From August 5 to 9, the Saigon International Guitar Festival (SIGF 2026) will be held at the Ho Chi Minh City Conservatory of Music. This event, held for the 10th time since 2014, is a key event commemorating the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Ho Chi Minh City Conservatory of Music and the 70th anniversary of classical guitar education at the school.
A group of international "guitar masters" reunited in Ho Chi Minh City.
The most attractive feature of SIGF 2026 is the presence of a number of prestigious guitarists and lecturers from Argentina, Poland, Denmark, Czech Republic, Japan, Korea, Indonesia, Thailand and many typical Vietnamese guitarists.
In addition to performing, the artists also directly teach classes through a series of master classes and lectures for students, teachers, young artists, and classical guitar enthusiasts.
Among them are names highly regarded in the international guitar world, such as Kozo Tate (Japan), Leonardo Bravo and Federico Nunez (Argentina), Leon Koudelak (Czech Republic), Ji Won Choi (Korea), and Kasia Smolarek (Poland). The masterclasses will focus on performance technique, musical thinking, and approaches to contemporary classical guitar.
According to the organizers, the aim of the academic event series is not only to teach skills but also to create opportunities for young Vietnamese artists to directly exchange with professionals working in the international arena.
Six concert evenings, six colors of guitar
Over the five days of the festival, viewers will be treated to six concert programs with specific themes.
The premiere of "Heart, Soul, and Passion" (August 5) opened with a performance by the Festival Guitar Ensemble, bringing together generations of guitarists from the Ho Chi Minh City Conservatory of Music, along with oboe and ensembles such as the Saigon Guitar Quartet and the Winners' Duet. "Heart, Soul, and Passion" is also the title of a new work by Canadian composer Patrick Roux, copyrighted and premiered in Vietnam.
The following evenings will take the audience from the Renaissance to contemporary music (August 6), celebrate Asian and European guitars (August 7), explore the combination of guitar and woodwind instruments (August 8), and conclude with the "Dances of the Festival" (August 9) with world-famous folk melodies and tangos.
In particular, The Winners program on the afternoon of August 9 will be open free of charge to present two past International Guitar Competition champions, Great Britain (Vietnam) and Ricky O. Hermansyah (Indonesia).
A notable new feature of SIGF 2026 is the Handmade Guitar Exhibition, where the public will have the opportunity to meet guitar makers from Korea, China, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Famous names such as Kim San Gil, Mo Gophan, Wiroon Guitar, Rachata Guitars, Bulbul Guitars and two Vietnamese masters Vu Tran and Nguyen Ho will introduce you to the process of creating a classical guitar, from the selection of wood, acoustic treatment and finishing of the instrument.
According to Nguyen Thanh Huy, head of the guitar department at the Ho Chi Minh City Conservatory of Music, this is a rare opportunity for music lovers to better understand the essence of a quality guitar and meet renowned guitar makers in the region. He also announced that this year's festival continues to expand the activities of guitar ensembles, combining them with wind instruments and introducing new performance techniques, such as Argentine tango.
A meeting place for the Asian guitar community.
In addition to the concert series, SIGF 2026 will also organize an open classical guitar competition for participants from many Asian countries, with professional, amateur, children's and ensemble groups.
"For the first time, a group of 19 children from Buon Ma Thuot has registered to participate in the amateur band concert competition, which promises to be an interesting performance and also demonstrate the popularity of the guitar in Vietnam," added teacher Thanh Hai.
In recent years, the competition has attracted more and more young artists from Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines (for the first time) and Vietnam, making Ho Chi Minh City a prominent meeting place for the regional classical guitar community.
The Saigon International Guitar Festival, celebrating its 10th anniversary, not only offers a series of concerts for guitar lovers, but also reaffirms the Ho Chi Minh City Conservatory of Music's role as a regional center for classical guitar education and exchange, where artists, teachers, students, and the public meet, learn, and share their passion for the six-string guitar.
