The world’s leading classical guitarists will gather at the University of Louisville’s School of Music June 18‒23 for the 2018 Guitar Foundation of America Convention and Competition.

The six-day festival, the largest of its kind in North America, will feature concerts, master classes on technique and artistic development, lectures and an international competition. The winner of the top prize will receive $7,500, recording contracts and a 50-city concert tour at venues in the United States, United Kingdom, Brazil and China.

The event is expected to attract as many as 800 people with about 30 percent of attendees coming from outside the country, said Stephen Mattingly, UofL guitar professor and convention host.

“It really puts the UofL guitar program on the map internationally,” Mattingly said.

The Louisville Convention and Visitors Bureau estimates that the event, which was first held at UofL in 2013, has a $1.5 million economic impact for the city.

Concerts will be in the Margaret Comstock Concert Hall, School of Music. Featured performers include: