
The recipient of numerous top prizes, Adam Levin has been recognized by 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.
Levin has been guest artist on a variety of music series, including Madrid’s Sociedad Española de Guitarra, Conciertos en Palacios and Festival Clásicos en Verano, Valencia’s Amigos de la Guitarra, Boston GuitarFest, L’Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena, and Festival Pro Música e Cultura in St.Moritz.
An avid chamber musician, Levin has performed with orchestra, string quartet, and various duo combinations. Adam and Spanish clarinetist Cristo Barrios present transcriptions from the traditional repertoire while commissioning new works by prominent Spanish and Latin American composers. Adam Levin and violinist William Knuth, as Duo Sonidos, bring a fresh interpretation of classical music to wide-ranging audiences across the globe, while expanding the repertoire for violin and guitar through new commissions by composers such as Eduardo Morales-Caso, Jan Freidlin, Jorge Sastre, Jorge Muñiz, Tal Hurwitz, and Jorge Variego. The duo’s debut CD, Duo Sonidos, released in fall 2010, features works by Salvador Brotons, Eduardo Morales-Caso, Manuel de Falla, and Astor Piazzolla. In December 2010, Duo Sonidos was awarded first prize at the Luys Milán International Chamber Music Competition in Valencia, Spain.
Levin’s debut record, In the Beginning, was lauded as “absolutely thrilling…will dazzle and entertain at every possible opportunity” by Minor 7th Acoustic Guitar Music Reviews. The record Music from Out of Time, sponsored by La Communidad de Madrid, boasts world-premiere recordings by contemporary Spanish composers Eduardo Morales-Caso, Leonardo Balada, Mario Gosalvez-Blanco, David Del Puerto, and José María Sánchez Verdú. A fourth recording, Fuego de la Luna, showcasing the complete guitar works of Spanish-Cuban composer Eduardo Morales-Caso, was released on Verso Records in July 2011. In 2012, production will begin on a two-volume recording project and companion publication with Brotons y Mercadal Edicions Musicals, presenting the 30 Spanish works recently commissioned as part of Levin’s residency in Spain.
As an ambassador of the guitar, Mr. Levin is dedicated to sharing a comprehensive repertoire in underserved areas and unconventional spaces. In 2005, as part of a fundraising effort for Hurricane Katrina victims, Adam directed the Concert for Gulf-Coast Aid, which raised $10,000 for hurricane relief. In 2007-08 he was awarded an Albert Schweitzer Fellowship, encompassing 200 hours of innovative community work in Boston area schools, homeless shelters, rehabilitation centers, halfway houses, and prisons.
In 2008, Levin was honored as a Fulbright Scholar in the field of music performance, researching contemporary Spanish guitar repertoire in Madrid, Spain. In collaboration with the Spanish and American embassies, Levin has continued outreach performances in Madrid at a number of bilingual school programs, introducing both American and Spanish classical guitar repertoire to students. In 2009, he was awarded the Program for Cultural Cooperation Fellowship, promoting cultural understanding between Spain and the United States. In May 2010, Levin was awarded the Kate Neal Kinley Fellowship, continuing his research and performance of contemporary Spanish music in Madrid.
A native of Chicago’s North Shore, Adam holds BM and BA degrees from Northwestern University in Music Performance, Psychology, and Pre-Med. Under the tutelage of Eliot Fisk, Levin completed a MM at New England Conservatory in Boston. His esteemed teachers have included Oscar Ghiglia, Gabriel Estarellas, Anne Waller, Mark Maxwell, and Paul Henry. Adam was professor of guitar at Amadeus Escuela de Música in Madrid, Spain, and is currently the codirector of the music program Boston Guitar Immersion, which offers comprehensive guitar instruction to independent schools.
www.adamlevinguitar.com