Parkening International Guitar Competition Concludes Before Sold-Out Audience
Pepperdine Magazine is the feature magazine for Pepperdine University and its growing community of alumni, students, faculty, staff, and friends.
The Parkening International Guitar Competition concluded on May 30 in front of a sold-out
audience at Smothers Theatre in Malibu. Meng Su, of Qingdao, China, was named the
Gold Medal winner in the contest, which features the most prestigious title and largest
prize purse among guitar competitions. Rovshan Mamedkuliev from Russia received the
Silver Medal, and Tengyue Zhang of China earned the Bronze Medal.
The prestigious five-day event began on May 26, with 15 of the world’s most gifted
classical guitarists in the 19-to-29 age bracket. They hailed from 11 countries, including
Italy, Argentina, Romania, Turkey, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the United States.
The Parkening Young Guitarist Competition for ages 17 and under took place prior to
the primary competition. Californian Ashwin Krishna, 17, beat out nine other highly
talented competitors from around the globe.
The contest’s namesake and artistic director, renowned guitar virtuoso Christopher
Parkening, is Distinguished Professor of Music at Seaver College. The competition
honors his lifetime commitment to fostering musical excellence in young artists as
demonstrated by his mentor, Spanish musician Andres Segovia, considered one of the
greatest guitarists of all time.