2019 Parkening International Guitar Competition Announces Competitors

The world's preeminent classical guitar competition, the Parkening International Guitar Competition, has selected 15 standout competitors for its fifth triennial competition. Representing six countries, they will vie for the largest prize purse among guitar competitions, competing at Pepperdine University from Thursday, May 30, through Saturday, June 1, 2019, on the University's campus in Malibu, California. Renowned guitar virtuoso Christopher Parkening, the competition's namesake and artistic director, is Distinguished Professor of Music at Pepperdine's Seaver College. The competition honors his lifetime commitment to fostering musical excellence in young artists as demonstrated by his mentor, Spanish guitarist Andrés Segovia.

The 15 competitors range in age from 19 to 29 years old and are among the international community's most talented guitarists. They are Bokyung Byun, 24, Los Angeles, California, USA; Riccardo Calogiuri, 29, Italy; Javier García Verdugo, 25, Spain; Samuel Hines, 27, Mora, Minnesota, USA; Alec Holcomb, 23, Carmel, Indiana, USA; Junhong Kuang, 19, Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Beiyan Liu, 20, China; Christopher Mrofchak, 27, Tallahassee, Florida, USA; Cody Noriega, 26, Riverside, California, USA; Alex Park, 26, Culver City, California, USA; Miguel Checa Paz, 20, Spain; Sergey Perelekhov, 21, Russia, USA; Andrea Roberto, 23, Italy; Marko Topchii, 28, Ukraine; and Tengyue Zhang, 25, China.

"We are thrilled to bring such a diverse range of young guitarists from all over the world here to Southern California for what is sure to be an extraordinary week of music," says Rebecca Carson, Executive Director for the Parkening International Guitar Competition and Managing Director for the Lisa Smith Wengler Center for the Arts. "Our competitors are united by their passion for classical guitar and by their love of music. We are looking forward to welcoming all of them to Pepperdine."

Judging the competition will be Mia Bongiovanni, Assistant General Manager of Media and Presentations for the Metropolitan Opera; Charlotte Lee, President and Founder of Primo Artists; Steve Schoen, former Vice President of Sony Music Masterworks and Sony/BMG; David Thomas, recording producer; and Pablo Sáinz Villegas, classical guitar virtuoso and winner of the 2006 Parkening International Guitar Competition.

Three of the competitors will advance to the final round on Saturday, June 1 to perform a concerto with the Young Musicians Foundation Debut Orchestra before a live audience in Pepperdine's Smothers Theatre. The gold, silver, and bronze medalists will be announced at the conclusion of the final round.

In addition to the Parkening International Guitar Competition, Pepperdine will present the Parkening Young Guitarist Competition on Tuesday and Wednesday, May 28 and 29. The 10 competitors, ages 17 and younger, are Hilbert Chen, 10, Cupertino, California, USA; Maggie Grether, 15, Pasadena, California, USA; Joseph Malvinni, 11, Santa Barbara, California, USA; Mira Morales, 14, Los Altos, California, USA; Evelyn Nguyen, 16, Monrovia, California, USA; Garrett Podgorski, 17, Burbank, California, USA; Nikolas Rejto, 17, Australia; Eric Wang, 14, San Jose, California, USA; Darren Wu, 16, San Jose, California, USA; and Hui Chan Yun, 16, South Korea.

The competition, which debuted in 2006, offers the largest prize purse of any classical guitar competition in the world, with competitors vying for cash awards that total in excess of $65,000. After three days of intense public performances, the winner of the Parkening International Guitar Competition receives a gold medal, the Jack Marshall Prize of $30,000, and the most prestigious title in classical guitar.

The 2019 Parkening Competition is made possible by a generous grant from Howard and Roberta Ahmanson, as well as Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy.

For information about tickets, call the Smothers Theatre Box Office at (310) 506-4522. Information online: arts.pepperdine.edu/parkening.