Purple Haze? Probably not.
A name change would seem to herald a major career shift. But as it prepares to open its ninth year on Sunday, Oct. 13, the newly rebranded University of Rhode Island Guitar and Mandolin Festival is actually staying the course that has made it one of the largest classical guitar festivals in the U.S.
“Year nine of the URI Guitar and Mandolin Festival marks a revitalized and focused celebration of the guitar and mandolin and its plucked instrument relatives, offering a platform that welcomes people of all ages and skill levels to engage with the world’s finest musicians,” says Adam Levin, founder and artistic director of the festival. “It’s a space where the guitar, mandolin, and their relatives can be explored in a way that’s inclusive, innovative, and inspiring for everyone involved.
“Whether through performances, workshops, master classes, lectures, or private lessons, the spirit of the URI Guitar and Mandolin Festival remains constant—one of shared learning, artistry, and community. Every interaction, whether on stage or in the classroom, carries the same passion for education and musical growth,” he adds. “It brings the finest musicians to South County, creating an environment where people feel comfortable sharing their own ideas and engaging in meaningful learning experiences.”
The festival will present six days of concerts on and around the Kingston Campus – Oct. 13 and Oct. 16-20 – featuring world-renowned musicians including Eliot Fisk, Sharon Isbin, Levin, The Fareed Haque Group, The Hamilton de Holanda Trio, Duke Robillard Trio, Jacob Reuven, Artyom Dervoed, among many others. Also, URI music faculty and students will make regular appearances – including professors Atla DeChamplain, Michal Shein, Alexey Shabalin, Luis Viquez, and Brian Cardany, along with URI’s Wind Ensemble and Symphony Orchestra. The Rhode Island Youth Philharmonic will also be featured, performing the Piazzolla and Vivaldi famous “Seasons” with eight different mandolin soloists.
“I want to showcase URI’s fantastic and world-class faculty,” says Levin, head of the classical guitar program at URI. “Each one is a consummate professional and virtuoso. This is a moment for all of them to shine and demonstrate the URI Music Department’s musical prowess.”
As always, the festival offers a wide range of educational and competition programs, including workshops, guest-artist masterclasses, lectures, and guitar and mandolin virtual competitions for players, ages 13 through adult. Last year’s addition of an intensive course in mandolin, led by Israeli virtuoso Jacob Reuven, was such a success that it earned a spot on the marquee.
“Last year, we were like mad scientists entering the lab, unsure of what would unfold,” says Levin. “What we created was nothing short of revolutionary—an innovative platform for mandolin education that fills a vital gap in classical music. It’s a step forward in music education, shining a well-deserved spotlight on the mandolin.”
Innovation has been a constant since Levin launched the festival in 2015, and this year is no different. So, the week-long festival will open Oct. 13 with a daylong outdoor festival from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Levin is partnering with the General Stanton Inn in Charlestown, which is owned by URI alumnus David Moore and his wife, Jackie.
“Last year, their fall festival coincided with our guitar festival,” says Levin. “So I told David, ‘Instead of competing, let’s collaborate.’ This year, we’re joining forces, bringing the fall festival and the URI Guitar and Mandolin Festival together for an unforgettable celebration of music.”
The day will showcase a variety of musical styles from classical guitar and mandolin to blues, jazz and fusion. The lineup includes jam band Fareed Haque Group, the legendary Duke Robillard Trio, DeChamplain and her jazz combo Hot Club of New England, blues guitarist Mark T. Small, mandolinists Ekaterina Skliar and Dor Amran, and Costa Rican national champion Juan Pablo Salas.
On Wednesday, Oct. 16, at the Courthouse Center for the Performing Arts, 3481 Kingstown Road, West Kingston, the festival will host American classical guitar virtuoso Eliot Fisk and Italian solo jazz guitarist Pasquale Grasso.
Grasso, winner of the 2015 Wes Montgomery International Jazz Guitar Competition, is known for his bebop-inspired technique. Fisk, who was Levin’s mentor at the New England Conservatory, is “the torch bearer to legendary Andres Segovia. He is on the throne as one of the greatest guitarists of our time and a true renaissance man,” Levin says. Opening the night will be the Mandolin Ensemble featuring Reuven, Skliar, Amran, and a number of the Elite Mandolin Soloist students.
On Thursday, Oct. 17, the URI Wind Ensemble, directed by Cardany and featuring mandolin soloist Amran, will perform in the Fine Arts Center Concert Hall at 4 p.m. In the evening, Russian classical guitarist Dervoed, a student of Italian maestro Oscar Ghiglia and winner of 16 international competitions, will play the Courthouse Center for the Arts at 7:30 p.m. The first half will feature mandolin soloists Amran and Skliar, who will play mandolin and domra, a sister instrument of the mandolin, respectively.
The festival will celebrate the legacy of Ghiglia, who passed away last March, on Friday, Oct. 18, with a special performance featuring three of his prized students – the members of SoloDuo, Lorenzo Micheli and Matteo Mela; and the legendary Sharon Isbin, perhaps the most famous female classical guitarist “on the planet,” Levin says. The concert starts at 7:30 p.m. at Edwards Hall, 64 Upper College Road, in Kingston.
“Micheli and Mela, as a duo, sound like a grand piano—it’s astonishing,” says Levin. “They’ve elevated guitar chamber music to heights we’ve never witnessed in modern times, redefining what’s possible for the guitar duo combination.”
“Isbin’s resume speaks for itself,” he adds. “She commissioned, premiered and championed tons of new works that are now part of the standard repertoire; she plays the world over, touring as a soloist with the world’s top orchestras; she’s the founder of the Juilliard guitar program. She really holds a place in the heart of the guitar – and in the music world.”
On Saturday, Oct. 19, the Hamilton de Holanda Trio will blend jazz and Brazilian instrumental music – showcasing de Holanda on the 10-string Brazilian Bandolim, a sister instrument to the mandolin – at Edwards Hall at 8 p.m.
Opening the night will be the combo Duo Mantar – Levin on classical guitar and Reuven on mandolin – performing the world-premiere of a composition by de Holanda, the festival’s composer-in-residence. The piece is a season-inspired work. “Think of Vivaldi and Piazzolla’s ‘Four Seasons,’” he says. “It’s baroque elegance woven with vibrant Brazilian rhythms and counterpoints. It’s like traveling through musical time—one moment you’re in the 17th century, the next you’re dancing in 21st-century Brazil. It’s a breathtaking leap across eras.”
Between the two performances is a novel reimagination of Bach’s Double Violin Concerto featuring two mandolins – Reuven and Skliar – and three guitars – Levin’s Great Necks Guitar Trio with Scott Borg and Matthew Rohde.
Earlier in the day on Saturday, Kevin Loh of Singapore, the winner of the Rising Stars International Virtual Guitar Competition, will perform at St. Augustine’s Church, 15 Lower College Road, at 4:30 p.m.
Closing out the festival on Sunday, Oct. 20, will be a triple-header at the Fine Arts Center Concert Hall, starting at 3 p.m. with a showcase of students in the Rising Star Young Guitarist and mandolin programs. At 5 p.m., the Rhode Island Youth Philharmonic, directed by URI’s Shabalin, will perform Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons” and Astor Pizzolla’s “The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires” – with eight separate soloists from the mandolin festival. “It’s non-stop, no pauses,” says Levin. “It’s an exhilarating journey straight through eight seasons, seamlessly blending time and sound into one breathtaking performance.”
At 7:30 in the Concert Hall, the festival closes with the URI Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Viquez, with three soloists, URI alumnus Adrian Montero, Levin, and Reuven. Levin will perform the reconstructed Silvius Leopold Weiss Concerto in D Minor for lute and orchestra, debuting a new version for guitar.
Montero, who completed his master’s degree in classical guitar performance at URI last spring, will give the world premiere of “Ripples” by Costa Rican composer Jose Mora. And Reuven will perform the Prelude and Allegro by Fritz Kreisler. Levin and Reuven will join forces for a performance of the iconic Spanish work Asturias by Isaac Albeniz, in a new arrangement for mandolin, guitar, and orchestra. The orchestra will close the night with Mexican composer Arturo Marquez’s Danzón No. 2, his most well-known work.
For ticket packages for concerts and education program options, go to the festival website.