Player Spotlight: Adam Levin
Adam Levin has been praised by renowned American guitarist, Eliot Fisk, as a “virtuoso guitarist and a true 21st century renaissance man with the élan, intelligence, charm, tenacity and conviction to change the world.” Levin has performed across the United States and Europe at renowned venues such as Chicago’s Pick Staiger, James Lumber Performing Arts and Mayne Stage concert halls, Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Museum of Fine Arts, and Jordan Hall, the Palazzo Chigi Saracini in Italy, Berlin’s Universität für Musik und darstellende Künst, Barcelona’s Auditorio Axa, and in Madrid at the Fundación Juan March, Palacio de Godoy, BBVA Palacio del Marqués de Salamanca, and Sala Manuel de Falla. Levin has appeared on a variety of prestigious 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, Italy, and Festival Pro Música e Cultura in St. Moritz, France.
In the 2013-2014 season, Levin made his acclaimed New York City recital debut at Le Poisson Rouge, his Atlanta debut at Spivey Hall, and appeared on the prestigious Chicago Bach Week Festival at Nichols Concert Hall.
The recipient of numerous top prizes, Adam Levin has been recognized by Asociación Cultural Trujamán, 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.
An avid chamber musician, Levin has performed with orchestra, string quartet, and various instrumental and vocal duo combinations. His primary chamber ensemble Duo Sonidos has been celebrated for bringing a fresh interpretation of chamber music to wide-ranging audiences across the globe while expanding the repertoire for violin and guitar through new commissions. In 2010, Duo Sonidos was awarded first prize at the Luys Milán International Chamber Music Competition in Valencia, Spain. Their self-titled debut recording, released in 2010, featuring works by Astor Piazzolla, Salvador Brotons, Eduardo Morales-Caso, and Manuel de Falla, received rave reviews from Classical Guitar Magazine, Soundboard, American Record Guide, Fanfare, and included a US Choice award from BBC Music Magazine. In the 2013-2014 season, Duo Sonidos toured the US making major city debuts in Baltimore, Washington, DC, Philadelphia, Charlotte, and Detroit, plus the first live joint radio broadcast performance between WGBH Boston and WFMT Chicago.
From 2008-2011, Levin was honored as a Fulbright Scholar as well as grant awards from the Program for Cultural Cooperation Fellowship (promoting cultural understanding between Spain and the United States) and the Kate Neal Kinley Fellowship, to research contemporary Spanish guitar repertoire in Madrid, Spain. His three-year residency resulted in a major collaboration with 30 Spanish composers spanning four generations, who each wrote works commissioned by and dedicated to Levin. In 2012, production began on a four volume encyclopedic recording project with Naxos and companion publication Brotons y Mercadal Edicions Musicals, to document these pieces. The first recording in the series, 21st Century Spanish Guitar, Volume 1, was released by Naxos in 2013 to rave reviews, garnering accolades from Classical Guitar Magazine, Soundboard, American Record Guide, and both Recording of the Month andRecording of the Year awards from MusicWeb International, where critic Brian Reinhart wrote, “These composers could not have asked for a better, more thoughtful and dedicated guitarist to premiere their works… one of the most exciting guitar series of the century so far.” For his promotion, interpretation and performance of Spanish music, he was nominated for the 2011 Trujamán Prize, in which only three guitarists worldwide are selected annually.Levin’s critically acclaimed discography also includes his debut album, In the Beginning [ALR, 2009], which was lauded as “absolutely thrilling… will dazzle and entertain at every possible opportunity” by Minor 7th Magazine; Music from Out of Time [La Communidad de Madrid, 2010] featuring world-premiere solo and chamber works by contemporary Spanish composers; and Fuego de la Luna [Verso, 2011] showcasing the complete guitar works of Spanish-Cuban composer Eduardo Morales-Caso.
As an ambassador of the guitar, Mr. Levin is dedicated to sharing a comprehensive repertoire in underserved areas and unconventional spaces. As part of a fundraising effort for Hurricane Katrina victims, Adam directed the Concert for Gulf-Coast Aid, which raised $10,000 dollars for hurricane relief. He was awarded an Albert Schweitzer Fellowship in 2007, encompassing 200 hours of innovative community work in Boston area schools, homeless shelters, rehabilitation centers, halfway houses, and prisons.
A native of Chicago’s North Shore, Adam holds bachelor’s degrees from Northwestern University in Music Performance, Psychology, and Pre-Med. Under the tutelage of Eliot Fisk, Levin completed his master’s degree in guitar performance at New England Conservatory in Boston. His esteemed teachers have included Oscar Ghiglia, Gabriel Estarellas, Anne Waller, Mark Maxwell, and Paul Henry. Adam is currently the co-director of the annual Boston Guitarfest Young Guitarists Workshop and teaches guitar at the University of Massachusetts at Boston and Middlesex College.
Adam Levin performs exclusively on Royal Classics strings.
ADAM LEVIN GUITAR DEMOS (view all)
3 comments