Brookfield, WI (July 30, 2015) A celebration of everything guitar—three concerts, four competitions, five master classes, six industry exhibitors, and a stage filled with local young artists—the third annual Wilson Center Guitar Competition & Festival will be held August 13-15, 2015, at the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts (Wilson Center). World-class headliners include Croatian virtuoso classical guitarist Ana Vidovic, Milwaukee’s own internationally renowned guitarist Troy Stetina and American jazz guitarist Jonathan Kreisberg; and fingerstyle legend Leo Kottke with Canada-based guitarist Antoine Dufour.
Tickets are available through the Wilson Center Box Office at 262-781-9520 or in person at 19805 W. Capitol Drive in Brookfield, Wisconsin, as well as online at www.wilson-center.com. Prices range from $23-$70, inclusive of state sales tax, as well as a $2/ticket facility fee; purchase all three concerts and save 15% with a Festival Package. All ticketed performances will take place in the Wilson Center’s Harris Theater.
Festival performances begin on Thursday, August 13, at 7:30 p.m. with an extraordinary classical guitarist who has given more than 1,000 public performances since first taking the stage in 1988, Ana Vidovic. Her international performance career includes recitals in New York, London, Paris, Vienna, Salzburg, Rome, Budapest, Warsaw, Tel Aviv, Oslo, Copenhagen, Toronto, Baltimore, San Francisco, Houston, Austin, and beyond.
Two guitar giants will appear in a Festival double-bill on Friday, August 14, at 7:30 p.m. Guitarist Jonathan Kreisberg has been steadily building his name as one of the most compelling composers and performers in jazz. Currently based in New York City, he tours worldwide and records with his own groups as well as with such jazz greats as Dr. Lonnie Smith, Lee Konitz, Joe Locke, Stefano Dibatista, Ari Hoenig, Joel Frahm, Don Friedman, Greg Tardy, Donald Edwards, Jane Monheit, and Yosvany Terry. Virtuoso Troy Stetina specializes in rock, metal, and classical-electric guitar. He is the guitarist of the Milwaukee-based modern rock band Second Soul and is considered the leading authority in guitar instruction. His classic book/CD guitar method, Speed Mechanics for Lead Guitar, is often referred to as the “shredders’ Bible.”
Closing out the 2015 Festival on Saturday, August 15, at 7:00 p.m., fingerstyle guitarist Leo Kottke has composed scores for film soundtracks, children’s shows, and a symphony; and he has also released more than 21 LPs. “What happens in the fretboard appears to mirror the sudden ebbs and flows in his thought process,” wrote Billboard’s Jim Bessman of Kottke’s brilliant concert style. Opening for Kottke, Antoine Dufour is a 34-year-old Canada-based guitarist known colloquially among the best guitar players in the world as a musician’s musician whose instrumental compositions transcend global cultures and languages. Saturday’s concert will also include brief performances by the first-place winners of the rock/blues, classical, jazz, and fingerstyle competitions.
“To have world-class virtuoso performers participating in our Competition & Festival is incredibly exciting and compelling. Given that the majority of our guest artists are also adjudicators and teaching master classes, it creates enormous opportunities for the competitors and general public alike,” said Wilson Center President & CEO Jonathan Winkle. “This is truly a one-of-a-kind festival. No other guitar festival in the world brings together artists and students of these four genres at the same time.”
In addition to the ticketed evening concerts, daytime Festival events and activities are free and open to the public, including: semi-final and final competition rounds with winners receiving a total of $22,000 in prize money; master class and clinic opportunities for competitors and auditors led by Jack Grassel (Les Paul Experiment), Troy Stetina (rock/blues), Ana Vidovic (classical), Jonathan Kreisberg (jazz), and Antoine Dufour (fingerstyle); vendor booths, including Fender, Ibanez, Dean/Luna, Cordoba/Guild, Jonathan Marshall Guitars, and Festival Sponsor Cascio Interstate Music; and pre-concert performances on the Wilson Center Young Artists Stage by local guitar students. For a complete schedule of Festival events, visit www.wilson-center.com/
“The energy over the three days is palpable—we have 59 competitors coming from 13 countries not only to participate in the semi-final and final rounds, but also make connections, jam with fellow guitarists, and take master classes offered by seminal artists and performers,” said Wilson Center Guitar Competition & Festival Manager Don Sipe. “But even more exciting is that these opportunities aren’t limited to competitors. In addition to the ticketed headliner concerts, the free daytime activities are a chance for the public to experience all the Festival has to offer.”
The 2015 Wilson Center Guitar Competition & Festival is made possible by sponsorship from Cascio Interstate Music, Enterforce, TravelWisconsin.com, the Wilson Family Foundation, Krause Funeral Homes & Cremation Services, the Les Paul Foundation, the D’Addario Foundation (In-Kind Sponsor), and Visit Brookfield (Tourism Partner). To learn more, visit www.wilson-center.com/guitar-
Images and bios of 2015 Wilson Center Guitar Competition & Festival headlining artists are available upon request.
About the Wilson Center Guitar Competition & Festival
Now in its third year, the Wilson Center Guitar Competition & Festival is an annual, multi-genre festival that features four different competitions—Rock/Blues, Fingerstyle, Jazz, and Classical—open to all ages, with $22,000 in cash prizes. In addition to the evening performances, the festival weekend also includes master class and clinic opportunities for participants and auditors. The entire festival—including semi-final and final competition rounds, master classes, vendor booths and a stage filled with local young guitarists—is open to the public. To learn more, visit www.wilson-center.com/guitar-
About the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts
The Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts is a non-profit, multi-disciplinary cultural arts center that presents performances by world-renowned artists and ensembles; offers arts education opportunities; curates the Ploch Art Gallery, which features both national and Wisconsin-based fine artists; and is committed to extending the arts beyond the walls of the Center through Lynn Chappy ArtsPark—a vibrant, outdoor sculpture landscape that will engage and inspire the broader Southeastern Wisconsin Community. In August, the annual Wilson Center Guitar Competition & Festival celebrates the world’s leading classical, rock/blues, jazz, and fingerstyle guitarists. Wisconsin fine artists are showcased at the Hidden River Art Festival each September. The Center nurtures lifelong learning through innovative programs and classes for all interests, ages, and abilities in state-of-the-art studios and classrooms. Some of Southeast Wisconsin’s finest arts organizations offer professional instruction at the Wilson Center, including First Stage Theater Academy and the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music. To learn more, visit www.wilson-center.com.
