Date: Thursday-Saturday, February 28 - March 2, 2002
Venue: Jonsson Performance Hall

Thursday, February 28
José Montenegro
5:00 p.m., Presentation, free admission
7:30 p.m., Master Class, free admission
Coordinator of Guitar at the University of Guanajuato, Mexico

Friday, March 1
Rafael Cuen, Concert, 8:00 p.m.
Former chairman of the School of Music and Director of Cultural Affairs at the Univ. of Guanajuato.

Saturday, March 2
The best students from all over Texas and beyond will compete.
2:00 to 4:00 p.m., Finals
Free and open to the public.
8:00 p.m., Presentation of Winners
The winner will open the evening’s concert by Vladislav Blaha, President of the Czech Guitar Society, Director of the International Guitar Festival and Professor of Guitar at the Conservatoire in Brno.

About the performers

José Montenegro was born in Salamanca, Guanajuato. He studied with professors (Maestros): A. Lopez Codina, Marco Antonio Anguinao, Enrique Florez, Oscar Giglia, Victor Pellegrini and Leo Brouwer. He has performed in most of the States of the Mexican Republic as soloist and has played background guitar for Poetry with the famous “Poeta Granadino” Manuel Benitez Carrasco. He has performed as soloist with the University of Guanajuato Symphony Orchestra and the Chamber Orchestra of Leon, Guanajuato. José did his undergraduate work in the School of Music at the University of Guanajuato. He has participated as concertmaster in the International Festival of guitar at Morelia. Today, he is Artistic Director of the Competition and National Week of the Guitar in Guanajuato. He was Coordinator of the Guitar Area and is now the Academic Secretary in the School of Music at the University of Guanajuato. As a member of the Guanajuato Guitar Quartet, formed in 1981, José has performed in the prestigious “Festival Internacional Cervantino” XVI. The quartet has also performed as a soloist group playing the “Concierto Andaluz for Four Guitars” by Joaquin Rodrigo, with many orchestras including the University of Guanajuato Symphony, Philharmonic Orchestra of Jalisco and Michoacan Symphony, and the Las Colinas Symphony Orchestra and Garland Symphony in Texas.

RAFAEL CUEN was born in Mexico, DF on June 17, 1959. At the age of seven he studied under the direction of his mother and then later with Genaro Salazar, one of the first guitarists of the flamenco and one of the founders of the flamenco movement. He later went to Mexico, DF, to study with Urban Gómez, the teacher who introduced him to all the styles of the flamenco guitar. He then met Pepe Muñoz (a disciple of the flamenco master Sabicas) who taught him the secrets of accompaniment and instructed him on the rhythms and repertoire of the flamenco for both dancers and singers. In addition to this, he was a student of Ricardo Cheek in classical guitar. In 1981 he became a student at the University of Guanajuato, from he which he graduated and received the title of Licenciado en Mùsica and then served as director of the Music School founded the Degree in Music. He has taken advanced training with Pedro Sergio Salcedo and Leo Brouwer. He has performed recitals and concerts in many diverse parts of the Mexican Republic. He has performed as soloist with the Symphony orchestra of the University of Guanajuato under the batons of the most important conductors of the country. He has been a soloist with the Orchestra of Camera of Guanajuato and a guest artist on several occasions at the National Week of the Guitar in Guanajuato. He is a member of the University of Guanajuato Guitar Quartet that recently performed a concert of the music of Joaquin Rodrigo with several orchestras in Mexico and the Las Colinas Symphony, Texas and the Symphony Orchestra of Tulare County in Visalia County, California.

Vladislav Bláha studied at the Brno Conservatoire with Arnost Sadlik before going to the Liszt College of Music in Weimar, Germany, where he graduated as a student of Roland Zimmer. He has participated in master classes with Costas Cotsiolis, Abel Carlevaro and, with the aid of British Council Fellowship, studied in England with Gordon Crosskey (Royal Northern College of Music) and John W. Duarte in London. Bláha achieved international recognition as first prize winner in four international guitar competitions in Volos, Greece (1978), Esztergom, Hungary (1979), Kutna Hora, Czech Republic (1980), and Markneukirchen, Germany (1981). In 1983 he received the bronze medal at the 25th International Guitar Competition Radio France in Paris. Bláha has given concerts in 36 countries in Europe, U.S.A., Asia (Japan, Indonesia, Vietnam) and Latin America (Mexico, Cuba). He is a Professor at the Conservatory in Brno, Czech Republic, the Director of International Guitar Festival BRNO, Czech Republic and is President of the Czech Classical Guitar Society. He is frequently invited to give master classes, to perform on international festivals and to work as a member of international competition juries.

José Montenegro

Rafael Cuen

Vladislav Bláha