Denver Guitar Festival & Competition
Friday, Saturday & Sunday – September 5–7, 2025
Welcome to the sixth annual Denver Guitar Festival & Competition at the Lamont School of Music, University of Denver. This three-day celebration of the classical guitar includes guest recitals, lectures, master classes as well as the Josefina P. Tuason International Guitar Competition and Undergraduate & Youth Competitions, totaling over $8000 in prize money.
We hope you can join us in what promises to be an exciting weekend of guitar events!
Laura Husbands, Artistic Director
Registration & Ticketing coming soon!
Josefina P. Tuason International Guitar Competition
First prize $2500
Second prize $1500
Third prize $750
Fourth prize $500
* $300 cash audience prize
Undergraduate Competition
First prize $1000
Second prize $500
Third prize $300
Fourth prize $200
Youth Competition
First prize $500
Second prize $300
Third prize $150
Fourth prize $50
Contact
Questions?
Please contact Laura Husbands, Artist Director at laura.husbands@du.edu
All events will take place in the Robert & Judi Newman Center for the Performing Arts, on the University of Denver campus.
2344 East Iliff Avenue
Denver, CO 80210
For questions about the guitar program at DU Lamont, please contact Jonathan Leathwood, Chair of Guitar and Harp at Jonathan.Leathwood@du.edu
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Schedule
All events will take place in the Robert & Judi Newman Center for the Performing Arts, on the University of Denver campus.
2344 East Iliff Avenue
Denver, CO 80210Festival schedule
Friday, September 5
9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. Registration & Check-In
Joy Burns Plaza10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Preliminary Round - Josefina P Tuason International Competition
Hamilton Recital Hall
Closed to public10:00 a.m. Adam Moore Guitars
Room 2092:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m, Preliminary Round (continued)
Hamilton Recital Hall
Closed to public7:30 p.m. Guest Artist Recital: Petra Poláčková
Hamilton Recital Hall
$15, plus $3 fee to purchase online
Saturday, September 610:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Jonathan Leathwood Masterclass
Hamilton Recital Hall
Open to the public10:00 a.m. Adam Moore Guitars
Room 2091:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. Semifinal Round - Josefina P Tuason International Competition
Hamilton Recital Hall
Open to the public3:00 p.m. Undergraduate Competition Check-In
Joy Burns Plaza4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. Undergraduate Competition Preliminary Round
Hamilton Recital Hall
Open to the public
7:30 p.m. Guest Artist Recital: Leonela Alejandro
Hamilton Recital Hall
$15, plus $3 fee to purchase online
Sunday, September 710:00 a.m. Jonathan Leathwood lecture: "Perceiving and Shaping Harmony: A Practical Talk for Guitarists"
Williams Recital Salon
Open to the public10:00 a.m. Youth Competition Check-in
Joy Burns Plaza10:00 a.m. Adam Moore Guitars
Room 20911:00 a.m. Youth Competition
Hamilton Recital Hall
Open to the public
1:00 p.m. Undergraduate Competition Final Round
Hamilton Recital Hall
Open to the public2:00 p.m. Undergraduate and Youth Competitions Awards Ceremony
Hamilton Recital Hall
Open to the public
3.30 p.m. - 5.30 p.m. Masterclass: Petra Poláčková
Hamilton Recital Hall
Open to the public3.30 p.m. - 5.30 p.m. Masterclass: Leonela Alejandro
Williams Recital Salon
Open to the public
7:30 p.m. Final Round - Josefina P. Tuason International Competition
Hamilton Recital Hall
$15, plus $3 fee to purchase online
9:30 p.m. Awards Ceremony -
Josefina P. Tuason International Guitar Competition
Competition Rules
JOSEFINA P. TUASON INTERNATIONAL
GUITAR COMPETITIONThe Josefina P. Tuason International Guitar Competition is open to classical guitarist regardless of nationality and age.
Preliminary Round: 7 minutes
Semi final Round: 10 minutes
Final round: 20 minutesFree-choice programs for all rounds. Competitors may repeat repertoire without penalty. It is expected that repertoire will fit the time limit of each round. Should competitors exceed the time limit, they will be asked to stop playing with no penalty. Up to 12 competitors will be chosen for the semi final round, and 4 for the final round. All competitors will be provided an individual practice room for 1 hour before their performance time. The Preliminary and Semi final round will be judged blindly.
All decisions by the judges are final. Guitar professors teaching at the Lamont School of Music will NOT be taking part in any judging of the Solo Artist Competition.
Judges
To be announced.First prize $2500
Second prize $1500
Third prize $750
Fourth prize $500All prizes subject to mandatory 30 percent federal tax withholding for foreign prize-winners; US prize-winners will be issued an IRS-1099 Form. By submitting an application to this competition, participants agree to terms allowing the University of Denver to use audio, recording and photo during the competition.
Previous first prize winners are not eligible to compete.
Competition Registration - coming soon
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Undergraduate Competition
UNDERGRADUATE COMPETITION
The Undergraduate Competition is open to all classical guitarists ages 18-22 as of September 6, 2025.
The Undergraduate Competition will be held in two rounds. Free choice program for all rounds.Preliminary round 7 minutes.
Final round 10 minutes.Free-choice program for both rounds. Competitors may repeat repertoire without penalty. It is expected that repertoire will fit time limit of each round. Should competitors exceed the time limit, they will be asked to stop playing with no penalty.
First Prize - $1000
Second prize - $500
Third prize - $300
Fourth prize- $200All decisions by the judges are final.
Judges for the Youth Competition
Laura Husbands
Jonathan LeathwoodPrevious first prize winners are not eligible to compete.
Competition Registration - coming soon
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Youth Competition
YOUTH COMPETITION
The Youth Competition is open to all classical guitarists 18 years and under as of September 6, 2025.
One round: 7 minutes time limit
Free-choice program. It is expected that repertoire will fit the time limit. Should competitors exceed the time limit, they will be asked to stop playing with no penalty.
First Prize - $500
Second prize - $300
Third prize - $150
Fourth prize- $50
Additionally, all winners are guaranteed admission to the Lamont School of Music* and a minimum scholarship award:
First prize = $30,000
Second prize = $25,000
Third prize = $20,000
Fourth prize = $15,000
*Admission and scholarships are guaranteed provided all the standards for admission into the University of Denver have been met. If the winner is not a senior in high school, admission and scholarship will be awarded upon graduation. Prize winners may elect to submit more recent audition recordings at the time of admission for additional scholarship consideration.All decisions by the judges are final.
Judges for the Youth Competition
Laura Husbands
Jonathan LeathwoodPrevious first prize winners are not eligible to compete.
Competition Registration - coming soon
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Guest Artists
Leonela Alejandro
Leonela Alejandro is an award-winning classical guitarist from San Juan, Puerto Rico. She has garnered attention as a soloist, captivating audiences with her powerful and energetic performance style. She has been invited to perform in numerous venues in the United States and Europe, including the Latino Arts Guitar Festival, Northern Illinois University International Guitar Concert Series, Southern Guitar Festival, Florida Guitar Festival, and José Tomás Villa de Petrer Guitar Festival.
Leonela has also placed in over a dozen competitions in the United States, with more than ten first-prize placements including the Guitar Foundation of America International Artist Competition, Louisville Guitar Festival, Appalachian State Guitar Festival, Columbus State University Guitar Symposium, Indiana Guitar Festival, and Chicago Guitar Festival, among others. She has also succeeded abroad as an international competitor, receiving prizes from the Le Domaine Forget de Charlevoix Guitar Competition, Ciudad de Coria International Guitar Competition, and the Iserlohn International Guitar Competition.
Leonela formally began her musical education when she was seven years old. Following her work with various Puerto Rican teachers including Jomel Rivera, Julio Reyes, and Rey Nieves, she decided to dedicate her professional life to this passion. In 2016, she was accepted into the Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico at just 16 years old, studying with world-renowned performer Iván Rijos. After two fruitful years in the conservatory, she transferred to the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee and completed her undergraduate degree with Cuban virtuoso René Izquierdo in 2020. Leonela recently completed her graduate studies with Dr. Andrew Zohn at Columbus State University in 2023.
Apart from her celebrated resume in competition settings, Leonela has established herself as a soloist in orchestral settings. She has performed multiple concerti with the Puerto Rico Symphony under the direction of Roselin Pabón including Antonio Vivaldi’s Lute Concerto in D major, RV 93, and Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s Guitar Concerto No.1 in D Major, Op.99. She was the soloist in the recent premiere of Atanas Ourkouzounov’s Concertino for Guitar, Percussion and Strings under the direction of Paul Hostetter. She also has appeared as a solo mandolinist with the Schwob School of Music Wind Ensemble as a soloist in Ottorino Respighi’s Roman Festivals under the direction of Jamie L. Nix.
Leonela is an Augustine Strings Ambassador and her string of choice are Paragon Reds. She performs on a 2019 Stephan Connor guitar and a 2023 Martin Blackwell guitar.
Instagram @Leonelaguitar
Petra Poláčková
A musician's musician, Petra Poláčková began her guitar studies at the age of six at the Elementary Art School in Roznov pod Radhostem where she worked with Mr. Bohuslav Faltus and Mrs. Miroslava Pavelkova. She also studied with Zdenek Dvorak at the Elementary Art School Lounskych in Prague. In 2004 she graduated from an 8 year high school in Roznov pod Radhostem. In 2010 she completed her studies at the School of Music in Pardubice (Czech Republic) with Prof. Petr Saidl. She obtained her Bachelor and Master Degrees with Prof. Paolo Pegoraro at Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Graz. Between 2018 and 2024, she led a guitar class at both the Franz Schubert Music School and the Johann-Joseph-Fux Conservatory in Graz, Austria.
In addition to her degree studies, Petra Poláčková has participated in an impressive number of master classes throughout Europe presented by internationally acclaimed classical guitarists and musicians: Giampaolo Bandini, Leo Brouwer, Zoran Dukic, Massimo Felici, Hubert Käppel, Rolf Lislevand, Pablo Márquez, Lorenzo Micheli, Nigel North, Thomas Offermann, Stefano Palamidessi, Elena Papandreou, Paolo Pegoraro, Thomas Müller-Pering, Judicael Perroy, Pavel Steidl, Alexander Swete, Jens Wagner, Brigitte Zaczek, Piotr Zaleski and others. In 2011 she received the Merit Diploma at the Chigiana Academy of Siena in Maestro Oscar Ghiglia´s Class.
As a result of her extraordinary musicianship, consummate virtuosity, and numerous first place prizes, she has been invited to perform and lead masterclasses at many prestigious European and also non-European guitar festivals, such as Bonn, Darmstadt, Bremen, Hamburg, Vienna, Rust, Prague, Mikulov, Kutna Hora, Tychy, Wroclaw, Poznan, Bratislava, Pordenone, Milano, Paris, Budapest, Balaton, Bar, Pristina, Braga, Madrid, Aalborg, Valdres, Turku, Helsinki, Genéve, Luzern, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Cleveland, Fullerton (GFA), Paracho, Culiacan, Frutillar, Perth, Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane (Australian Tour in 2023) and others.
In June 2020, she released her debut CD WEISS, featuring works by the German lutenist Sylvius Leopold Weiss, recorded on a 9-string romantic guitar. In April 2025, her second CD J. K. Mertz will be released by Bridge Records, produced by David Starobin. Both CDs reflect her passion for the repertoire of the Baroque and Romantic eras.
Currently she is teaching in Germany at the Hochschule Franz Liszt in Weimar and the Royal Academy of Music Aarhus/Aalborg.
Petra Poláčková performs on a historical guitar by Domingo Esteso (1923; a courtesy of M°Gabriele Lodi), classical guitar made by Martin Šuk (Esteso copies) and a 9-string romantic guitar made by Jan Tuláček (2014).
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Applications & Competition Registration
Festival Passes (Admission to all ticketed events):
- International Competition registration and pass
$130 - Undergraduate Competition registration and pass
$110 - Youth Competition registration and pass
$90
Once competitors have paid their registration fee they will be emailed an application form. This may take up to one business day.
- Non-Competitor Festival Pass
$35 - Concert & Competition Individual Ticket
$15, plus $3 fee to purchase online
- International Competition registration and pass
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Places to Stay Near DU
Information & reservations for hotels near the University of Denver.