Two of Matthias' students, Daniel Rojas Salgado and Tian Mengya 田梦雅, were prize winners at the International Guitar Competition held in Changsha, capital of the Chinese province Hunan.

The festival and competition, which took place July 27-30, had contestants from China, Russia, Germany, and Costa Rica, and featured famous guitarists like Yang Xuefei 楊雪霏, Johannes Möller, Grammy winner Jason Vieaux, and composer Roland Dyens.