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Fifteen Selected for 2009 Parkening International Guitar Competition

The Parkening International Guitar Competition, the world's preeminent who's-who of classical guitar, has selected 15 stand-out performers representing 10 countries to compete for this year's prize. The second triennial competition takes place from Thursday, May 28, to Saturday, May 30, at Pepperdine University's Malibu campus.

The Parkening International Guitar Competition debuted in 2006. It offers cash awards in excess of $65,000, with the gold medalist winning the Stotsenberg Prize of $30,000. Renowned guitar virtuoso Christopher Parkening, the competition’s namesake and artistic director, is distinguished professor of music at Pepperdine's Seaver College. The competition honors his lifetime commitment to fostering musical excellence in young artists as demonstrated by his mentor, the great Spanish guitarist Andres Segovia.

The 15 competitors range in age from 18 to 30 years old and are among the international community's most talented guitarists. They are: Yuri Aleshnikov, 24, Russia; Michael Bautista, 30, USA; Emanuele Buono, 22, Italy; Silviu Ciulei, 23, Romania; Carlo Corrieri, 20, Italy; Colin Davin, 21, USA; Alexei Khorev, 30, France; Laura Klemke, 27, Germany; Rafael Aguirre Minarro, 24, Spain; Juuso Nieminen, 29, Finland; Marco Sartor, 30, USA; Andrew Stroud, 28, USA; Edward Trybek, 26, USA; Aleksandr Tsiboulski, 29, Australia; and Ian Watt, 18, Scotland.

Judging the competition will be Nancy Allen, principal harpist with the New York Philharmonic; Manuel Barrueco, world-famous guitar virtuoso; Stephanie L. Challener, publisher of Musical America Worldwide; Thomas Frost, Grammy Award-winning record producer; and Costa Pilavachi, former president of EMI Classics.

Three of the competitors will advance to the final round on May 30 to perform a concerto with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra before a live audience in Pepperdine's Smothers Theatre. The gold, silver, and bronze medalists will be announced at the conclusion of the final round.

In addition to the Parkening International Guitar Competition, Pepperdine will present the Parkening Young Guitarist Competition on Tuesday and Wednesday, May 26 and 27. The 10 competitors, ages 17 and younger, are: Matar-Itai Batyonathan, 17, USA; Bruce Buescher, 17, USA; Tim Callobre, 15, USA; Alec Holcomb, 13, USA; Jiyeon Kim, 16, Korea; Noah Kim, 13, USA; Chaconne Klaverenga, 16, USA; Andrea Roberto, 13, Italy; Daniel Tekunoff, 16, USA; and John-Marcel Williams, 14, USA.

For information about tickets, call the Smothers Theatre Box Office at (310) 506-4522 or visit http://arts.pepperdine.edu/. To find out more about the Parkening Guitar Competition, click here.