Under the guidance of Ernesto Bitetti, chair of the Guitar Department at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music, the Indiana International Guitar Festival and Competition in the U.S. Midwest city of Bloomington, has been gaining in popularity and prestige every year, regularly drawing talented competitors from all over the world. This year’s two-day festival takes place this coming Saturday and Sunday, October 28 and 29, and besides including Youth (Junior and Senior) and Open (19–35) competitions, will also feature concerts from two top guitarists—Iliana Matos on Saturday evening and Fabio Zanon on Sunday. (Additionally, Zanon offers a master class Saturday, Matos on Sunday). But a great feature of this year’s event is that the competition finals, Zanon’s recital, and the closing ceremony and prize announcements, will all be live-streamed via IUMusicLive!: the Finals at 5:30 p.m. (U.S. Central Time Zone), Zanon at 8 p.m., Closing Ceremony at 9 p.m.
If you’ve never seen Fabio Zanon perform you are in for a real treat: The Brazilian is truly one of the finest guitarists in the world. His most recent album release, The Romantic Guitar, is magnificent! And the competition finals are certain to show us a selection of exceptional younger players. So, all in all it should be an exciting and highly entertaining live stream.
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More and more fests and competitions are streaming events now, and here at CG we’ll try to keep you informed about them as they come up. It’s a fun way to enjoy some fantastic music! —Blair Jackson
Here’s a spectacular recent video of Fabio Zanon playing J.N. Bobrowicz’s Grande Polonaise, Op. 24, which appears on the above-mentioned album, The Romantic Guitar: