About Us

The Brownsville Guitar Ensemble Festival is held at the end of March in Brownsville, Texas.  We created the first national competition for acoustic guitar ensembles and we collaborate with world renown guitarists as feature performers and clinicians.

Our mission:

-Give guitar ensembles a venue to show their accomplishments in an encouraging atmosphere
-Gather young musicians, gifted artists, and outstanding teachers to discover new possibilities for guitar music
-Support music performance and education at all levels
-Contribute to the Rio Grande Valley community by bringing outstanding musicians and educators to Brownsville and South Texas 

Who We Are

We are the guitar students and teachers of Brownsville, the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, and many other friends and supporters in South Texas. We began with the generous support of the late George Ramirez and the Brownsville Society for the Performing Arts, the University of Texas at Brownsville (now UTRGV), the D'Addario Foundation, the Guitar Foundation of America, and the Texas Commission on the Arts. We now operate under the auspices of the Brownsville Society for the Performing Arts, a private nonprofit supporting the arts and arts education.

Our History

Created by Dr. Michael Quantz in 2001, the festival was designed to benefit students and music programs of all levels studying music on the guitar. We share our accomplishments and profound enrichment in making music. Ensembles from over 50 cities across the US (California to Florida to Alaska) and Mexico have participated in the Festival. Some of the greats in the classical guitar world have performed and taught for us including Grammy winners: David Russell, the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, Jason Vieaux, and Los Romeros.