Guitar Foundation of America

Guitar Foundation of America is an American classical guitar organization that was founded in 1973 at the National Guitar Convention sponsored by the American String Teachers Association. The company offer various services ranging from guitar lessons, to a guitar shop, competitions, and events. The company is a nonprofit organization that relies on donation, events, and advertising on its web site.

Guitar Foundation of America
AbbreviationGFA
Formation1973 (1973)
Type501(c)(3)
Purpose"The Guitar Foundation of America inspires artistry, builds community, and promotes the classical guitar internationally through excellence in performance, literature, education and research."
Location
  • Palos Verdes Peninsula, California
ServicesGuitar lessons, guitar shop, competitions, concerts
Key people
Martha Masters (president)
Brian Head (artistic director)
Sherwin Servande (vice president)
Pam Gerken (vice president, treasurer)
Robert Lane (vice president, secretary)
Websiteguitarfoundation.org

History

In 1973, Thomas Heck wrote the foundations articles of incorporation.[1][2] He has been the editor of Soundboard, the foundation's magazine.[1] The foundation publishes Soundboard Scholar, a peer-reviewed journal, and Prodigies, a magazine for children.

In 1968, Heck was living in Vienna, Austria, and collecting rare sheet music for guitar, including first editions by Mauro Giuliani. In 1973, he wrote the Articles of Incorporation in Santa Barbara, California, to create a non-profit foundation to which he could give his archive of sheet music. He created the archive in 1977 in Milwaukee while teaching at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music. A catalog of the inventory was assembled and mailed to interested buyers, who could receive photocopies of sheet music on request. A second edition of catalog was published four years later. During the 1980s, while Heck taught at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, the archive grew to include more sheet music, periodicals, and other materials related to classical guitar. In the 1990s, Heck was too busy to oversee the archive, so he sought someone to catalog it correctly, which turned out to be the University of Akron. Some of the GFA Archive was entered online at Akron.[3]

Competition

The foundation holds an International Convention and Competition. The International Concert Artist Competition gives the following prizes to the winner: a recording contract, publishing contract, cash, and an international tour.[4]

The first competition took was held in 1982. Twenty-three guitarists entered the contest, and these were reduced to four finalists. To become finalists, guitarists were required to play three pieces selected by the jurors. Michael Chapdelaine won the first contest, while Adam Holzman won in 1983. Holzman's repertoire included the Fourth Lute Suite by J. S. Bach and Sevilla by Albeniz.[5]

References
  1. Summerfield, Maurice J. (1 January 2003). The Classical Guitar: Its Evolution, Players and Personalities Since 1800. Ashley Mark Publishing Company. pp. 412–. ISBN 978-1-4768-5165-5. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  2. "GFA Staff - Guitar Foundation of America". Guitar Foundation. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  3. "GFA Archive: History". www3.uakron.edu. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  4. "Guitar Foundation of America International Convention & Competitions 2018". Classical Guitar. 16 March 2018. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  5. Gomez-Ramirez, Andrew (28 November 2017). "The Guitar Foundation of America's International Concert Artist Competition | Oviatt Library". library.csun.edu. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
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