2026 Jerry Snyder GuitarFest

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• 2026 Jerry Snyder GuitarFest

  • Start
    7 Mar 2026
  •  
    10:00 AM
  • End
    8 Mar 2026
  •  
    8:00 PM
  • Location
    Evergreen Valley High School, 3300 Quimby Road, San Jose

  2026 Guitarfest Schedule - March 7th-5.pdf

  2026 Guitarfest Schedule - March 8th-4.pdf
  

  DIRECTIONS: Evergreen Valley High School
  

  Join the South Bay Guitar Society on March 7-8, 2026, for our annual Jerry Snyder GuitarFest! Experience two days of masterclasses, youth competition, virtuoso performances, luthier display, and more. 

  Time: Saturday-Sunday March 7-8, 2026, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

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

  Contact: 408-915-SBGS

  
  

  Show details
• March 7, 2026

  • When
    7 Mar 2026
  •  
    10:00 AM - 9:00 PM
  • Location
    Evergreen Valley High School, 3300 Quimby Road, San Jose
  • Spaces left
    2

  Register

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

  Date: MORNING 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.

  At their discretion, judges may award an additional $100 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. Should it be granted, this prize will be awarded 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:

  Emily Ray 

  Julio Reyes

  Hao Yang

  
  

  Questions? Contact competition director Bradly Pupa

  at bradly.pupa@gmail.com

  
  

  Show details
• Masterclass with Guitar Virtuoso João Luiz Rezende at the Jerry Snyder GuitarFest

  • When
    7 Mar 2026
  •  
    1:30 PM - 3:30 PM
  • Location
    Evergreen Valley High School, 3300 Quimby Road, San Jose

  Registration is closed

  
  

  Masterclass with Guitar Virtuoso João Luiz Rezende at the 2026 Jerry Snyder GuitarFest

  Registration required for the four performer slots. Admission to perform and audit is free. 

  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 João Luiz Rezende, recently appointed to the faculty of the Yale School of Music. Four players will perform individually and receive feedback from Rezende in this educational event.

  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. Performers under aged 18 must have a parent or guardian accompanying them at all times during the class. 
  

  
  

  Show details
• Kaleido Guitar Duo 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

  
  

  Kaleido Guitar Duo in concert at the 2026 Jerry Snyder GuitarFest

  with a Prelude performance by the duo of Andrew Lee and Brandon Lee

  Directions
  

  Due to unforeseen circumstances, Giulia Ballarè is unable to perform on March 7 at the Jerry Snyder GuitarFest. The South Bay Guitar Society is pleased to present the Kaleido Guitar Duo in her place.

  Kaleido Guitar Duo brings together two distinctive voices of the guitar from across the globe. Internationally renowned award-winning musicians in their own right, Hao Yang, from China, and Kevin Loh, from Singapore, are united by a shared musical heritage and an adventurous spirit for exploring uncharted territories in the guitar duo repertoire.

  The partnership was born from common roots in the English classical guitar tradition, with both musicians studying under the connected lineage of Richard Wright and Jonathan Leathwood. Before relocating to the U.S. for postgraduate study, Loh studied in the United Kingdom for a decade under various professors including Wright and worked regularly with Leathwood during his frequent visits to the U.K. For her part, Yang later studied with Leathwood for her master's degree at the Lamont School of Music at the University of Denver. With a shared exposure to similar pedagogical approaches, Loh and Yang enjoy an intuitive understanding.

  The duo's name "Kaleido" draws inspiration from the kaleidoscope, an ingenious instrument that creates infinite patterns of beauty from simple elements. Like the kaleidoscope's ever-shifting colors, Kaleido Guitar Duo seeks to discover and reveal the vast spectrum of sonic possibilities within the guitar-duo combination.

  Kaleido Guitar Duo is distinctive due not only to the individual achievements of Yang and Loh as internationally recognized soloists but also their dedication to expanding the boundaries of what two guitars can achieve together. Rather than retreading familiar ground, they actively seek compositions that challenge both performers and audiences, revealing rich harmonic and textural possibilities.

  The Duo will perform works by Dodgson, Debussy, and others.

  
  

  Prelude performance by the duo of Andrew Lee and Brandon Lee 

  The duo of Andrew Lee and Brandon Lee has performed in recital and in masterclass for René Izquierdo and the Kupiński Duo and is coached by Jon Mendle at the Pre-College Division of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. As soloists, Andrew was the second-place winner at the 2025 Texas Guitar Competition and the 2023 Chicago Guitar Festival Competition. Brandon was the third-prize winner at both those competitions. Andrew and Brandon were soloists in the 2024 Junior Bach Festival and have performed in masterclass for the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, Kevin Loh, Hao Yang, and many other prominent teachers. Both Brandon and Andrew study privately with Mendle at the Pre-College.Outside the guitar, they are fans of Premier League soccer, with Andrew cheering for Arsenal while Brandon roots for Chelsea. 

  Program 

  G. Rossini, arr. M. Giuliani: Overture to Il Barbiere di Siviglia 

  

  Andrew Lee (left) and Brandon Lee
  

  Show details
• March 8, 2026

  • When
    8 Mar 2026
  •  
    10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
  • Location
    Evergreen Valley High School, 3300 Quimby Road, San Jose
  • Spaces left
    0

  Registration is closed

  The registration for this competition is now full. If you'd like to be added to a waitlist, please email sbgs.secretary@gmail.com and if there are withdrawals, we'll pull from the waitlist on a first-come, first-served basis.

  South Bay Guitar Society Youth Competition 

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

  Date: MORNING 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.

  At their discretion, judges may award an additional $100 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. Should it be granted, this prize will be awarded 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

  Kevin Loh

  Emily Ray

  Julio Reyes

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

  
  

  Show details
• Masterclass with Kaleido Guitar Duo at the Jerry Snyder GuitarFest

  • When
    8 Mar 2026
  •  
    1:30 PM - 3:30 PM
  • Location
    Evergreen Valley High School, 3300 Quimby Road, San Jose

  Registration is closed

  
  

  Masterclass with Kaleido Guitar Duo at the 2026 Jerry Snyder GuitarFest

  Due to unforeseen circumstances, Giulia Ballarè is unable to teach the masterclass. South Bay Guitar Society is pleased to present Kaleido Guitar Duo in her place. 

  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 the Kaleido Guitar Duo, composed of virtuosos Hao Yang and Kevin Loh. Four players will perform individually and receive feedback from the duo in this educational event.

  
  

   

  Show details
• Guitar Virtuoso João Luiz in Concert at the 2026 Jerry Snyder GuitarFest

  • When
    8 Mar 2026
  •  
    4:00 PM - 6:00 PM
  • Location
    Evergreen Valley High School, 3300 Quimby Road, San Jose

  Register

  
  

  Guitar virtuoso João Luiz in concert at the 2026 Jerry Snyder GuitarFest

  with a Prelude performance by Hilbert Chen  

  Directions

  This concert will include works by Sérgio Assad, Leo Brouwer, and Ronaldo Miranda - all dedicated to João Luiz. The program will be performed with no intermission. 

  Performer, composer, and educator João Luiz in the fall of 2025 joined the faculty of the Yale School of Music, which notes his "deeply collaborative spirit, technical brilliance, and remarkable teaching experience and versatility across styles and traditions."

  A two-time Latin Grammy nominee and winner of the 2006 Concert Artists Guild Competition as a member of the internationally acclaimed Brasil Guitar Duo, Luiz has performed worldwide—from Carnegie Hall and the Concertgebouw to Panama City and Cuba—working with artists such as Paquito D’Rivera, Yo-Yo Ma, and Carlos Prieto.

  Luiz expands the repertoire of his instrument, premiering works written for him by Leo Brouwer, Sérgio Assad, and David Leisner, among others. Whether interpreting the classical canon or championing the rhythms of his native Brazil, Luiz brings clarity, nuance, and energy to his performances.

  A gifted composer and arranger, Luiz’s work has been performed and recorded by leading soloists and ensembles of the time, including A Far Cry, Metropolis Ensemble, Bridget Kibbey, Marina Piccinini, Paquito D’Rivera, Clarice Assad, D-Composed, São Paulo Chamber Soloists, Fábio Zanon, Quaternaglia, Jiji, Sybarite 5, the Newman & Oltman guitar duo, Aquarelle Guitar Quartet and Duo Amaris. Recently, he received the São Paulo Art Critics Association (Associação Paulista dos Críticos de Arte) award, one of the highest honors bestowed upon artists in Brazil for his work, Saravá.

  In addition to his extensive performing and recording career of more than 20 albums, Luiz has led education initiatives for young musicians in underserved communities in São Paulo, and he continues to explore ways to make classical music more accessible and inclusive. For over two decades, he has been a mentor to many talented young guitarists from all over the world. 

  Prelude performer Hilbert Chen

  Hilbert Chen, 17, has won prizes at the Guitar Foundation of America’s International Youth Competition, the James Stroud Classical Guitar Competition, the Denver Guitar Festival Youth Competition, and the United States International Music Competition. He has performed in masterclass for Steven Aron, Manuel Barrueco, Jonathan Leathwood, the Montenegrin Duo, Raphaella Smits, Meng Su, Marco Tamayo, Ben Verdery, Jason Vieaux, and Andrew York. Hilbert began the guitar at age three and is a student of Robert Miller at the California Conservatory of Music. Outside the guitar, Hilbert is a senior at Valley Christian High School and is an avid baseball player.

  
  

  
  

  Show details