The School of Arts and Humanities at UT Dallas will host the 12th annual Texas Guitar Competition and Festival this week with performances from a number of international musicians.

Gustavo Costa

Grammy winner Gustavo Costa will perform as well as help judge the competition.

“We are very excited this year. We have wonderful featured performers in Gustavo Costa and Eliot Fisk, a larger number of contestants in the competitions, and a judging panel of unprecedented size and scope,” said Dr. Enric Madriguera, director of guitar studies at UT Dallas.

The festival runs March 1-3, with all events taking place in the Alexander Clark Center.

On Friday, March 1, the International Concert Guitarist Competition Finals will take place at 8 p.m. The top four finalists will compete for more than $6,500 in prize money. The finals are open to the public.

On Saturday, March 2, at 4 p.m., Gustavo Costa will perform.

“Gustavo Costa is one of the leading guitarists from South America today. As a member of the Brazilian Guitar Quartet he won a Latin Grammy Award in 2011 for a recording dedicated to Brazil's iconic composer Heitor Villa-Lobos,” said Madriguera. “Costa's performance will feature the music of Bach and Villa-Lobos. Villa-Lobos composed a genre he entitled the ‘Bachiana’ instrumental ensemble and vocal works paying tribute to Bach.”

Alongside his performance, Costa will serve as a member of a panel judging the competitions, and give a master class while at UT Dallas.

Eliot Fisk

Eliot Fisk will perform Saturday evening and teach two master classes while he is at UT Dallas.

Later Saturday, Eliot Fisk will perform at 8 p.m. The New York Times has described him as a fiery player who “turns up heat on the classical guitar.” He was awarded The Grand Cross of Isabel la Católica by King Juan Carlos I of Spain in 2006. The medal is one of the highest civilian honors that the government of Spain awards. Fisk will conduct master classes for UT Dallas guitar students as part of the festival.

“In addition to his performance skills, Eliot Fisk is a wonderful teacher and will give two master classes while at our festival. Maestro Fisk is the director of guitar studies at the New England Conservatory in Boston, which he holds concurrently with a professorship at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria,” Madriguera said.

The UT Dallas competition winners will be announced during the Fisk performance.

The concert is free to UT Dallas students presenting a school ID at the box office the night of the event. Discounts are available to faculty, staff, alumni, retirees and students. General admission tickets for the show are $25 and $10 for non-UT Dallas students.

Tickets can be purchased in advance online or by calling 972-883-2552. Tickets purchased in advance may be picked up at the door prior to the show.