Byron Goble, senior music major at Texas A&M University, placed fourth in the undergraduate division of the 2011 Immanuel and Helen Olshen Texas Music Festival Classical Minds Guitar Competition held in Houston, Texas, on June 14th-19th.
Goble’s passion for music began early. Growing up in Sugarland, Texas he studied violin, percussion, and piano. In 2005, he began taking classical guitar lessons from Valerie Hartzell, a classical guitarist who is the creator and Director of the Classical Minds Guitar Festival and Competition at Moores School of Music, University of Houston.
“Byron is one of the most naturally gifted students I have had the pleasure of teaching. Having had a musical upbringing has played an important part in his development as a guitarist and it was obvious from our first lesson that he had a refined musical mind,” says Isaac Bustos, director of guitar studies in the Department of Performance Studies. “We are privileged to have a student of his caliber in our program. His recent success at the Texas Music Festival ‘Classical Minds’ Guitar Competition is a testament to his abilities as a musician.”
Under Bustos’s guidance, Goble has built an impressive resume of success in classical guitar competitions. He reached finals in both the 2007 and 2011 Texas Music Festival ‘Classical Minds’ Guitar Competitions and was a finalist in the 2007 Eastfield Collegiate Guitar Competition.
“With respect to my progress as a guitarist, I have literally gone from a beginner to a prize-winning guitarist under Dr. Bustos’ tutelage in a very short time,” says Goble. “The small class sizes and the highly talented and qualified faculty are the greatest benefits of studying music at Texas A&M.”
In Feb. 2009, Goble performed as a soloist in Plano, Texas, at the Fourth Annual Guitar Orchestra Workshop, where he also served as an assistant faculty member.
A founding member of the Texas A&M Guitar Quartet, Goble helped the group win second prize at the 2010 University of Texas-Brownsville Guitar Ensemble.
Goble’s current endeavors include maintaining a studio of guitar and percussion students. Goble is also a member of the Guitar Foundation of America, Mu Phi Epsilon-Professional Music Fraternity, and the Texas Music Educators Association.
Goble continues to pursue a Bachelor of Arts in music and a minor in German.
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