"The "Long Island" in the festival title clearly refers to its location and origins, rather than to its scope." – New York Times, March 2014
Welcome to the Long Island Guitar Festival Web site.
Ecletic and International, the 28th Long Island Guitar Festival will take place March 31 to April 5, 2020 on the LIU Post campus of Long Island University. To date scheduled performers include Grammy Award winner David Russell (first Long Island appearance), Beijing Guitar Duo, Jérémy Jouve, Yenne Lee, Evan Taucher and the Olson/De Cari Duo.
In addition Damon Smallman & Ingrid Riollot will present a lecture/demonstration about The History and Design of "Smallman Guitars", Evan Taucher will lecture on Creating and Building an Online Presence: Leveraging Social Media, and Harris Becker will give a workshop on Exploring the Score – Techniques for Practice.
"Jérémy Jouve, new ambassador of guitar throughout the world." – Fip, 2015
In addition to concerts, lectures and demonstrations, Festival 2020 will include our National High School Classical Guitar Competition, the LIGF Orchestra, Master Classes for Guitarists and Performers, and Ensemble Showcases.
This year guitar ensembles scheduled to return to the Festival for Ensemble Showcases include Bishop McGuinness High School Honors Guitar Ensemble (Kernersville, NC), Susan E. Wagner Advanced Guitar Ensemble (Staten Island, NY), Brentwood High School Guitar Ensemble (Brentwood, NY), Harlem School of the Arts Guitar Ensemble (New York, NY). Scheduled to appear for the first time at the Festival are the Advanced Guitar Ensemble and Advanced Trio from INTEMPO (Stamford, CT).
In 2020 the Festival will once again present its National High School Classical Guitar Competition, open to high school students of all 50 states. Find out more on the Guitar Competition page.
The Long Island Guitar Festival continues its tradition of presenting excellence in guitar performance and pedagogy. If you are interested in participating in a Festival Master Class as a performer, please see the Master Classes for Guitarists and Performers page.
The LIGF Guitar Orchestra for high school students and others will return to the Festival in 2020, conducted by Alan Hirsh. Visit the Guitar Orchestra page to find out how you can participate.
Through its history the Long Island Guitar Festival has featured ensembles representing high schools from the tri-state area and other states including Virginia, North Carolina and Florida. Learn more on the Ensemble Showcases page.
The 28th annual Long Island Guitar Festival is being funded in part by grants from The Augustine Foundation, The D'Addario Foundation, Murphy's Music & Violin Shop, Savarez, Alhambra Guitars, The John P. McGrath Fund of LIU and the LIU Post Department of Music.
Watch for details on how you can make a tax-deductible contribution to the Long Island Guitar Festival or how your company or organization can become a Festival sponsor or advertise in the Festival program book distributed at all Festival events. For more information about making a contribution or sponsoring or advertising, e-mail us or call 516-299-3181.
Learn how you can make an individual tax-deductible contribution to the Long Island Guitar Festival or how your company or organization can become a Festival sponsor or advertise in the Festival program book distributed at all Festival events. For more information about making a contribution or sponsoring or advertising, e-mail us or call 516-299-3181.
Please continue to visit these pages for further information about the 28th annual Long Island Guitar Festival as it becomes available.
The 27th Long Island Guitar Festival took place April 9–14. We proudly presented the US debut of guitarist Laura Snowden (United Kingdom), and David Leisner (United States) and Eduardo Fernández (Uruguay), jazz guitarist Mark Marino (United States), Jérôme Ducharme (Canada), Robert Trent (United States) and Harris Becker (United States).
Festival 2019 also included Master Classes with Laura Snowden, Robert Trent, and Eduardo Fernandez & David Leisner.
In addition, Robert Trent led a discussion on 19th Century Performance Practices during his Master Class, Mark Marino offered a workshop on Jazz Improvisation as part of his Saturday concert, and James Erickson held a workshop on Theory and Technique for the Contemporary Rock Guitarist.
High School Guitar Ensembles that performed in Ensemble Showcases included Bishop McGuinness High School Honors Guitar Ensemble (Kernersville, NC), Susan E. Wagner Advanced Guitar Ensemble (Staten Island, NY), Brentwood High School Guitar Ensemble (Brentwood, NY), Harlem School of the Arts Guitar Ensemble (New York, NY).
Howard Alden • Alexandra Yannis Guitar Duo • Artesian Guitar Quartet (Harris Becker, James Erickson, Laura Lessard, Michael Roberts) • Amaryllis Project • Arvo Duo (Joenne Dumitrascu, violin & Ming-Jui Liu, guitar) • Denis Azabagic • Douglas Back • Manuel Barrueco • Rebecca Baulch • Harris Becker • Gene Bertoncini • Pasquale Bianculli • Bishop McGuinness HS Guitar Ensemble • Gunnlaugur Björnsson • Brentwood HS Guitar Ensemble • Winslow Browning • Jorge Caballero • Thibault Cauvin • Cavatina Duo • Centreville HS Wildcat Guitar Ensemble, Paul Cesarczyk, Dennis Cinelli, Amanda Cook, Curtis HS Guitar Ensemble, John Dearman • Kevin Dolen • Carlo Domeniconi • Roland Dyens • Jérôme Ducharme • Cem Duruöz • Eden Stell Guitar Duo • Mark Elf • James Erickson • Eduardo Fernández • Hilary Field • Eliot Fisk • Paul Galbraith • Boris Gaquere • Pia Gazarek-Offermann • Derek Gripper • Guitar Trilogy • Frederic Hand • Freedom HS Guitar Ensemble • Olav Chris Henriksen • Adam Holzman • Rene Izquierdo • William Kanengiser • Koh Kazama • Dennis Koster • David Leisner • Michael Lorimer • Mare Duo • Mark Marino • Ronn McFarlane • Chieli Minucci • Ben Moran • Howard Morgen • Newman & Oltman Duo • Huy Thanh Nguyen • Pat O'Brien • Matt Palmer • Bucky and John Pizzarelli • POBJFK Guitar Nation • Simon Powis • Gyan Riley • Berta Rojas • Hayley Savage • Cecilia Siqueira • Raphaella Smits • David Starobin • Laura Snowden • Ernesto Tamayo • Scott Tennant • Saigon Guitar Quartet (Nguyen Thanh Huy, Nguyen Tri Doan, Huynh Ba Tho, Tran Hoai Phuong) • Stony Brook Guitar Quartet (Jose Maldonado, Barkely Heuser, Yannis Petridis,James Kerr) • Threefifty Duo • Robert Trent • Gohar Vardanyan • Benjamin Verdery • VIDA Guitar Quartet • Ana Vidovic • Jason Vieaux • Frank Vignola • Susan E. Wagner HS Guitar Ensemble • Weaver Academy • Jack Wilkins • Jerry Willard • Williams-Etheridge Duo (John Williams and John Etheridge) • Andrew York • John Zaccari • Fabio Zanon •
Last update: December 5, 2021
Harris
David
Beijing
Yenne
Jérémy
Damon Smallman &
Evan
Olson/De Cari
Ansel
Laura
Michael
James
Alan
Frank
BMHS Honors
Brentwood H.S.
Susan E. Wagner 
Campus Map
