Established in 1997, this is a competition for jazz performance on the Classical Guitar endowed by Liveryman Ivor Mairants and now supported by leading companies of the related instrument industry.

For twenty years the IMGA was awarded annually, but in 2018 a new award, The New Elizabethan Award for guitarists and lutenists (The NEA) was established and designed to alternate biennially with the IMGA.

An article which first appeared in Preserve Harmony Issue 16 is presented below, click on the image to load the page.