by the American String Teachers Association. [1] [2] [3] The foundation offers various services ranging from guitar lessons to a guitar shop, competitions, and events. The foundation relies on donations, events, and advertising on its web site for funding. [4] The foundation publishes Soundboard Scholar, a peer-reviewed journal, and Prodigies, a magazine for children.

Contents

History

In 1968 the foundation's founder, Thomas Heck, was living in Vienna, Austria, collecting rare sheet music for guitar. His collection included first editions by Mauro Giuliani. In 1973, Heck wrote the foundation's articles of incorporation in Santa Barbara, California, creating a non-profit foundation to which he could give his archive of sheet music. [5] [6] Along with Heck, others were interested in forming the first national classical guitar association in the United States, including Vahdah Olcott-Bickford, who served on the first GFA Board of Directors, [2] [3] and Ron Purcell, the GFA's first president. [7]

Heck created the GFA archive in 1977 in Milwaukee while teaching at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music. A catalog of the inventory was assembled and mailed to interested buyers, who could receive photocopies of sheet music on request. [8] A second edition of the catalog was published four years later. During the 1980s, while Heck taught at Ohio State University in Columbus, the archive grew to include more sheet music, periodicals, and other materials related to classical guitar. In the 1990s the archive moved to the University of Akron, and in 2015 it was transferred to California State University, Northridge. [9] [10]

International Concert Artist Competition

The foundation holds an International Convention and Competition. The International Concert Artist Competition gives the following prizes to the winner: a recording contract with Naxos, [11] publishing contract, cash, and an international tour. [12]

The first competition was held in 1982. Twenty-three guitarists entered the contest, and there were four finalists. To qualify as finalists, guitarists were required to play three pieces selected by the jurors. Michael Chapdelaine won the first contest, while Adam Holzman won in 1983. Holzman's repertoire included the Fourth Lute Suite by J. S. Bach and Sevilla by Albeniz. [13]

Winners

Source Official webpage

YearWinnerCountryLocation
1982Michael ChapdelaineUSADenver, Colorado, USA
1983 Adam Holzman USAQuebec, Canada
1985Mary AkermanUSAFullerton, California, USA
1986Peter ClementeUSAMilwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
1987 Ricardo Cobo ColombiaTempe, Arizona, USA
1988Olivier ChassainFranceAkron, Ohio, USA
1989Marc TeicholzUSALubbock, Texas, USA
1990Joseph HagedornUSAPasadena, California, USA
1991Alexei ZimakovRussiaMiami, Florida, USA
1992 Jason Vieaux USANew Orleans, Louisiana, USA
1993 Kevin Gallagher USABuffalo, New York, USA
1994 Margarita Escarpa SpainQuebec, Canada
1995 Antigoni Goni GreeceNorthridge, California, USA
1996 Fabio Zanon BrazilSt. Louis, Missouri, USA
1997 Judicael Perroy FranceLa Jolla, California, USA
1998 Denis Azabagic BosniaMontreal, Canada
1999Lorenzo MicheliItalyCharleston, South Carolina, USA
2000 Martha Masters USASan Antonio, Texas, USA
2001Johan FostierBelgiumLa Jolla, California, USA
2002 Dimitri Illarionov RussiaMiami, Florida, USA
2003 Jérémy Jouve FranceMérida, Yucatán, Mexico
2004 Goran Krivokapić MontenegroMontreal, Canada
2005 Jerome Ducharme CanadaOberlin, Ohio, USA
2006 Thomas Viloteau FranceColumbus, Georgia, USA
2007 Marcin Dylla PolandLos Angeles, California, USA
2008 Gabriel Bianco FranceSan Francisco, California, USA
2009 Florian Larousse FranceIthaca, New York, USA
2010 Johannes Möller SwedenAustin, Texas, USA
2011 Vladimir Gorbach RussiaColumbus, Georgia, USA
2012 Rovshan Mamedkuliev RussiaCharleston, South Carolina, USA
2013 Anton Baranov RussiaLouisville, Kentucky, USA
2014 Ekachai Jearakul ThailandFullerton, California, USA
2015 Thibaut Garcia FranceOklahoma City, OK, USA
2016Xavier JaraUSADenver, CO, USA
2017 Tengyue Zhang ChinaFullerton, CA, USA
2018 Raphaël Feuillâtre FranceLouisville, Kentucky, USA
2019Johan SmithSwitzerlandMiami, Florida, USA
2021Bokyung ByunSouth KoreaLos Angeles, USA
2022Lovro PeretićCroatiaIndianapolis, IN, USA
2023 Marko Topchii UkraineNew York, NY, USA
2024 Leonela Alejandro Puerto RicoFullerton, CA, USA
2025 Virgile Barthe FranceLouisville, Kentucky, USA

References

  1. ↑ Purcell, Ronald C (February 1, 1974). "Report on the National Guitar Convention". Guitar Forum. Vol. 24. pp. 26–37. doi:10.1177/000313137402400116.
  2. 1 2 Paz, Ricardo (July 16, 2019). "History of the Guitar in the United States". National Association for Music Education. Retrieved October 22, 2024.
  3. 1 2 Paz, Ricardo (2020). "Sharing Global Musics: Guitar Study in the United States—A Brief Overview" . Music Educators Journal. 106 (3): 16–18. doi:10.1177/0027432119898663. JSTOR   27000777 . Retrieved 22 October 2024.
  4. ↑ "Guitar Foundation of America: Guidestar Profile". www.guidestar.org. Retrieved 2021-01-14.
  5. ↑ Summerfield, Maurice J. (1 January 2003). The Classical Guitar: Its Evolution, Players and Personalities Since 1800. Ashley Mark Publishing Company. pp. 412–. ISBN   978-1-4768-5165-5 . Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  6. ↑ "GFA Staff - Guitar Foundation of America". Guitar Foundation. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  7. ↑ Postlewate, Charles (November 2011). "In Memoriam: Ron Purcell, First President of GFA". Classical Guitar. 30 (3): 30.
  8. ↑ Ferguson, Robert (March 2023). "The Guitar Foundation of America: Origins and Early Years". Soundboard. Vol. 49, no. 1. pp. 8–15. Retrieved 27 August 2025.
  9. ↑ "About Us". Guitar Foundation of America. Retrieved September 23, 2024.
  10. ↑ Young, Erin (March 23, 2016). "The growing International Guitar Research Archive makes over 1000 scores available to the public". Guitar Foundation of America. Retrieved September 23, 2024.
  11. ↑ "The Guitar Foundation of America meets the Naxos Guitar Laureate Series". Naxos Records.
  12. ↑ "Guitar Foundation of America International Convention & Competitions 2018". Classical Guitar. 16 March 2018. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  13. ↑ Gomez-Ramirez, Andrew (28 November 2017). "The Guitar Foundation of America's International Concert Artist Competition". CSUN University Library. Retrieved 25 August 2025.
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