Winner of GuilFest 2008 Competition revealed
Monday 14 July 2008
The University of Surrey is pleased to announce the winner of the GuilFest 2008 Competition. Thomas McCluskey, a 17 year-old from Haslemere, was picked out of the hat by Heather Styche-Patel, Director of Marketing and Communications, to beat over 1,400 of other entries. Thomas collected his prize of a Gibson Les Paul guitar signed by the legendary Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin fame who was recently awarded an honorary doctorate by the University for his services to the music industry. This was also to mark the fact that Led Zeppelin first played under that name at a gig at the University Students’ Union in 1968.
The prize was awarded to Thomas at a ceremony held in the University’s prestigious Performing Arts Technology Centre on 14 July.
Speaking about the win, Thomas said: "I couldn't believe I had won the guitar out of all the people who had entered the competition at GuilFest. As I am studying music and guitar at the Academy of Contemporary Music in Guildford it is an awesome prize and I will treasure it forever. It's my 18th at the end of the month so it feels like I will have the best birthday ever!"
The University entered into a formal association with GuilFest in 2008 continuing its long involvement with the performance of live music in the region and highlighting the pioneering work of the University’s Department of Music and Sound Recording.
GuilFest remains an independently run festival with a very friendly atmosphere, held in the beautiful surroundings of Stoke Park, Guildford. This year’s festival took place on 4th, 5th and 6th July and was headlined by The Levellers, Blondie and The Australian Pink Floyd.
James Patrick "Jimmy" Page, OBE is a world renowned guitarist and composer. Born in Middlesex in 1944, he grew up in Epsom, Surrey where he developed a passion for both painting and music. Throughout the 1960s he was in demand as a session musician, leading eventually to his becoming a member of The Yardbirds. After various personnel changes, the band renamed themselves Led Zeppelin, and played under that name for the first time at the University of Surrey on 25 October 1968.
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