"The "Long Island" in the festival title clearly refers to its location and origins, rather than to its scope." – New York Times, March 2014

Long Island Guitar Festival 2024. Our 32nd Year!

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Eclectic and International, the 32nd annual Long Island Guitar Festival will be held April 24 to 28, 2024 at the Setauket Presbyterian Church in Setauket, NY. (Directions)

The 2024 Guitar Festival will be presented in partnership with the Setauket Presbyterian Church and the Oberon Foundation.

To date, scheduled performers include Ana Vidovic, the Eden-Stell Guitar Duo, David Leisner, Huy Thanh Nguyen, Nicoletta Todesco, Ana Maria Rosado, Harris Becker & Friends, Laura Lessard, James Erickson and Owen Wang, winner of the 2023 LIGF High School Classical Guitar Competition. Other musicians include Susan Deaver, flute; Maureen Hynes, cello; and Alan Morris, oboe.

Scheduled ensembles include the NJMEA HS Honors Guitar Orchestra, the New Jersey Guitar Orchestra, the New York City Guitar Orchestra and the James Madison HS Guitar Ensemble.

In addition to concerts, lectures and demonstrations, Festival 2024 will include our National High School Classical Guitar Competition, Master Classes and Workshops for Guitarists and Performers, and Ensemble Showcases.

As in Festival 2023, the winner of the 2024 National High School Classical Guitar Competition will receive a guitar donated by Long Island classical guitar luthier Brian Itzkin.

Festival Schedule Ticket Information

Ana Vidovic"The soloist emerged onstage in a flashy, floor-length dress of metallic gold and wasted no time establishing a lively tempo in the Spanish showpiece's first movement. Yet her rapid-fire runs retained a crystalline clarity, as if each note was a single stone still visible beneath a rushing stream."
– Daniel Walton, Asheville Stages

National High School Classical Guitar Competition

In 2024 the Festival will once again present its National High School Classical Guitar Competition, open to high school students of all 50 states.
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Master Classes and Workshops for Guitarists and Performers

The Long Island Guitar Festival continues its tradition of presenting excellence in guitar performance and pedagogy.
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Ensemble Showcases

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.
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Festival 2023...

Read about Festival 2023...

The 31st annual Long Island Guitar Festival was held April 26 to 30, 2023 at the Setauket Presbyterian Church in Setauket, NY. It was presented in partnership with the Setauket Presbyterian Church and the Oberon Foundation. Performers included Berta Rojas, Laura Snowden, João Luiz & Friends Quartets, Boyd Meets Girl (Rupert Boyd, guitar & Laura Metcalf, cello), Harris Becker, James Erickson, Laura Lessard, Octavio Deluchi, Gabriele Leite, Eduardo Gutterres, and Penelope Shvarts, winner of the 2022 LIGF High School Classical Guitar Competition.

Other musicians included Maureen Hynes, Veronica Salas, Jeffrey Marcus, Bradley Bosenbeck, Frank Cassara, Tammy Hensrud, The Hofstra University Chamber Choir, David Fryling, Noby Ishida, Clara Reeves, Diva Goodfriend-Koven, and Dale Stuckenbruck.

Master Classes were given by Laura Snowden and João Luiz.

Ensembles showcased in 2023 included the NJMEA HS Honors Guitar Orchestra, New Jersey Guitar Orchestra, and the James Madison HS Guitar Ensemble.

Members of The Hofstra University Chamber Choir included Robyn Adams, Theodore Bazin, Amélie Buron, Elizabeth Byrne, Isa Cardenas, Rose Chesna, Samir Chopra, Calob Congdon, Casey Cormier, Julia Dasey, Gianna Defilippis, Ryan Demino, Marisa Drzewiecki, Mason Egdall, Annalisa Emmett, Anthony France, Jack Goodman, Mackenzie Hanna, James Kelly, Zachary Kiekhaefer, Yelena Koos, Michelle Landerer, Amanda Larsen, Zachary Lavoie, Duhan Lee, Evan Licari, Joseph Maiello, Evan Montemayor, Toni Nargentino, Didi Paunetto, Alison Pensa, Lucas Pepin, Sophie Roy, Christian Scala, Aidan Schroh, Rebekah Strohmyer, Kyla Surajbali, Matthew Trani, Jade Vila and John Paul West.

Featured events at Festival 2023 included the US premieres of pieces for large ensembles – Trois Rêves composed by Laura Snowden and Crépuscule Rustique by Canadian composer Michael Spiroff.

In addition, Long Island classical guitar luthier Brian Itzkin led a discussion and Q&A on Guitar Building in Granada, Spain. Owen Wang, first-place winner of the 2023 National High School Classical Guitar Competition received a guitar donated by Mr. Itzkin who was recently featured in an article in Acoustic Guitar.

Festival Sponsorship and Advertising

In recent years The Long Island Guitar Festival has been 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.

Learn 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 at LIGFestival@aol.com.

View the 2023 Program Book.

Since 1993 the Long Island Guitar Festival has proudly presented such distinguished guitarists and performers as:

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 • Beijing Guitar Duo • Gene Bertoncini • Pasquale Bianculli • Bishop McGuinness HS Guitar Ensemble • Gunnlaugur Björnsson • Brentwood HS Guitar Ensemble • Winslow Browning • Boyd Meets Girl (Rupert Boyd, guitar & Laura Metcalf, cello) • Jorge Caballero • Samantha Clarke • Thibault Cauvin • Octavio Deluchi • 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 • Mark Elf • Eden Stell Guitar Duo • James Erickson • Eduardo Fernández • Hilary Field • Eliot Fisk • Paul Galbraith • Boris Gaquere • Pia Gazarek-Offermann • Derek Gripper • Guitar Trilogy • Eduardo Gutterres • Frederic Hand • Freedom HS Guitar Ensemble • Olav Chris Henriksen • Adam Holzman • Maureen Hynes • Rene Izquierdo • William Kanengiser • Koh Kazama • Dennis Koster • David Leisner • Gabriele Leite • Laura Lessard • Michael Lorimer • João Luiz & Friends Quartets • James Madison HS Guitar Ensemble • Jeffrey Marcus • Mare Duo • Mark Marino • Ronn McFarlane • Metropolitan Guitar Academy • Chieli Minucci • Ben Moran • Howard Morgen • Alan Morris • New Jersey Guitar Orchestra • NJMEA HS Honors Guitar Orchestra • Newman & Oltman Duo • Huy Thanh Nguyen • Pat O'Brien • Olson/De Cari Duo • Matt Palmer • Bucky and John Pizzarelli • POBJFK Guitar Nation • Simon Powis • Gyan Riley • Michael Roberts • Berta Rojas • David Russell • Hayley Savage • Rie Schmidt • Cecilia Siqueira • Raphaella Smits • David Starobin • Ernesto Tamayo • Evan Taucher • 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) • Laura Snowden • Chinnawat Themkumkwun • 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

"Long Island Guitar Festival...a very impressive concert lineup"
– Classical Guitar Magazine about Festival 2016

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To learn more about the history of the Long Island Guitar Festival, please visit these past Festival Web pages:

2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001, 2000, 1999, 1998, 1997, 1996, 1995 (Flyer), 1994 (Flyer), 1993 (Flyer)

Note: Some of the links on these pages may no longer work. 30+ years on the Internet is a long time.

Last update:March 17, 2024