Yamaha today announced that a number of the world’s top musicians will serve as judges for legendary GRAMMY® winning guitarist and producer Lee Ritenour’s fourth Six String Theory Competition. The competition is open to guitarists, bass players, keyboard players and drummers.
“We have assembled an incredible array of judges who are some of the best musicians on the planet,” said Ritenour. “When busy people with this level of talent devote their time to this endeavor, the musician community affirms its commitment to cultivating the next generation of great players.”
Guitar judges include (*denotes Yamaha Artist): *Don Alder, Joe Bonamassa, Vince Gill, Guthrie Govan, Sonny Landreth, *Steve Lukather, Pat Martino, Brent Mason, Andy McKee, Keb’ Mo’, *Lee Ritenour, John Scofield, Joe Satriani.
Rhythm judges, including keyboards, include (*denotes Yamaha Artist): Victor Bailey, *Ndugu Chancler, *Nathan East, *Sonny Emory, Dave Grusin, Daniel Jobim, Tom Kennedy, *Abraham Laboriel, Harvey Mason, *Patrice Rushen, *John Patitucci, Simon Phillips, *Oscar Seaton, *Dave Weckl.
In addition to Yamaha, sponsors include Berklee College of Music, Montreux Jazz Festival, Blue Note Tokyo, Crown of the Continent Guitar Workshop and Festival, Monster, Premier Guitar, JAZZIZ magazine, Music Connection magazine, Concord Records and D’Addario. The competition offers a total prize package value of more than $600,000 this year.
Four grand-prize winners (one in each instrument category) will win an opportunity to perform at the 2014 Montreux Jazz Festival. In addition to being invited to record on Ritenour’s forthcoming 2014 Concord album, the Six String Theory guitar Grand Prize winner will appear with Ritenour and other guitar legends at the “Legends of Guitar” concert at Montreux, to be filmed in HD. Additional prizes include: four full scholarships to the Berklee College of Music; Yamaha instruments and endorsements; Crown of the Continent Guitar Workshop scholarships; and more.
Registration is open through May 15, 2014. All applicants must submit two YouTube videos via the website, www.sixstringtheory.com. Guitar applicants may register in the genres of rock, blues, jazz/fusion, acoustic, classical/flamenco and country. For Rhythm Players, any contemporary music style will be accepted including jazz, fusion, R&B, rock, blues and others. To access video of contest guidelines narrated by Lee Ritenour and filmed by Yamaha, please see the links below.
The competition debuted in 2010 with the release of Ritenour’s all-star guitar recording SIX STRING THEORY and by popular demand, expanded to include bass, piano/keyboard and drums with the release of RHYTHM SESSIONS in 2012.
Yamaha Corporation of America (YCA) is one of the largest subsidiaries of Yamaha Corporation, Japan and offers a full line of award-winning musical instruments, sound reinforcement and home entertainment products to the U.S. market. Products include: Yamaha acoustic, digital and hybrid pianos, portable keyboards, guitars, acoustic and electronic drums, band and orchestral instruments, marching percussion products, synthesizers, professional digital and analog audio equipment, Steinberg recording products and Nexo commercial audio products, as well as AV receivers, amplifiers, Blu-ray/CD players, iPod docking systems, home-theater-in-a-box systems, earphones, headphones, sound bars, and its exclusive line of Digital Sound Projectors. YCA markets innovative, finely crafted technology and entertainment products and musical instruments targeted to the hobbyist, education, worship, professional music, installation and consumer markets.
Contact: Sharleen Bazeghi
6stringtheory@gmail.com
