Shenandoah Guitar Festival Receives Augustine Foundation Grant
Funds Help Conservatory Present Event Filled With World-Class Artists, Masterclasses & Workshops
The Shenandoah Guitar Festival, presented by Shenandoah Conservatory, has received grant funding from the Augustine Foundation for the third consecutive year.
The $13,000 grant helps pay performance and teaching fees for guest artists at the three-year-old festival, which brings together guitar professionals, students, amateurs, enthusiasts, and a local and regional audience in celebration of the art of the guitar through concerts, masterclasses, presentations, and a participant guitar ensemble.
“Audiences can expect to hear a celebration of the diverse artistry of the classical guitar, featuring some of today’s most exciting and expressive performers, from major established artists to rising stars of the guitar world,” said the festival’s director, Colin Davin, M.M., who is also director of Shenandoah Conservatory’s Guitar Studio and associate professor of guitar.
This year’s festival runs from June 12 through June 14, with performances in Armstrong Hall and Goodson Chapel-Recital Hall. The world-class lineup for the 2026 festival includes Grammy Award winner Jason Vieaux; the Patterson-Sutton Duo (cello and guitar); the guitar duo of Ziggy and Miles; rising star Leonela Alejandro; and Davin. In addition, student participants in the festival will perform on Sunday afternoon to close the event, including in a large guitar ensemble performance led by Candice Mowbray ’03, ’12, D.M.A.
Full participants will have the opportunity to play in masterclasses for SGF artist-faculty. Registration as a festival participant also includes admission to all festival concerts and events.
Also, all event masterclasses and workshops are open to the public, free of charge. Individual tickets to the evening concerts are also available for sale to those not registered as full participants in the festival.
To learn more about the festival and registration, email Davin at colin.davin@su.edu.
About The Augustine Foundation
The Augustine Foundation was established approximately 45 years ago through a donation by Rose Augustine, whose husband Albert Augustine developed modern classical guitar strings, which are still sold through Augustine Strings/Albert Augustine, Ltd.
