{"id":5661,"date":"2016-12-12T11:38:01","date_gmt":"2016-12-12T19:38:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/?p=5661"},"modified":"2016-12-12T11:38:01","modified_gmt":"2016-12-12T19:38:01","slug":"miami-fest-wins-important-grant-composition-competition-deadline-looms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/miami-fest-wins-important-grant-composition-competition-deadline-looms\/","title":{"rendered":"Miami Fest Wins Important Grant; Composition Competition Deadline Looms"},"content":{"rendered":"

Congratulations are in order for our friend \u00a0Mesut \u00d6zgen<\/a>\u2014virtuoso guitarist, composer, educator and director of the highly successful\u00a0Miami International GuitART Festival<\/a>, the next edition of which will take place at\u00a0Florida International University School of Music (where he is the head of Guitar Studies) from\u00a0February 20\u201326, 2017. \u00a0MIGF\u00a0and FIU were recently named as winners of a Knight \u00a0Foundation Arts Challenge award, given this year to “44 artists and projects aimed at exploring the authentic voices of South Florida and bring art to the neighborhoods from Key West to Palm Beach.” The $55,000 grant will help \u00d6zgen and the MIGF “honor Miami\u2019s Cuban heritage by dedicating the Miami International GuitART Festival to Cuban music and creating cultural exchanges between Havana and Miami guitar orchestras,” he says. “One of the conditions of the grant is to find funds to match Knight\u2019s commitment. Once we have raised the matching funds, the MIGF will present world-class artists from Cuba and all around the world, including the Havana Guitar Orchestra, as well as a tribute concert to the legendary Cuban composer Leo Brouwer in February 2018.” (If you’d like to make a donation to help match that grant, click here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

In other MIGF news, December 20 is the deadline for entries to its solo guitar Composition Competition. You can find the competition guidelines here<\/a>; entries cost just $15 per piece. The winner and runner-up will be announced in January, and the top prize-winner’s piece will be played at the MIGF in February. Among the many<\/em> fine players appearing at the festival are Muriel Anderson<\/a>, Evan Hirschelman<\/a>, Celil Refik Kaya<\/a>, Celso Cano<\/a>, and, of course,\u00a0\u00d6zgen<\/a> himself.<\/p>\n

Below is a duo performance by\u00a0\u00d6zgen and Cano right before last year’s MIGF:<\/em>
\n