An acclaimed MTSU alumnus and a Peruvian-American virtuoso will perform in free concerts and present free master classes for music aficionados when MTSU celebrates the 16th annual Tennessee Guitar Festival Jan. 29-31 on campus.

Jorge Caballero

Matt Palmer

Headlining this year’s festival are Matt Palmer, the MTSU alumnus who debuted at Carnegie Hall in 2014 in that venue’s D’Addario Performance Series, and Peruvian-American guitarist Jorge Caballero.

Palmer will present the MTSU festival’s Sunday, Jan. 29, concert at 8 p.m. on the Hinton Music Hall stage inside the university’s Wright Music Building, and Caballero will perform at 8 p.m. Monday, Jan. 30.

A searchable campus parking map is available at http://tinyurl.com/MTSUParkingMap. Off-campus visitors attending the master classes can obtain a special one-day permit at www.mtsu.edu/parking/visit.php.

A Tennessee native and 2003 magna cum laude graduate of MTSU who is now director of guitar studies at Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland, and coordinator of the Eastern Shore Guitar Festival and Workshop, Palmer has received rave reviews at international performances.

Guitar International Magazine described his work as having “the soul of an artist, with the technical virtuosity of the highest caliber and a heightened sense of musicality.”

You can get a preview of Palmer’s MTSU appearance by watching a video of his performance of Sergei Rudnev’s “Night” below.

Caballero is renowned for his historic recordings, including Antonín Dvorâk’s “New World” Symphony transcribed for solo guitar, making him one of only two guitarists in the world to perform and record the monumental work.

He’s performed as a soloist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, the New York Chamber Symphony, the Naples Philharmonic and the Presidential Symphony of Ankara, Turkey, among others.

You can preview Caballero’s MTSU visit by watching a video of his performance last year of Modest Mussorgsky’s “The Great Gate of Kiev” from “Pictures at an Exhibition” below.

Palmer’s master class is set for Jan. 30 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in Hinton Hall. Caballero will present his master class Tuesday, Jan. 31, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in Hinton Hall.

“We have been doing this festival for many years, and I can attest that these two performers are of the best we’ve ever had,” said Dr. William Yelverton, festival director and a professor of music at MTSU. “This is a unique opportunity to hear truly two of the finest guitarists in the world today.”

More information is available at www.TennesseeGuitarFestival.com.

For details on more MTSU School of Music events, call 615-898-2493 or visit the MTSU School of Music “Concert Calendar” link.

— Gina E. Fann (gina.fann@mtsu.edu)