Written 01/12/09

The recent West Sussex Guitar Festival, held over two weekends at The Regis School of Music, Sudley Road, Bognor Regis has been a resounding success. There were 126 entries for the under 18 classes and 59 entries for the senior sections. However, when it is considered that there were many classes for duets and ensembles, there were a very large number of participants indeed.

The Festival began with a concert on Friday evening given by Gary Ryan, Professor of Guitar at the Royal College of Music. The Recital Hall was packed to capacity as one of the biggest audiences ever, braved the gales and rain to see one of the country's top guitarists perform a spectrum of music ranging from the 16th Century to some of his own current compositions.

Gary was then the adjudicator for the first weekend where performances were given by the under 18's. The adjudicator for the senior classes was Hayley Savage a well respected recitalist, composer and tutor. Classes ranged from non-competitive beginners through to advanced players, ensembles including family ensembles, and guitars with other instruments and voice. There were even composer and arrangers classes. The standard of playing was extremely high and it was obvious that everyone had put in a great deal of preparation towards their performances. The audience were left in doubt that Bognor's Got Talent. The event is not just a competition since the adjudicators are able to advise on technique and demonstrate how the performances can be improved.

One of the highlights of the festival is the prestigious West Dean Scholarship which is awarded to a young person playing at grade 5 or above. The winner receives non-residential attendance at the West Dean International Guitar Festival and Summer School 2010, courtesy of West Dean College. The runner up receives a £200 bursary towards the attendance at the college awarded by the West Sussex Guitar Club. The standard of performance in this class was exceptionally high, again reflecting the amount of preparation that the students put into their performance. The judges had a very difficult decision to make, but after long deliberation chose Zak Habgood as the winner with Robert Mathias as the runner up.

Results of Junior Classes

Results of Senior Classes