David Dusman

(preliminary round judge)

In his nearly 30 years in the professional audio industry, David Dusman has held posts as Recording Studio Manager at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY., Summer Recording Faculty at SUNY Fredonia, and is currently an Adjunct Professor at Niagara County Community College as well as Vice President of Engineering for Fleur De Son Classics.  Mr. Dusman is also active as an independent engineer, providing location recording as well as studio recording, mixing, mastering and post production services to the classical and jazz music fields.  He is a principal in Dusman Audio, Inc.

 

Mr. Dusman has worked with numerous orchestras, including the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Israel Chamber Orchestra, and has recently completed a project for Fleur De Son Classics with the London Symphony Orchestra at the famed Abbey Road Studios.  Additional artists he has worked with include the Castellani – Andriaccio Duo, The Corigliano Quartet, The New Arts Trio, Nexus Percussion Ensemble, Melia Watras, Rebecca Penneys, along with jazz artists Peter Nero, Jerry Bergonzi, Marian McPartland, Jeff Tyzik, Bill Dobbins, Ray Ricker, Gene Bertoncini, Chris Jentsch,  and Harold Danko.  His work can be heard on such prestigious record labels as BMG, Philips, Naxos, Vox Classics, Fleur De Son Classics, Albany Records, and Advance Music, as well as on films produced by American Movie Classics, Kino International, Turner Broadcasting, and Milestone Films.

Eduardo Fernandez

Recognized as one of the leading guitarists of today, Fernandez was born in 1952 in Uruguay, and studied with Abel Carlevaro, Guido Santorsola and Hector Tosar. After several international prizes in competitions, his New York debut in 1977, which received spectacular reviews, launched him on an international career. He has played and given master classes all over the world. His recordings cover a substantial part of the repertoire, solo as well as concerti. He has done 18 CDs for Decca/London, 4 for Oehms Classics (his current label) and has also recorded for ERATO (with violinist Alex Markov), Labor Records, and for DENON and Meister Music in Japan (with Shin-Ichi Fukuda, with whom he often plays guitar duo). He is also an active composer and a researcher at Uruguay's state university, and has published books on guitar technique and on J.S.Bach's works for lute, as well as many articles in leading guitar magazines. He is also Artistic Director of Colombia's biannual "Encuentros Internacionales de Guitarra".

Adam Holzman

Adam Holzman has been at the forefront of the Amercian guitar scene for the past 30 years as a teacher, international performer and recording artist. A winner of numerous international competitions including First Prize at the 1983 Guitar Foundation of America Competition, Mr. Holzman's has performed at some of the world's most prestigious halls including the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and Carnegie Recital Hall in New York City. He is a frequent performer at music festivals and concert series from Miami to San Francisco, Boston to New Orleans. His extensive international performances have taken him throughout Europe, Canada, Mexico, Central and Latin America.   His recordings for Naxos and HRH have received rave reviews from critics around the globe.

Adam Holzman holds the Parker C. Fielder Regents Fellow in Music and is the founder of the Guitar Department at the University of Texas at Austin. His students have won an array of international prizes and many of them hold university positions in the U.S and Mexico.  Mr. Holzman's performance studies were with Bruce Holzman at Florida State University, Albert Valdes Blain, Eliot Fisk and Oscar Ghiglia. He was chosen twice to perform in the historic Master classes of the legendary Andres Segovia.

You can learn more about Adam Holzman at  www.adamholzman.net.

Ricardo Iznaola

Ricardo Iznaola, Chair of the Guitar and Harp Department and Director of the Conservatory Program at DU's Lamont School of Music, is John Evans Distinguished Professor in Music, a distinction bestowed on Professor Iznaola in the Fall of 2004. Born in Havana, Cuba, in 1949, he and his family moved to the United States in 1980, after having lived in Colombia, Venezuela and Spain. He was appointed faculty at the University of Denver in 1983. An international concert performer, he is a noted composer and pedagogue, with compositions and texts published in Europe, the United States and South America. He has 17 recordings in his catalogue, and has won nine international awards as performer and composer. Besides the John Evans Professorship, the University of Denver has recognized Professor Iznaola's achievements as a creative artist, scholar and pedagogue by naming him University Lecturer, in 1999, and Distinguished Lamont Faculty Artist in 1990.

Matthew Kraemer

(preliminary round judge)

As the Associate Conductor of the Buffalo Philharmonic, Matthew Kraemer has been recognized for his “musical sensitivity” and “energized sense of interpretation”, and is quickly gaining notice for his inspired performances and innovative programming.

Mr. Kraemer currently serves as associate conductor of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and in this role appears on each of the orchestra’s major series, including subscription weeks, Family, Artpark and summer concerts, in addition to leading the BPO’s Pops Series.  He plays a vital role in designing and conducting the orchestra’s award-winning education and community engagement programs, as well as assisting Music Director JoAnn Falletta during recording sessions and on tour.

Prior to his appointment in Buffalo, Mr. Kraemer completed a highly successful, three-year tenure as associate conductor of the Virginia Symphony Orchestra where he led the orchestra in over 200 performances throughout the state of Virginia.  He has held positions with the Akron Symphony Orchestra and the Akron Youth Symphony, having led the AYS into its 50th anniversary season with a performance in Carnegie Hall. 
Mr. Kraemer is a passionate advocate for new music and has performed the works of many living composers during his career.  He has led composer readings and workshops with several orchestras in the United States and will continue to lead the BPO’s Earshot partnership with the American Composers Orchestra in Buffalo this season.  Also increasingly recognized for his committed advocacy of music education and his devotion to young audiences, he has created numerous arts education programs and has taught at several music festivals both in the US and abroad.  The Buffalo Philharmonic’s extensive education concerts have grown exponentially under his leadership, expanding to reach over 40,000 students throughout western New York.

Tony Morris

Tony Morris is heard by radio listeners on over 250 stations world-wide of the Classical Guitar Alive program. He is an active performer as both a solo guitarist and with flutist Renata Green.  He has performed multiple times at the White House, and was chosen by the US State Dept. to serve as a Cultural Envoy for a 2010 concert tour of Paraguay in honor of  the 125th anniversary of the birth of Paraguayan guitarist-composer Agustin Barrios Mangore. He frequently serves as an adjudicator,  lecturer, and served as adjunct guitar professor at Texas Lutheran University from 2006-2011.

Berta Rojas

Renowned for her flawless technique and innate musicality, Berta Rojas ranks among today’s foremost classical guitarists.  On the concert stage, she moves easily between classical and other musical genres.  She continues to captivate audiences and critics from Carnegie Hall to the South bank Centre in London, selling out venues around the world.

Berta maintains a busy schedule of CD recordings.  Her Intimate Barrios is one of the most celebrated recordings of the great Paraguayan, glowing with the insight that only a Paraguayan compatriot could bring to his music.

She is Professor of Guitar at George Washington University, Washington DC.   Berta was acknowledged for her artistic excellence by the Kennedy Center, which named her a Kennedy Center Fellow of the Americas.  She is also committed to furthering the growth of the classical guitar in the Americas with particular focus on supporting young performers.   In 2009 she created the first online classical guitar competition, The Barrios WorldWideWeb  Competition which generated tremendous interest throughout the guitar world.