DETROIT, MI Composer and guitarist James Lentini recently participated as a juror in the prestigious 2003 Segovia International Guitar Competition in La Herradura, Spain. The competition took place January 2-6 and Lentini's original composition, "Westward Voyage", was the required repertoire for the second round of the competition. "Westward Voyage", a solo guitar composition, was awarded the 2002 AndrÈs Segovia International Composition Prize. This prize led to Lentini's participation on an international jury of guitarists and composers for the 2003 guitar competition in Spain. The Segovia Competition is based in the town of La Herradura, Spain, located on the Mediterranean coast about 70 kilometers south of Granada. From January 2-6, thirty-two young guitarists from around the world competed for the first prize of $8,000 and a newly made Paco Santiago MarÌn guitar, worth $6,000. In the first round, guitarists from 19 countries performed the demanding Bach Chaconne, as well as a free selection. Fourteen of the thirty-two guitarists advanced to the second round, and it was here that they had to perform James Lentini's "Westward Voyage". "I was quite amazed at how good the players were," said Lentini. "I expected a certain level of competence and preparation, but this was finest group of young guitarists I have ever heard assembled under one roof." Lentini was given the responsibility of awarding a $700 prize to one of the 14 guitarists for the best interpretation of his composition. Lentini awarded the prize to Ukrainian guitarist Roman Viazovsky. Viazovsky also took third place, a $2,000 prize, in the overall competition. Lentini was also given the honor of screening compositions for the next winner of the Segovia Composition Prize. Along with Eduardo Morales Caso, a composer from Madrid, Lentini screened 104 submitted works. Leo Brouwer, an icon of the guitar composition world, joined them during the final phase of the discussions. "Brouwer was gracious and knowledgeable, and the room seemed to hang on just about every word he spoke," said Lentini. "Hechizos", a work by Chilean-French composer Mauricio Arena Fuentes, was awarded the 2003 AndrÈs Segovia International Composition Prize. James Lentini is a Professor of Composition and the Associate Chairman of the Department of Music at Wayne State University in Detroit, where he has been a faculty member since 1988. His works have been performed in Italy, Spain, Chile, Poland, Bulgaria, and throughout the U.S. As a performing guitarist, he has studied the instrument with Joe Fava, Charles Postlewate, and William Kanengiser. Wayne State University Department of Music is celebrating 84 years of artistic and academic excellence. The Department's faculty includes renowned jazz artists, composers, scholars, educators and members of the internationally acclaimed Detroit Symphony Orchestra. WSU alumni have gone on to careers in distinguished orchestras, ensembles and as soloists and music educators the world over. For more information on the Department of Music, call 313.577.1795 or visit the WSU Department of Music on the web at www.music.wayne.edu.