2026 Jerry Snyder GuitarFest

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• 2026 Young Dae & Inja Kim Composition Competition

  • Start
    27 Aug 2025
  • End
    8 Mar 2026

  Register

  COMPETITION ANNOUNCEMENT FOR COMPOSERS 

  The South Bay Guitar Society invites composers to enter the Young Dae and Inja Kim Composition Competition. Participants should submit an original work for classical guitar quartet. Judges will select three entries for the following prizes:
  - First prize of $500
  - Second prize of $300  
  - Third prize of $100 
  All three winners will have their works performed at the 2026 Jerry Snyder GuitarFest on March 7-8, 2026, in San Jose

  -Entry fee $35

  -Participants must live, work, or study in San Francisco or the counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Merced, Napa, Sacramento, San Joaquin, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano, Sonoma, or Stanislaus 

  -Open to composers of all ages

  -Submission must be an original work that has not won any prize or been previously performed

  -Submit a piece for classical guitar quartet in standard notation, two to three minutes in length and of an intermediate level of difficulty

  -Email submissions as PDF file and MP3 audio recording of MIDI playback to fractaljosh@gmail.com

  -Deadline January 8, 2026

  Questions? Contact South Bay Guitar Society president Josh Friedman at fractaljosh@gmail.com  

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• 2026 South Bay Guitar Society Youth Competition JUNIOR AGE DIVISION

  • Start
    27 Aug 2025
  • End
    8 Mar 2026
  • Location
    Evergreen Valley High School, 3300 Quimby Road, San Jose

  Register

  COMPETITION ANNOUNCEMENT

  South Bay Guitar Society Youth Competition

  Junior Age Division (age 13 and under, or born on or after March 8, 2012)

  Date: afternoon of Saturday March 7, 2026

  Location: Jerry Snyder GuitarFest, Evergreen Valley High School, 3300 Quimby Road, San Jose

  Time limit: 5 minutes from the first note

  Entry Fee: $25.00, payable at sbgs.org. Please note that your spot is not reserved until you've paid the entry fee. 

  Application limited to the first 15 registrants.  

  Apply here

  Repertoire:  One or more solo works from the classical guitar repertoire. Transcriptions and arrangements permitted; no concerto movements or cadenzas. All works to be performed from memory. 

  Scoring: Three judges will use the scoring rubric below. Total scores from each judge will be combined to rank the top three competitors. There will be no ties, honorable mention, or audience choice awards. Judges’ decisions are final.

  The competition will be open to a public audience.

  Results for the Junior Division will be announced during intermission of the Saturday ticketed concert, which starts at 7:30 p.m. at Evergreen Valley High School. All performers will receive scores and comments via email after the event.

  Awards:

  First Prize - $500.00

  Second Prize - $300.00

  Third Prize - $100.00

  The First Prize winner of the Junior Age Division will be invited to perform in March 2027 at the Jerry Snyder GuitarFest to open the Sunday afternoon concert as the Prelude performer. If the First Prize winner is unable to perform, the opportunity will be offered to the Second Prize winner.

  Judges will award an additional prize for Best Performance of Nontraditional Repertoire. Participants are invited to perform an original composition, a piece by a composer from a marginalized group, or a work by a non-Western, lesser-known, or underperformed composer. This award will be granted without regard to the winner's total score.

  If the entry fee poses a financial hardship, please contact competition director Bradly Pupa at bradly.pupa@gmail.com to request a fee waiver. No questions asked. 

  Please note that the performer must be accompanied by a parent or guardian at all times.

  Judges

  1) Emily Ray, founding music director and conductor of Mission Chamber Orchestra of San Jose

  2) Giulia Ballaré, international virtuoso guitarist

  3) To be announced 

  Questions? Contact competition director Bradly Pupa at bradly.pupa@gmail.com

  
  

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• 2026 South Bay Guitar Society Youth Competition SENIOR AGE DIVISION

  • Start
    29 Aug 2025
  • End
    9 Mar 2026
  • Location
    Evergreen Valley High School, 3300 Quimby Road, San Jose

  Register

  COMPETITION ANNOUNCEMENT 

  South Bay Guitar Society Youth Competition 

  Senior Age Division (age 14-18, or born between March 9, 2007, and March 8, 2012, inclusive)

  Date: Afternoon of Sunday March 8, 2026

  Location: Jerry Snyder GuitarFest, Evergreen Valley High School, 3300 Quimby Road, San Jose

  Time limit: 7 minutes from the first note

  Entry Fee: $25.00, payable at sbgs.org. Please note that your spot is not reserved until you've paid the entry fee. 

  Application limited to the first 15 registrants. 

  Apply here

  Repertoire:  One or more solo works from the classical guitar repertoire. Transcriptions and arrangements permitted; no concerto movements or cadenzas. All works to be performed from memory. 

  Scoring: Three judges will use the scoring rubric below. Total scores from each judge will be combined to rank the top three competitors. There will be no ties, honorable mention, or audience choice awards. Judges’ decisions are final. Results for the Senior Division will be announced during intermission of the late Sunday afternoon ticketed concert at Evergreen Valley High School. All performers will receive scores and comments via email after the event.

  The competition will be open to a public audience.
  

  Awards:

  First Prize - $500.00

  Second Prize - $300.00

  Third Prize - $100.00

  The First Prize winner of the Senior Age Division will be invited to perform in March 2027 at the Jerry Snyder GuitarFest to open the Saturday evening concert as the Prelude performer. If the First Prize winner is unable to perform, the opportunity will be offered to the Second Prize winner.

  Judges will award an additional prize for Best Performance of Nontraditional Repertoire. Participants are invited to perform an original composition, a piece by a composer from a marginalized group, or a work by a non-Western, lesser-known, or underperformed composer. This award will be granted without regard to the winner's total score. 

  If the entry fee poses a financial hardship, please contact competition director Bradly Pupa at bradly.pupa@gmail.com to request a fee waiver. No questions asked.

  Please note that the performer must be accompanied by a parent or guardian at all times.

  Judges

  1) Emily Ray, founding music director and conductor of Mission Chamber Orchestra of San Jose

  2) Giulia Ballaré, international virtuoso guitarist

  3) To be announced 

  Questions? Contact competition director Bradly Pupa at bradly.pupa@gmail.com 

  
  

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• Guitar Virtuoso Giulia Ballarè in Concert at the 2026 Jerry Snyder GuitarFest

  • When
    7 Mar 2026
  •  
    7:30 PM - 9:30 PM
  • Location
    Evergreen Valley High School, 3300 Quimby Road, San Jose

  Register

  
  

  Guitar virtuoso Giulia Ballarè in concert at the 2026 Jerry Snyder GuitarFest

  with a Prelude performance by Andrew Lee and Brandon Lee

  Directions
  

  
  Italian-born Giulia Ballarè is regularly invited to play in prestigious venues in Europe, Russia, the U.S., Mexico, and Brazil. She is a professor at Consevatoire de Musique de Genève in Switzerland and Conservatorio "A. Vivaldi" in Alessandria, Italy.  

  In 2013 she released her first album "Lyrically Spain" under the dotGuitar label and made her second album "Untuned Guitar" under the JSM Guitar Records label. In 2019 she founded the Gauthey Ballarè Duo with French guitarist Pauline Gauthey. In 2023 the duo released its album "Lo Que Vendrá" with JSM Guitar Records.

  Since 2013 Ballarè won more than 30 prizes in international competitions, including first prize in the Andrès Segovia, Ciudad de Coria, Forum Gitarre Wien, and Mottola competitions. She was a top prizewinner in many other competitions throughout Europe.

  Ballarè has performed in masterclasses with some of the most well-known figures in the classical guitar world including Oscar Ghiglia, David Russell, Pavel Steidl, Paolo Pegoraro, Marcin Dylla, Judicaël Perroy, Aniello Desiderio, and Adriano Del Sal. She started playing guitar at age nine and graduated in 2012 from the conservatory in Novara, Italy, under Guido Fichtner.

  Ballarè is a Savarez Artist.   

  Prelude performance by the duo of Andrew Lee and Brandon Lee, students of Jon Mendle
  

  
  

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• Masterclass with Guitar Virtuoso Giulia Ballaré at the Jerry Snyder GuitarFest

  • When
    8 Mar 2026
  •  
    2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
  • Location
    Evergreen Valley High School, 3300 Quimby Road, San Jose

  Registration is closed

  
  

  Masterclass with Guitar Virtuoso Giulia Ballaré at the 2026 Jerry Snyder GuitarFest

  Registration required for the four performer slots. Admission to perform and audit is free. Performers under aged 18 must have a parent or guardian accompanying them at all times during the class.

  Please note that performers are limited to TWO masterclasses for the 2025-2026 season. If you'd like to be placed on a waitlist for a third masterclass, or if you want to join a waitlist for a class that's already full, please email sbgs.secretary@gmail.com and indicate which class you're interested in.
  

  Location: Evergreen Valley High School, 3300 Quimby Road, San Jose

  Directions

  The South Bay Guitar Society is pleased to present a masterclass with guitar virtuoso Giulia Ballaré. Four players will perform individually and receive feedback from Ballaré in this educational event.

  
  

   

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