SFCM will host the Third International Maurizio Biasini Guitar Competition and Festival, an event celebrating the tradition and proclaiming the future of classical guitar, from January 14 to 17. The biennial competition marks its first visit to the United States with a new concert festival featuring extraordinary talent, classic repertoire, and world premieres. Performances will feature 2013 Biasini winner Emanuele Buono, members of the competition jury, and the Conservatory’s own acclaimed guitar faculty, alumni, and students. At the heart of the proceedings, fifteen exceptional young guitarists from around the world compete for a $12,000 prize and invitations to perform throughout Europe.

Named in memory of Maurizio Biasini, a passionate guitarist and noted physicist who held research appointments in Bologna and San Francisco, the competition is intended to promote the careers of talented young guitarists. Following three semi-final rounds on January 15 and 16, three players will advance to the final round held on Sunday, January 17 at 2 p.m. They will be judged on their interpretations of Joaquín Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez, performed with an orchestra of Conservatory alumni led by faculty member Nicole Paiement, and a specially commissioned solo work by renowned guitarist and faculty member Sérgio Assad.

SFCM guitar department chair David Tanenbaum is artistic director of a new festival accompanying the competition. Performances will feature the world premieres of Guitar Concerto O Saci-Pererȇ by Clarice Assad, performed by SFCM faculty guitarist Marc Teicholz and the Conservatory New Music Ensemble conducted by Paiement, Nazcan by acclaimed Chilean composer Javier Farías, performed by the Conservatory Guitar Ensemble, and a new work by Italian composer Nicola Evangelisti. Cristóbal Selame ’17, winner of SFCM’s 2015 guitar concerto competition, is the featured soloist in Mauro Giuliani’s Guitar Concerto No. 1 in A Major, a landmark work from 1808 that helped establish the guitar as an instrument worthy of the concert stage.

SFCM presents the event in partnership with the Concorso Chitarristico Internazionale Maurizio Biasini Association (cciMB) and the OMNI Foundation for the Performing Arts, with support from the Harris Guitar Foundation. Concerts and competition finals are $30 and festival passes are $100. Semi-final rounds are free. Tickets may be purchased at omniconcerts.com/concerts/biasini. For a schedule of events, visit sfcm.edu/performances.