$10 Admission
For Undergraduate Students
Sponsored by the Leonard and David Schaeffer Memorial Endowment, this competition honors the memories of Leonard and David, and their father, Albert Schaeffer, by showcasing the exemplary talents of the University of Arizona guitar studio.
Albert M. Schaeffer practiced law in Chicago and Tucson, and was a Chicago jazz pianist, a five-year combat captain in World War II, and a military judge in Germany following the war. His wife, Clare, was the daughter of Aaron Kritz, a famous Chicago cantor. She was raised in a distinguished musical family and appeared in Vaudeville as a young child. She is a master therapeutic recreation specialist, and garnered national attention for her groundbreaking work in music therapy with the residents of Handmaker home for the aging. Clare’s brother, Robert Kritz, is a noted composer of classical music, her sister Brina Roden is a published poet, and her sister Judith Perkins was an accomplished pianist. Their support and guidance helped to establish the University of Arizona Guitar Studies Program as one of this country’s finest.
The Leonard and David Schaeffer Memorial Endowment serves to promote and reward excellence in guitar performance. It is an endowed fund, the income of which will provide awards for the winners of the annual competition and will continue to advance further objectives of the School of Music at The University of Arizona.
Past winners of this competition, open to all undergraduate guitar performance majors at the University of Arizona, have gone on to win top prizes in international guitar competitions.
Previous Winners:
1989: Ray Sandoval
1990: Jorge Hernández
1991: Danny Arias
1992: Ken Price
1993: Celso Cano
1994: William Mericle
1995: Alieksey Vianna
1996: Brad Ford
1997: Evan Hirschelman
1998: Rick Hill
1999: Evan Hirschelman
2000: Dieter Hennings Yeomans
2001: Dieter Hennings Yeomans
2002: Cale Hoeflicker
2003: Rick Hill
2004: Cale Hoeflicker
2005: Eric Singh
2006: David Talamante
2007: Alvaro Mendizabal
2008: Daniel Vildosola
2009: Misael Barraza-Diaz
2010: Misael Barraza-Diaz
2011: Misael Barraza-Diaz & Steven Lerman
2012: Misael Barraza-Diaz
2013: Steven Lerman
2014: Kathy Acosta & Zachary Empkey
2015: Ignacio Mondaca
2016: Ignacio Mondaca
2017: Ignacio Mondaca
2018: Ignacio Mondaca
2019: Grace Sheppard
2021: Yihui Wang
2022: Dante Olita
Event Program