ECU Guitar Festival Competitions

The ECU Guitar Festival will offer two solo classical-guitar competition divisions for eligible registered student participants.

Competition Registration

Competition Add-On: $75

Competition registration deadline: October 16, 2026.

Eligible student participants may add one Festival competition to their registration for an additional $75. Festival participant registration is required before entering a competition.

Supervision of minors: Participants under age 18 must be accompanied and supervised by a parent, legal guardian, or their school music teacher at all times during the ECU Guitar Festival.

Competition Divisions

Middle School/High School Division

Open to eligible middle-school and high-school classical guitarists.

Collegiate/Open Division

Open to eligible college, graduate, and other advanced classical guitarists.

Repertoire and Instrument

General Requirements

  • Competitors may perform repertoire of their choice.
  • Selections performed in an earlier round may be repeated in the final round.
  • A nylon-string classical guitar is required.
  • Competitors are not required to provide music scores to the adjudicators.
  • All competitors must comply with the eligibility requirements and performance-time limits for their division.

Memorization

Middle School/High School

Memorization is not required. Competitors will not be penalized for performing with a music score.

Collegiate/Open

All competition repertoire must be performed from memory.

Performance Time Limits

Middle School/High School Division

Preliminary Round: 4–6 minutes

Final Round: 5–10 minutes

Collegiate/Open Division

Preliminary Round: 6–8 minutes

Final Round: Up to 15 minutes

Competition Format

Preliminary and Final Rounds

Three competitors from each division will advance from the preliminary round to the final round. Awards will be announced following the Festival’s student performance on Sunday afternoon.

Competition Prizes

Collegiate/Open Division

1st Prize: $1,000
2nd Prize: $500
3rd Prize: $250

High School

1st Prize: $500
2nd Prize: $250
3rd Prize: $100

Middle School

Certificate recognition

Additional First-Prize Opportunities

The first-place Collegiate/Open winner will be invited to perform at the 2027 ECU Guitar Festival.

First-place winners in all divisions will receive a tuition waiver for the 2027 ECU Guitar Festival.

Additional Prizes by Altamira Guitars

Additional prizes provided by Altamira Guitars will be awarded as part of the 2026 ECU Guitar Festival competitions.