| JoAnn Falletta International Guitar Concerto Competition | |
|---|---|
JoAnn Falletta Competition Logo | |
| Awarded for | Excellence in Classical Guitar Performance |
| Location | Buffalo, New York |
| Country |  |
| Hosted by | WNED-FM, WNED-TV, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, President - JoAnn Falletta, Artistic Directors - Joanne Castellani, Michael Andriaccio |
| Reward(s) | 1st Prize $10000, Fleur de Son Classics contract, concert with Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra |
| First awarded | 2004 |
| Last awarded | 2018 |
| Website | JoAnn Falletta Competition |
The JoAnn Falletta International Guitar Concerto Competition is a competition for classical guitarists from all over the world. [1] The competition was launched in 2004 by PBS member stations WNED-FM, WNED-TV and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra (BPO). It was named in honor of the BPO's music director, JoAnn Falletta. It was the world’s first concerto competition for classical guitarists with accompaniment by a full symphony orchestra. The art directors are Joanne Castellani and Michael Andriaccio (Castellani-Andriaccio Duo) and Donald K. Boswell (President and CEO, Western New York Public Broadcasting).
International classical guitar competitions are public events designed to identify and award outstanding classical guitar soloists, ensembles, and composers. They allow artists to promote themselves and gain exposure. Some competitions also have newly composed "set" pieces which serve to increase the classical guitar repertoire.
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and television program distributor. It is a nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educational television programming to public television stations in the United States, distributing series such as American Experience, America's Test Kitchen, Antiques Roadshow, Arthur, Downton Abbey, Finding Your Roots, Frontline, The Magic School Bus, Masterpiece, Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, Nature, Nova, the PBS NewsHour, Sesame Street, and This Old House.
WNED-FM is a non-commercial radio station licensed to Buffalo, New York. WNED-FM offers a classical music radio format. It is owned by the Western New York Public Broadcasting Association, which also operates PBS network affiliate Channel 17 WNED-TV and FM 88.7 WBFO. While WNED-FM airs no commercials, it does conduct periodic pledge drives on the air to seek donations for the station. WNED-FM has local hosts in most day-parts, including weekends.
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To date there have been only three absolute winners of the competition who won all possible awards (1st Prize, Musicians Favorite Award, and Audience Favorite Award): 2004: 
Marcin Dylla is a Polish classical guitarist who has won over fifteen international classical guitar competitions.
Marko Topchii is a classical guitarist from Ukraine. Topchii has won more than 90 awards worldwide in the international classical guitar competitions in the professional category. Among them, 42 first places in the competitions in United States, Mexico, Australia, Japan, China, Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea, Indonesia, Germany, Switzerland, France, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Liechtenstein, Poland, Hungary, Serbia, Croatia, Bulgaria, Montenegro, and Ukraine.
