Grammy-winning guitarist/producer, Local 47 member Lee Ritenour hosts the biennial Six String Theory Competition for the 5th time with applications accepted in guitar, bass, piano/keyboards, and drums.
Registration is open through May 15, 2016, on the website sixstringtheory.com by submitting two YouTube videos. For guitar, applicants may register in the genres of Rock, Blues, Jazz/Fusion, Acoustic/Country, Classical/Flamenco and Rhythm Guitar which includes Pop, Funk, R&B, and World styles (Brazilian, Latin, African, Island, etc.). For rhythm players, any contemporary music style will be accepted such as jazz, fusion, R & B, rock, blues, etc.
Partnering again with Yamaha, Berklee College of Music, Premier Guitar, Blue Note Tokyo, Crown Guitar Workshop & Festival, Monster, Jazziz, D’Addario, True Fire and Guitar HD, the 2016 competition offers incredible professional opportunities and a total prize package value of over $700,000.
Prize highlights for the 2016 competition include: Berklee College of Music Scholarships; performance at the legendary Blue Note Tokyo with Lee Ritenour and up-and-coming All-Star musicians from Japan; recording on Ritenour’s forthcoming album at the stunning Woodshed Recording Studio in Malibu, and Scholarships and Performances at Crown Guitar Festival in scenic Montana. Other prizes include travel and hotel for performance and recording opportunities, Yamaha instruments and endorsements, professional mentoring with Lee Ritenour, and Monster and D’Addario prizes.
The Six String Theory Competition is the inspiration of Ritenour, who debuted the International Competition in 2010 with the release of his all-star guitar CD, “6 String Theory.” The guitar-only contest was a great success and the winner, Shon Boublil, recorded a track on “6 String Theory” and won a four-year scholarship to Berklee College of Music, in which he just graduated in 2015. The guitar contest continued to grow in popularity and scope with another competition in 2011, which guitarist David Murray Browne won. By 2012, the competition expanded to include three new instruments — piano, bass and drums — and attracted wonderful, diverse talent from over 70 countries. Lee Ritenour’s Six String Theory Competition also became an official non-profit organization with the mission of supporting aspiring musicians towards a professional music career through scholarships, recording, performing, mentoring and prizes.
The 2012 rhythm winners Selim Munir, Hans de Wild, Michael Feinberg, and Demetrius Nabors recorded a track on Ritenour’s Grammy-nominated “Rhythm Sessions” starring musicians Chick Corea, George Duke, Stanley Clarke, Patrice Rushen and more. The guitar winner, Karl Marino, is halfway done with his Berklee College of Music four-year scholarship. The 2014 winners performed at the illustrious Montreux Jazz Festival and the guitar grand prize winner, Tony Pusztai, recorded a track on Ritenour’s “Twist of Rit” album starring greats such as: Academy® & Grammy® winning Dave Grusin, Dave Weckl, John Beasley, and Ernie Watts.
Legendary advisory judges will work with Ritenour to evaluate and determine the 2016 winners. Those judges include Joe Satriani, Joe Bonamassa, Keb’ Mo’, Vince Gill, Brent Masen, Pat Martino, John Scofield, Julian Lage, Guthrie Govan, Steve Lukather, Daryl Stuermer John Patitucci, Dave Weckl, Harvey Mason, Patrice Rushen, John Beasley, Sonny Emory, Will Kennedy, Dave Grusin, Nathan East and many others.
