Second Annual CCGS Guitar Idol Competition (Talent Contest)
6-8 p.m. Wednesday, May 19, 2010
All Saints Episcopal Church Seccombe Hall, Carmel

The second annual CCGS Guitar Idol Competition featured twelve talented performers in three categories: novice (10 and under), Junior (18 and under) and open (all ages). The winners were:

   Novice: Jesse Lopez, performing Nunsuch
   Junior: Ricky Chavez, performing Estudios Sencillos 6, 7 & 9 by Leo Brouwer
   Open: Ashwin Krishna, performing Sevilla by Isaac Albéniz

Judging by the quality and diversity of music and musicianship at our second annual Guitar Idol competition, the classical guitar is alive and well on the Central Coast. On May 19 twelve wonderful guitar players participated in our Guitar Idol competition at Seccombe Hall at the All Saints Episcopal Church in Carmel. There was no restriction on what could be played as long as it was played in the classical (finger style) tradition. We the listeners were rewarded with a wide variety of music from the standards of the guitar repertoire to some jazz standards to some first class original music. Literally every seat in the hall was filled with family and well-wishers. Refreshments were served during the tallying of the scores. Friendships were made and new wish lists of music to be learned and techniques to acquire were in full bloom.

Competitions are and can be quite nerve racking and our contestants must be congratulated on their willingness to take this on. Every one of them was a true winner. To underline that point, the Bookmark music store in Pacific Grove congratulated each contestant with a $10 gift certificate.

The surprise of the evening must be Ashwin, the winner of the open competition. When he signed up for the open competition it was pointed out that he was eligible to compete in the junior category. He declined the offer! What he did do was to present us with a premier rendition of one of the more difficult works in the guitar repertoire. We could say that we expect great things from him, but then again we are getting that already.

BRAVO to all the participants. We look forward to the years to come.

Terrence Farrell