International Guitar Festival
Southern Illinois University Carbondale
♦ presents ♦
SIU International Guitar Festival
Dr. Isaac Lausell - Artistic Director of the Festival
Featured Artists
MAGIQ Illinois Guitar Quartet featuring
- Marcos Vinicius
- Issac Lausell
SIU Guitar Studio/Ensemble
Concert Itinerary
- The SIU Guitar Studio/Ensemble TBA
- Marcos Vinicius – November 1st OBF Recital Hall
If you have a high school or middle school music program and would like to be sponsored to attend the festival, contact Dr. Lausell for more information at isaac.lausell@siu.edu.
There is no need to register for the festival. You can pay with cash or by check at the concert.
New Guest Artists
Guitarist • Teacher • Composer
Marcos Vinicius's journey with the guitar began in a uniquely magical way at just eight years old. While visiting a bazaar in Congonhas—a UNESCO World Heritage Site—he spotted a guitar hanging from a rope amidst various objects. Instantly captivated, this chance encounter marked the beginning of a lifelong artistic path.
Marcos launched his remarkable career by winning the prestigious international "Villa-Lobos" competition at a very young age. He later earned the Certificate of Merit from the Chigiana Music Academy in Siena, Italy, where he was recognized as the best student of the legendary Oscar Ghiglia.
From the outset, he has performed internationally across diverse stages and countries, including the Vatican City, Spain, Serbia, Montenegro, Mongolia, Ukraine, Austria, the UK, Finland, Turkey, Peru, Cyprus, Poland, Italy, Palestine, Israel, the USA, China, and many more. In China, he serves as the Artistic Consultant for the Xi'an Baroque School of Music, and has performed in esteemed venues such as the National Library Music Concert Hall, Beijing University, and Ningbo Concert Hall.
In his home country of Brazil, he is a frequent guest at festivals and seminars. He also founded and directed Violão América, the country's first guitar-focused magazine, and established the Belo Horizonte Guitar Ensemble.
Among the highlights of his performing career are appearances at the iconic Wigmore Hall in London and the United Nations Headquarters in New York.
The prestigious publisher Carrara (distributed by Schott Music) dedicated an entire series to him—the Marcos Vinicius Guitar Collection. This series includes original compositions, technical treatises, and transcriptions of works by Telemann, Rossini, Bach, Handel, Weiss, Sanz, Paganini, and Pernambuco.
He has collaborated with respected publishers such as Pongo Classica, Rugginenti Editore, Preludio Music, and Sonitus in Italy; Doz Productions in Canada; and Periferia Sheet Music in Spain.
Marcos is often featured in special programs on major radio and TV broadcasters worldwide—including RAI Radiotelevisione Italiana, Vatican Radio, and China's CCTV-9 Music Stories—celebrating his influential work as a performer and composer.
His compositions, praised for their originality, span a variety of formats beyond solo guitar, including works for strings, winds, chamber ensembles, duos, and quartets. He has received several honors, including the Premio Bolgheri Melody (also awarded to Gianna Nannini and former Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi), and the REA Award during the renowned Sanremo Music Festival.
In 1992, after a celebrated performance of Joaquín Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez with the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra—an interpretation so appreciated that Rodrigo personally invited him to his summer residence—Marcos was named Best Solo Player of the Year by Brazilian critics.
In 2004, he headlined a commemorative Mass concert in Milan, organized by the Brazilian Cultural Institute in honor of the late racing legend Ayrton Senna.
In 2010, he was appointed a cultural ambassador for the United Nations and FAO, performing in Jericho—the world's oldest city—during its 10,000-year celebration. He later performed at the UN Central Palace in New York before Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf.
He was also a featured performer at the International Food Day celebration, sharing the stage with Dee Dee Bridgewater, with Jeremy Irons being named Goodwill Ambassador. The event also featured appearances by Carl Lewis, Carla Fracci, Gina Lollobrigida, Pietro Mennea, Nino Benvenuti, Céline Dion, and Roberto Baggio, all supporting FAO campaigns for the Horn of Africa.
His collaborations with orchestras include the Pernambuco Symphony Orchestra, Minas Gerais Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Sinfonica Italiana, and the Kiev Symphony Orchestra. He has performed in Brazil's major cities—including São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, Recife, Olinda, Belém, and Florianópolis—and internationally, including at Istanbul's prestigious Cemal Reşit Rey Concert Hall.
Recently drawn back to the expressive power of the human voice—he once sang as a tenor—Marcos composed a stunning Ave Maria for mixed choir, which won the Victoria International Choir Festival in Kiev. He has since continued to compose choral works, including complete Mass settings, Salve Regina, Magnificat, Anima Christi, and others.
Message From Dr. Lausell
Our festival started back in 2014 with a roster of distinguished guests, including our own Dr. Douglas Worthen, now professor emeritus, and the late professor Armando Núñez-Portillo from Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua in México. In the blink of an eye, 10 years have gone by; however, due to the pandemic, we did not get to have our festival for one year. As so technically this is our 10th anniversary.
In this last decade, our audiences at Southern Illinois have had the opportunity to enjoy the music of some of the world's finest guitarists, musicians who also mentored our students directly. We still mourn the loss of some of these dear mentors and friends, such as the late professor Armando Núñez-Portillo and professor Samuel Morales, both of whom have passed in recent years.
What to expect in the next ten years? We want to pass on this legacy to our upcoming guitarists. Our goal is for SIU to continue being a place of gathering for guitarists. We want to continue to prepare musicians to take their knowledge and talent to the stage and into the classroom and help to mentor the next generation.
Sincerely,
—Dr. Isaac Lausell
Donations & Sponsorship
We have opportunities for local and national businesses and enterprises interested in sponsoring the guitar festival. For more detailed information on the levels of sponsorship, contact Dr. Isaac Lausell at isaac.lausell@siu.edu.
Contact
For questions regarding the festival and the guitar program at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, send us an email at: isaac.lausell@siu.edu.
For other inquiries:
Southern Illinois University Carbondale
1000 South Normal Ave
Carbondale, Illinois, 62901
Phone: 618-536-8742