BGFest XVII Competitions COMPOSITION COMPETITION
Our illustrious committee has decided on three composition competition winners for Boston GuitarFest XVII.
Chosen among 48 entries from 19 countries, they are:
First prize winner:
Second prize winner:
Third prize winner:
Honorable mention:
Camel’s Dance — Pardy Minassian (Armenia/Syria)
Phryjig — Aaron Israel Levin (United States)
Traced Forms — Miles Friday (United States)
L’Entusiasmo — Stefano Vivaldini (Italy)
Congratulations!
Boston GuitarFest XVII announces that our composition competition is open to all composers world-wide who are 35 years old or younger. The winning compositions will be new solo works for classical guitar, with a duration of up to six minutes. Three works will be awarded (First Prize: $1000; Second Prize: $750; Third Prize: $500). The three prize-winning works will be performed at Boston GuitarFest XVII (June 22nd – 26th in Boston, MA) by noted professional guitarists. The competition will be judged by a panel of three jurors headed by Daniel S. Godfrey and including Anthony De Ritis and Meng Su.
Application fee is $25. After your registration, our team will reach out for a score, and—if available—a recording of the submitted work.
BGFest XVII Competitions COMPOSITION COMPETITION: JURY
Daniel Strong Godfrey
Composer

Daniel Strong Godfrey
Composer
Daniel Strong Godfrey has earned awards and commissions from the J.S.Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the Fromm Music Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Bogliasco Foundation, the Koussevitzky Music Foundation, and the Barlow Endowment for Music Composition, among many others. His music has been performed by soloists, chamber ensembles and orchestras throughout the U.S. and abroad. He is founder and co-director of the Seal Bay Festival of American Chamber Music (on the Maine coast) and is co-author of Music Since 1945, published by Schirmer Books. Godfrey's works are recorded on Albany, Bridge, CRI, GM, Innova, Klavier, Koch, and Mark compact discs. His music is available through publishers Carl Fischer and G.Schirmer.
Anthony De Ritis
Composer

Anthony De Ritis
Composer
Described as a “genuinely American composer” (Gramophone), “a visionary” (Audiophile Audition), and “bracingly imaginative” (The Boston Globe), Anthony Paul De Ritis has received performances nationally and internationally, including at the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Merkin Hall, Le Poisson Rouge, Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center, Harvard’s Sanders Theatre, Yale’s Woolsey Hall, Taipei’s Zhong Shan Hall, Beijing’s Yugong Yishan, Seoul’s KT Art Hall, the Italian Pavilion at the 2015 World Expo in Milan, and UNESCO headquarters in Paris.
Nigel North
Lutenist

Nigel North
Lutenist
British lutenist Nigel North has been sharing music with audiences for nearly 30 years. His quiet and gentle personality goes, literally, "hand in hand" with his choice of instrument; the lute is one of the most gentle, subtle yet technically demanding of "ancient" instruments. Through this medium, as soloist, accompanist and ensemble musician, Nigel has inspired appreciation from concert public and recording listeners with comments such as :
"North's playing has a freedom and expression rivaling the best jazz musicians"
"An amalgam of scholarship, respect, love and high instrumental ability."
"Lute plucked to perfection. . . perhaps he is the greatest performer of this instrument of all time"
"stunning - rich, warm, resonant and utterly musical"
Nigel North has also always adored teaching. Following many years of committed teaching in Europe (in London, Berlin and Den Haag) Nigel has since 1999 been Professor of Lute in the "Early Music Institute" at Indiana University, Bloomington, USA from where he continues his varied life as performer and teacher.
Awards
1st Prize
$ 1000
professional performance at BGFest XVII
2nd Prize
$750
professional performance at BGFest XVII
3rd Prize
$500
professional performance at BGFest XVII