Austin Classical Guitar Convention Comes to Austin

Austin, TX - Classical guitarist and Dallas resident Steven Fry has been looking forward to Austin Goes Classical for a while.

"It's pretty much every classical guitarist's dream just to be here, especially when it's so local," Fry said.

He's one of thousands of classical guitar players, vendors and enthusiasts who came to Austin for the Guitar Foundation of America convention.

Matt Hinsley with the Austin Classical Guitar Society has been working hard to make it all come together.

"It's been so fun to put this together over the last two years in Austin. Our vision for this festival was a true city-wide classical festival," he said.

The event is bringing people from all over the world to Austin.

"It's very interesting because there are huge buildings, but at the same time there are trees," said Benoit Albert, a French classical guitarist.

"If you're a classical guitarist anywhere in the world, when the convention happens, you want to be there," said Dr. Michael Quantz, a music professor at UT Brownsville.

During the nearly week-long event, there are concerts, lectures and a prestigious International competition.

"It's like our Wimbledon and the winner of the competition gets a 65-concert tour of North America, a tour of Brazil, China," said Hinsley.

He adds that it's an honor for Austin to play host, and for those who have never gone to a classical guitar concert, there's a little something for everyone.

"Guitar is the ubiquitous pop instrument of the world, and it's got a foot in mariachi, it's got a foot in flamenco and classical guitar brings all of those styles together," Hinsley said.