Adelaide International Guitar Festival Announces Full Program

Artistic Director Slava Grigoryan today announced the full line up for this year's Adelaide International Guitar Festival (AIGF) from July 17-20, including two world-class international acts, and the first-ever Adelaide Guitar Festival Orchestra, featuring South Australian school kids.

The Festival's opening night will be a Spanish extravaganza, starring the José Antonio Rodríguez Trio, direct from flamenco heartland, Córdoba, Spain. Rodríguez, one of the Córdoba Guitar Festival's favourite sons, is now a composer and performer of international renown. He won his first flamenco prize aged 17, and embodies flamenco music and philosophy with exquisite sensitivity. The Córdoba Guitar Festival is a sister event of the AIGF and Rodriguez's appearance in Adelaide further cements the shared vision of both events. The trio will be supported by outstanding local company Flamenco Areti.Festival Theatre, Thursday July 17.

The closing performance of the Festival on July 20 (6:30) pays homage to fresh, young guitar talent from across the globe - from European stars to SA school kids. The Stochelo Rosenberg Trio is led by world-famous gypsy guitarist Stochelo Rosenberg from the Netherlands. Regarded as a true heir of Django Reinhardt, Rosenberg is synonymous with gypsy jazz. In Australia for the first time with his new power trio featuring energetic young players Sebastien Giniaux (France) and Joel Locher (Germany), his legendary flair and virtuosity are infused with unprecedented vigour. This dynamic, hip trio will amaze with their crossfire of unbelievable solos, breathtaking rhythms and constant invention.

The trio will be supported by the inaugural Adelaide Guitar Festival Orchestra. AIGF Artistic Director Slava Grigoryan and Brisbane's acclaimed guitar ensemble specialist Paul Svoboda have visited schools across the state and hand-picked 50 of SA's best young guitar players, aged nine to 18. Many of these youngsters will realise a dream of performing on the Festival Theatre stage, taking their place in the 75-strong guitar orchestra, led by Grigoryan and Svoboda. The orchestra also includes 25 young players from Svoboda's Aurora Guitar Ensemble.

Get set for a wild opening night when three of the world's finest shredders come together for the first time. Local young gun Cam Blokland, Sydney's Simon Hosford, who has played with a host of stars and is associate musical director on Australia's Got Talent and X Factor, and composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist Marcel Yammouni will get the place jumping on July 17.

Award-winning blues veteran Chris Finnen and his close friend of more than 40 years Phil Manning will join forces for an inspiring three-part club show. A founding member of the legendary band Chain, Manning has been at the forefront of Australian blues since the '60s. Finnen, too, is one of the gems of Australian blues and was inducted into the New York Blues Hall of Fame in 2013.

For an unforgettable night of jazz, three of the best will take to the stage on July 19. Adelaide's James Muller (Vince Jones, Renee Geyer, Don Burrows and more), Sydney's Ben Hauptmann (James Morrison, Joss Stone, Gurrumul) and innovative bass player Christopher Hale will be joined by vocalist Gian Slater and Ben Vanderwal on drums to complete this stellar line up of jazz talent.

The Coopers Late Night Sessions closing Festival Finale will be a surprise packet of amazing Guitar Festival guests, including an encore performance by the People's Choice winner of the 2014 15 Minutes of Fame. This is the segment of the festival where young hopefuls vie for the chance to be discovered, winning the opportunity to share the stage with their guitar heroes.

talent from across the globe will converge on Adelaide for the Adelaide International Classical Guitar Competition. The international contenders this year are from the Russian Federation, Thailand, USA and Romania. The ACT, NSW, Queensland, Victoria and WA will represent Australia in this prestigious competition.

The festival will be held at the Adelaide Festival Centre from July 17-20. To book tickets, call BASS 131 246 or visit online at bass.net.au.

Further information on the abundance of performances can be found at: www.adelaideguitarfestival.com.au