Pietro Ruscigno and Eduard Hrushyan Receive the 2025-2026 GSI Foundation Classical Guitar Scholarship!

We are happy to announce the newest recipients of the GSI Foundation Classical Guitar Scholarship at the USC Thornton School of Music - Pietro Ruscigno and Eduard Hrushyan.

Italian classical guitarist, Pietro Ruscigno, was born in 2002 and began studying classical guitar at the age of 11. His interest in other disciplines such as philosophy literature, opera and cinema constitutes a significant part of his musical and artistic choices. Furthermore, his interest in traditional music from Mediterranean Europe allows him to outline a repertoire that ranges from Bach to Rodrigo, passing through Giuliani, Tárrega, Llobet and Barrios. He has won several first prizes in international competitions and has been a student in several masterclasses. He currently lives in LA where he just completed a Master’s Degree in Classical Guitar Performance at USC Thornton under Scott Tennant. He will be returning to USC as a Doctoral in Musical Arts candidate. 

Eduard is an incoming USC GC (Graduate Certificate) student. From Armenia, He started playing guitar at age 8 and after exploring jazz and blues idioms he discovered and fell in love with the classical guitar. He received his bachelor’s degree from Yerevan State Conservatory. He recently completed his studies under David Tannenbaum at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. He will be studying under professor grammy winning and LAGQ member, William Kanengiser.

We hope that the GSI Foundation scholarship will help Pietro and Eduard with the costs of her classical guitar education, as it did in previous years for our scholars in the past: Mei Yin Steadman, Juri Yun, Ashley Lucero, Mircea Gogoncea, Tomasz Fechner, Laura Mazon Franqui, Grygorii Koval, and Robert Wang. We’d like to thank countless donors who helped us by donating their guitars or cash to help raise funds for this and other purposes. If you'd like to learn how to help, please visit the GSI Foundation section of our website.

Both Pietro and Eduard will be visiting our showroom later this year for a recording session. 

Support us in our mission

The work of the GSI Foundation is made possible only through the generous support of individuals who have contributed over the years. If you’d like to join in helping future musicians, here’s how:

Donate a Guitar

Many people have guitars at home that are no longer in use. The GSI Foundation provides an easy way to give these instruments a second life—supporting music education and raising funds for our programs. If you have a guitar you’d like to donate, we’ll help you pack and ship it and cover all expenses. You’ll also receive a tax-deductible donation letter.

Donate a Guitar

or

Make a Cash Donation

To make a monetary contribution, visit the Foundation section of our website: guitarsalon.com/foundation