Internationally celebrated guitarists are set to visit the island later this month to celebrate the 14th Annual Bermuda Guitar Festival.

Among this year’s highlighted artists are Armenian guitarist Gohar Vardanyan, who has garnered acclaim throughout the United States, and returning performer Mike Dawes, who previously wowed audiences at the festival in 2015.

Organiser Steve Crawford, who teaches at the Bermuda School of Music, said: “We actually tried to get him back last year, but he had already agreed to go on tour with Justin Hayward from the Moody Blues.

“The reaction to him last time was fantastic. The house was buzzing. And now this year we also have Ms Vardanyan, who probably ranks among the best guitar players of her generation. She is becoming quite a name.”

Mr Crawford said that Ms Vardanyan, a former soloist for the Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra and the Panama National Symphony Orchestra, is set to open the festival on May 26, performing a set of Spanish nationalist music.

The following night, Mr Crawford will team with violinist LaTannia Ellerbe, a fellow Bermuda School of Music Teacher, with a programme of rock classics, with Mr Dawes taking over after intermission with his own blues/pop/contemporary style.

And on Saturday May 28, the festival is set to conclude with a Gala Concert featuring the students from the School of Music.

Beyond just entertaining and inspiring the audiences, Mr Crawford said the annual event has an educational component, with local guitar students getting the opportunity to learn from international performers.

Over the course of the festival, he said Ms Vardanyan is set to deliver a masterclass to students, while Mr Dawes will highlight some tricks of the trade.

“He shows them how he gets a drum beat going, puts a melody in and a harmony in,” Mr Crawford explained. “He sort of devises his arrangements like that.”

Mr Crawford also said that this year’s event has garnered the support of Bermudian artist Graham Foster, who produced a unique painting for the festival.

Along with using the painting to promote the event, the original work will be put up for silent auction to raise funds to support music education.

Expressing his own excitement about the coming festival, Mr Crawford said: “I have seen on several occasions some of the finest concerts of any genre at the Festival. I suppose that’s what always gives me the motivation to go back year after year, keeping it alive.

“It’s good for people to come out, be able to switch their phone off for a while and just let go for a while. It’s a nice time to just go out, relax, and it’s great to see everyone up beat about it.”

The Bermuda Guitar Festival will take place at St Andrew’s Church on Court Street from May 26 to May 28. Tickets are available at ptix.bm, Music Box and the Bermuda School of Music