H. Akýn Ünver (IR/II) won 3rd prize in a prestigious classical guitar competition that was held in Ankara last week. The 3rd Antonio Lauro Classical Guitar Competition, bears the name of the world famous Venezuelan guitarist/composer. This year's competition featured such celebrated international guitar maestros as Alirio Diaz, Javier Garcia Moreno and Takeshi Tezuka on its jury.
Akýn Ünver said, "Since I started playing the guitar at age 10, it has been my dream to enter such an important competition. It was very exciting to play for the masters; I have been listening to their performances for many years." 
Akýn Ünver was awarded a trip to Venezuela where he will give a concert with the first and second prize winners. Ünver's achievement is all the more remarkable in that having played for a mere eight years, he is the youngest performer ever to win a prize in the history of the competition. "Ahmet Kanneci, my guitar master, worked under Alirio Diaz who was one of the jury members for the competition. It was very special for both my master and myself to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Alirio Diaz's guitar career in Turkey."
