Register now for GuitarFest 2026!
March 27-29, 2026 (Friday-Sunday)
Registration • Schedule of Events • Artists • Competition Rules
Registration is now open for individuals and groups. We hope to see you there!
Now in its 29th year, GuitarFest offers an intensive weekend of education and camaraderie for classical guitarists nationwide. The three-day annual festival, which began in 1997, offers a guitar orchestra, Suzuki workshops, masterclasses and recitals by national and international guitar celebrities, and competitons for guitarists of all ages - including opportunities to win handcrafted guitars by famous makers. Pricing for individual registration is $150 for the Regular or Suzuki track and $100 for Auditor/Vendor registration.
New for 2026! NCMEA Music Performance Adjudication (MPA)
This year, the NCMEA Guitar Committee is partnering with Appalachian State University GuitarFest to offer the first ever NCMEA Music Performance Adjudication (MPA) at GuitarFest! Registration is $250 per ensemble. Learn more and register here.
Artist Biographies
Read more about our guest artists! We are proud to welcome these excellent performers, presenters, and clinicians to GuitarFest 2026: Dr. Adam Kossler (Artistic Director), Dr. Armin Abdihodžić, Salomé "SaSa" Sandoval, Christopher Mallett, William Kossler, Billie Feather, Dr. Chaz Underriner, Dr. Ryan Book, Dr. Gary Boye, Anderson Page, Dr. Douglas James, Cindy Spell, Marty Edwards, Justin Craig, Kate Oliphant
Competition Rules and Prizes
GuitarFest offers competitions for youth and adult guitarists. We would like to thank our sponsors who support the festival and our competition prizes!
Altamira Guitars | Waddy Thomson Guitars | George Thomas Guitars | Augustine Strings
Registration
Learn more and register as an individual or group! The registration page also includes details about lodging discounts and campus parking.
GuitarFest thanks our lodging sponsors: La Quinta Inn | Graystone Lodge | Sleep Inn | Paws at the Peak
Guitar at Appalachian State University
Guitar at the Hayes School of Music
The Hayes School of Music at Appalachian State University has a thriving guitar program with a wide variety of degree programs. Highlights of our program include...
- Undergraduate degrees, graduate degrees, and certificate programs for guitarists
- Appalachian State GuitarFest: March 27-29, 2026
- Matanya Ophee Music Collection in the Belk Library
- Guitar Orchestra with over 25 guitarists
- Cannon Music Camp for high school musicians
- Guitar lessons for youth and adults (non-credit) through the Community Music School
Degree Programs for Guitarists
The Hayes School of Music offers many music degree options for guitarists.
Auditions are required for all music degree programs, including the music minor.
Music Degree Programs
- B.M. in Music Performance
- B.M. in Music Education
- B.M. in Music Therapy
- B.S. in Music Industry Studies
- Master of Music Therapy
- Master of Music in Performance
Minors and Certificates
The Ophee Collection: Historical Guitar Music
Appalachian State University has recently acquired the collection of historical documents once belonging to publisher and musicologist Matanya Ophee. Highlights from the Ophee Collection include over five hundred first and early editions of major guitar composers including Fernando Sor, Mauro Giuliani, Matteo Carcassi, Ferdinando Carulli, and many others, as well as the only complete manuscript of the Dix Etudes by Giulio Regondi, discovered by Ophee in 1987. The collection also includes the personal scores and papers of Argentinian guitarist Doming Prat (1886–1944), as well as a large amount of rare music for the Russian 7-string guitar from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries