Guitar Foundation of America


The Guitar Foundation of America is an American classical guitar nonprofit organization that was founded in 1973 at the National Guitar Convention sponsored by the American String Teachers Association. 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. The foundation publishes Soundboard Scholar, a peer-reviewed journal, and Prodigies, a magazine for children.
WWW guitarfoundation.org

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. 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, and Ron Purcell, the GFA's first president.
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. 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.

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, publishing contract, cash, and an international tour.
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.

Winners

YearWinnerCountryLocation
1982Michael ChapdelaineUSADenver, Colorado, USA
1983Adam HolzmanUSAQuebec, Canada
1985Mary AkermanUSAFullerton, California, USA
1986Peter ClementeUSAMilwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
1987Ricardo CoboColombiaTempe, Arizona, USA
1988Olivier ChassainFranceAkron, Ohio, USA
1989Marc TeicholzUSALubbock, Texas, USA
1990Joseph HagedornUSAPasadena, California, USA
1991Alexei ZimakovRussiaMiami, Florida, USA
1992Jason VieauxUSANew Orleans, Louisiana, USA
1993Kevin GallagherUSABuffalo, New York, USA
1994Margarita EscarpaSpainQuebec, Canada
1995Antigoni GoniGreeceNorthridge, California, USA
1996Fabio ZanonBrazilSt. Louis, Missouri, USA
1997Judicael PerroyFranceLa Jolla, California, USA
1998Denis AzabagicBosniaMontreal, Canada
1999Lorenzo MicheliItalyCharleston, South Carolina, USA
2000Martha MastersUSASan Antonio, Texas, USA
2001Johan FostierBelgiumLa Jolla, California, USA
2002Dimitri IllarionovRussiaMiami, Florida, USA
2003Jérémy JouveFranceMérida, Yucatán, Mexico
2004Goran KrivokapićMontenegroMontreal, Canada
2005Jerome DucharmeCanadaOberlin, Ohio, USA
2006Thomas ViloteauFranceColumbus, Georgia, USA
2007Marcin DyllaPolandLos Angeles, California, USA
2008Gabriel BiancoFranceSan Francisco, California, USA
2009Florian LarousseFranceIthaca, New York, USA
2010Johannes MöllerSwedenAustin, Texas, USA
2011Vladimir GorbachRussiaColumbus, Georgia, USA
2012Rovshan MamedkulievRussiaCharleston, South Carolina, USA
2013Anton BaranovRussiaLouisville, Kentucky, USA
2014Ekachai JearakulThailandFullerton, California, USA
2015Thibaut GarciaFranceOklahoma City, OK, USA
2016Xavier JaraUSADenver, CO, USA
2017Tengyue ZhangChinaFullerton, CA, USA
2018Raphaël FeuillâtreFranceLouisville, Kentucky, USA
2019Johan SmithSwitzerlandMiami, Florida, USA
2021Bokyung ByunSouth KoreaLos Angeles, USA
2022Lovro PeretićCroatiaIndianapolis, IN, USA
2023Marko TopchiiUkraineNew York, NY, USA
2024Leonela AlejandroPuerto RicoFullerton, CA, USA
2025Virgile BartheFranceLouisville, Kentucky, USA