Adam Levin | Classical Guitar

Praised for his “visceral and imaginative performances” by the Washington Post, award-winning classical guitarist and recording artist Adam Levin has garnered critical acclaim and reached the top of the Billboard charts with his exceptional talent. Levin’s performances have graced renowned venues across the globe, spanning four continents. In the United States, he has performed extensively at prestigious locations including Chicago’s Pick Staiger, Nichols, and Mayne Stage concert halls, as well as the Art Institute of Chicago; Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts, and Jordan Hall; Spivey Hall in Atlanta; and Le Poisson Rouge in New York City. Internationally, Levin has captivated audiences in Spain, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Israel, China, Brazil, and Colombia. His live performances have been featured on NPR’s Performance Today, Classical Guitar Alive, and top radio stations like WFMT Chicago, WCRB Boston, and RIPR Rhode Island.

Throughout the 2019-21 season, Levin toured extensively across the US, making notable appearances at the Guitar Foundation of America, Austin Classical Guitar, Philadelphia Classical Guitar Society, Old First Church in San Francisco, Boston Classical Guitar Society, Berklee College of Music, The National Gallery in Washington D.C., Miami New Music Festival, and Austin Chamber Music. In the 2021-22 concert season, Levin will embark on a tour featuring Israeli, Italian, and Argentinean programs with mandolinist Jacob Reuven (as Duo Mantar), premiere works by Clarice Assad and João Luiz with violinist William Knuth (as Duo Sonidos), perform as a soloist with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, and make solo appearances in Boston, Portland, Los Angeles, and Hawaii. His guitar trio, The Great Necks, will present an all-Spanish program in Virginia and Naples, FL, and later in Albuquerque, NM.

Adam Levin’s accolades include recognition from the Society of American Musicians, the Lake Forest Concerto Competition, Minnesota’s Schubert Competition, Boston GuitarFest, Concurso Internacional de les Corts para Jóvenes Intérpretes in Barcelona, Concurso Internazionale Di Gargnano, and Certamen Internacional Luys Milan de Guitarra in Valencia. For his dedication to promoting and performing Spanish music, he was nominated for the 2011 Trujamán Prize, an honor reserved for three guitarists worldwide annually. In 2020, Levin was named the Ambassador of Music by the Community of Valencia, Spain, representing the region’s rich cultural heritage.

As a Fulbright Scholar from 2008-2011, Levin conducted extensive research on contemporary Spanish guitar repertoire in Madrid, Spain, resulting in a collaboration with 30 Spanish composers across four generations. This collaboration led to a four-volume recording project with Naxos, with the first two volumes, 21st Century Spanish Guitar, Volume 1 and Volume 2, receiving critical acclaim from Classical Guitar Magazine, Soundboard, and American Record Guide. Volume 3, released in November 2017, featured six world premieres of solo works dedicated to Levin by renowned composers such as Antón García Abril, Leonardo Balada, and Cristóbal Halffter. Volume four, released in August 2021 on the Frameworks Record Label, reached number one on the Billboard Traditional Classical Albums Chart. Levin also collaborated with The Great Necks Guitar Trio on an album featuring original arrangements of works by Sibelius, Bach, Marquéz, Villa-Lobos, and Scriabin. His latest release, “Wild Dance” (Naxos Label, February 2019), with violinist William Knuth, received critical acclaim.

An advocate for music education and outreach, Levin founded the non-profit organization Kithara Project to enhance the lives of children and youth through classical guitar education. Under his leadership, Kithara Project runs year-round community-based guitar education programs in Boston, Albuquerque, and Mexico City, reaching approximately 130 students.

A Chicago native, Adam Levin holds bachelor’s degrees from Northwestern University in Music Performance, Psychology, and Pre-Med. He completed his master’s degree in Guitar Performance at the New England Conservatory in Boston. Levin’s esteemed teachers include Eliot Fisk, Oscar Ghiglia, Gabriel Estarellas, Anne Waller, Mark Maxwell, and Paul Henry. He serves as a director of the Young Guitarists’ Workshop at Boston Guitarfest, and as a professor of guitar at the University of Rhode Island and the University of Massachusetts, Boston. Levin is the artistic director of the annual University of Rhode Island Guitar Festival and the Rhode Island Guitar Guild. Adam Levin is an Augustine Artist, performing on guitars crafted by luthiers Stephan Connor and Dominique Field.