Adam Levin has always had a goal: to create a destination for guitar performance, education, and community building. The University of Rhode Island became a place for Levin to see his dreams flourish, carefully constructed over the last ten years of his tenure. Levin teaches classical guitar in the music department and is responsible for the world’s most prominent Guitar and Mandolin Festival.
Levin and his chamber music groups (Duo Mantar, Duo Sonidos, Shein-Levin duo, and The Great Necks Guitar Trio) have performed extensively across the United States at renowned venues such as Chicago’s Pick Staiger, Nichols, and Mayne Stage concert halls as well as at the prestigious Art Institute of Chicago; Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts, and Jordan Hall; Spivey Hall in Atlanta; repeat appearances at Le Poisson Rouge in New York City; and the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. In Europe, Levin has performed in some of the finest venues across Spain, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Israel, China, Brazil, and Colombia. Levin’s live performances have been featured nationally numerous times on NPR’s Performance Today, the nationally syndicated Classical Guitar Alive, and studio performances on top radio stations, including WFMT Chicago, WCRB Boston, and RIPR Rhode Island.
Before finding his footing in the Kingston community, Levin began to figure out his path in his hometown of Chicago. He enrolled at Northwestern for his undergraduate career, where completed a double-degree program in psychology, premed, and classical guitar. While the former two disciplines offered job security, the latter was for his “soul and heart.”
“I’ve always wanted to help human beings transform into their best selves. By choosing to study music, it provided a level of joy and an ability to transform an audience, a student, or myself into a more sensitive citizen of the world,” says Levin.
After completing his degree at Northwestern, he earned his master’s in music from the New England Conservatory in Boston, Massachusetts. He was immersed in a community of like-minded students and was mentored by Eliot Fisk, an American classical guitar virtuoso. Through Fisk’s mentorship, Levin felt empowered to become a powerhouse musician and music activist.
He also developed a mission to demystify and define the Spanish sound as a classical guitarist. He secured a two-year Fulbright fellowship in Madrid.
“Suddenly, I was immersed in the music I’ve been playing since childhood, and learning from the very best. I spent my time learning the 20th-century repertoire, all while the 21st-century music was making waves and experiencing a new renaissance. I met with the best Spanish composers and commissioned 30 new pieces,” says Levin.
Throughout his studies, Levin envisioned creating an ideal classical guitar program for young musicians. In 2015, URI became the place to bring that vision to life. Before his arrival, there was a modest classical program in the department, and he was given a blank slate to create something new. He teaches introductory courses, advanced applied classical guitar, where students work one-on-one with him to master their craft, and an ensemble class where he encourages critical thinking, an entrepreneurial and innovative spirit, and collaborative skills.
However, the core of Levin’s program is, of course, about refining skills, but more importantly, cultivating a personal musical identity.
“It’s one of the greatest gifts we can help young musicians cultivate during their undergraduate and graduate studies,” says Levin. “The idea that at URI, you are creating the first template of your musical identity is so exciting. Additionally, I want to build a lasting music ecosystem between weekly courses, performance opportunities at URI and in the community, and create a guitar festival that provides students with multiple perspectives beyond my own.”
Now in its tenth edition, in collaboration with the Rhode Island Guitar Guild, the University of Rhode Island Guitar and Mandolin Festival continues to demonstrate the truly universal nature of the guitar, uniting artists and audiences alike. What started as a one-day festival has evolved into one of the most prominent events in the world, featuring international and award-winning artists, and offering students the opportunity to attend master classes and workshops. This massive achievement is a reflection of the ecosystem that Levin built; the event permeates the community’s fabric throughout the year.
In addition to the festival, Levin is also responsible for the Kithara Project, a non-profit he founded with partner Matthew Rohde ten years ago. The organization runs five community-based guitar education programs: one at a community center serving a low-income housing development near Boston, another in a self-governing community in southeast Mexico City, a third at an elementary school in Albuquerque’s South Valley, a fourth at a middle school in Detroit, and a fifth location in Providence, Rhode Island, at Hope High School.
“I am, of course, a family man, too,” says Levin. “I want to show my children a good example of what it means to be creative, sensitive, and how to give back to the community.”
*In 2023, the music department piloted the Course in Mandolin Excellence under the direction of Israeli mandolin virtuoso, Jacob Reuven. After a blazing success, the festival has been rebranded as the URI Guitar and Mandolin Festival.