to the ninth edition of Miami International GuitART Festival (MIGF) at the Florida International University School of Music. It is my honor and privilege to serve as the Artistic Director of MIGF. Since the inaugural edition of the MIGF in 2016, the festival continues to present successful programs to more and more audiences, local, nationwide, and international. Thanks to our sponsors, including the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Florida Department of State Division of Cultural Affairs, Cornelia T. Bailey Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, and many other individual and corporate sponsors, we are able to continue supporting artists.

Festival events include eleven concerts, six masterclasses/workshops, five lectures, luthiers expo, and composition competition.

Featured festival artists include Jorge Caballero (Peru/Canada), Rafael Padron (Cuba/U.S.A.), Robert Trent (U.S.A.), Marco Battaglia (Italy), Laura Mazon Frsnqui (Cuba), Cihat Askin (Turkey), Neva Ozgen Kosoglu (Turkey), Yelda Ozgen Ozturk (Turkey), Luciana Kube (Venezuela/U.S.A.), Saul Vera (Venezuela), Hector Molina (Venezuela), Koh Kazama (U.S.A.), Los Hermanos Calero (Colombia), Gradus Jazz Trio (Spain), David Dolata (U.S.A.),  Federico Bonacossa (Italy/U.S.A.), Orlando Jacinto Garcia (Cuba/U.S.A.), and Mesut Ozgen (Turkey/U.S.A.).

The composition competition is open to composers of all ages and nationalities. The competition jury members include Orlando Jacinto Garcia, Jorge Caballero, and Federico Bonacossa. Deadline for submissions to the Composition Competition is January 30, 2024.

Lectures will be presented on a variety of topics by Cihat Askin, Neva Ozgen, Yelda Ozgen, David Dolata, Marco Battaglia, and Mesut Ozgen. Masterclasses will be conducted by Jorge Caballero, Robert Trent, Mesut Ozgen, Cihat Askin, Neva Ozgen Kosoglu, and Rafael Padron. The Luthiers Expo will be presenting wonderful guitars of talented luthiers both virtually and in-person. Luthier registrations with video submissions continue until February 10, 2024.

The MIGF has been a successful annual festival thanks to all guest artists, our generous sponsors at all levels, tireless student volunteers, and audiences. Without you, it wouldn’t have been possible for us to accomplish this tremendous task of organizing a major international festival and making it a successful contribution to the lives of South Florida residents and in general to the music and guitar world. Thank you so much for sharing our excitement and joy of being part of this great festival. You can view the photos and videos from the festival events here on the media pages, as well as the festival facebook page and youtube channel.

I look forward to seeing you in February 2023, as we celebrate the music, our beloved instrument, and the Art in general.

Sincerely,
Mesut Özgen
Artistic Director and Founder

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