With Strings Attached

A young Franklin student now holds an international honor. Seventeen-year-old Alec Holcomb earned first place in the Young Guitarist category at the Parkening International Guitar Competition. The event, which is held yearly in California on the campus of Pepperdine University, is the world’s most prestigious classical guitar competition. Competitors from around the globe make the pilgrimage to Malibu for an exciting event that puts their skills to the test. Holcomb, who is no novice to competition, has competed in the Guitar Foundation of America’s Youth Competition and the Boston GuitarFest, among others. He began training on the instrument at 6 years old, under the tutelage of his father. At age 12, he won Vanderbilt University’s Myra Jackson Blair Scholarship, allowing him to work with John Johns, classical guitar chair at the school. Holcomb began studying with Christopher Parkening, the legendary master for whom the competition is named, at the age of 13. He has travelled extensively to study with some of the most accomplished classical guitarists in the world in intensive masterclasses. The young musician played selections from J. S. Bach,  Heitor Villa-Lobos, and Michael Praetorius, among others, for his performance at the Parkening.

Visit www.nashvillearts.com to see a video of Holcomb playing.
www.alecholcomb.com

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