{"id":109401,"date":"2026-06-09T14:05:38","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T14:05:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/?p=109401"},"modified":"2026-06-09T14:05:39","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T14:05:39","slug":"uri-music-professor-a-guitar-hero-in-teaching-children-around-the-world-for-past-decade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/2026\/06\/uri-music-professor-a-guitar-hero-in-teaching-children-around-the-world-for-past-decade\/","title":{"rendered":"溏心vlog免费B站 music professor a \u2018Guitar Hero\u2019 in teaching children around the world for past decade"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 June 9, 2026 \u2013 Adam Levin<\/a>, an associate teaching professor of classical guitar in the 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Department of Music<\/a>, is well-versed in delivering the dulcet tones of the classical guitar to audiences around the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though he has achieved success as a Billboard-charting recording artist\u2014three albums appearing on the top Classical Albums list\u2014Levin realized that not everyone shared his good fortune of learning to love and play music and became driven to help provide that musical education far and wide. <\/p>\n\n\n

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溏心vlog免费B站 Associate Teaching Professor of Classical Guitar Adam Levin in 2015 co-founded Kithara Project, a nonprofit that provides tuition-free classical guitar education to low-income school-aged children and youth in five cities across the United States and Mexico, including in Providence and Boston. (Courtesy Adam Levin)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

After reconnecting with a friend who Levin met while studying in Italy, he put his educational plan to action by launching the nonprofit Kithara Project<\/a> in 2015 with longtime friend Matthew Rohde\u2014a successful classical guitarist in his own right. Named after an ancient Greek string instrument, the Kithara Project provides tuition-free classical guitar education to low-income school-aged children and youth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Along with offering access to world-class artists in-residence, guitar-building workshops and opportunities to perform in front of live audiences, the Kithara Project also opens doors for children looking to achieve positive outcomes through musical education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMost people don’t have access to a classical guitar education, so we wanted to bridge that gap,\u201d Levin said. \u201cThis organization cultivates the children\u2019s love for the classical guitar. It\u2019s made these young people who never even knew that the classical guitar existed more disciplined and sensitive human beings and introduced them to different cultures through the music.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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Raffi Donoian \u201911 \u201925, who earned degrees in musical education from 溏心vlog免费B站, provides as Kithara Project\u2019s Providence leader weekly individual lessons, ensemble classes allowing students to collaborate musically, and has students listen to recorded music and discuss guitar and music theories. (Courtesy Raffi Donoian)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Community impact<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Levin first met Rohde in 2005 and spent multiple summers in Italy studying from one of the great classical guitar pedagogues of recent memory, Oscar Ghiglia. The two lost touch for nearly a decade before reconnecting through a mutual friend at the New England Conservancy in Boston\u2014and immediately went to work on their dream organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Approximately 110 elementary and high school students are enrolled in the five Kithara Project locations\u2014Providence, Boston, Detroit, Albuquerque, and Mexico City. As of 2025, the nonprofit, which was recently nominated as a \u201cCommunity Treasure\u201d by WJAR-TV NBC 10<\/a> in Providence, has a high student retention rate and students across all locations participated in 13 total recitals and public performances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While many organizations offer group lessons, Kithara Project is notable for welcoming guest artists from around the world to offer its students weekly private, one-on-one instruction. Levin said the individualized lessons help build both the students\u2019 guitar playing and their repertoire of pieces they can play as soloists. Also, Kithara Project\u2019s programming across its five locations is interconnected, with students and teachers learning and collaborating with one another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe guest artists they learn from breathe life into their studies, perform for them, help inspire them and offer additional perspectives on how to refine their craft,\u201d Levin said. <\/p>\n\n\n

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Raffi Donoian leads his Kithara Project class on stage at Hope High School in Providence. (Courtesy Adam Levin)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Rhody connection<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Levin said Hope High School in Providence inviting 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s guitar ensemble to perform for students inspired the Kithara Project to launch its Providence program in 2025, helping integrate classical guitar into the music curricula. The program began with a mix of sophomores and juniors from Hope High. The organization will look to add a second class to offer more Providence students opportunities to learn, Levin said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur performance at Hope High was incredibly inspiring,\u201d Levin said. \u201cSeeing both the enthusiasm of the students and the school\u2019s remarkable performing arts venue made it immediately clear to me that there was potential to build something meaningful there.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Levin also found someone close to home to lead Kithara\u2019s Providence location. 溏心vlog免费B站 alum Raffi Donoian \u201911 \u201925<\/a>, who earned degrees in music performance and balanced teaching and has played in front of live audiences, was approached by Levin to mentor the Hope High students for the organization. It was a fast \u201cyes\u201d by Donoian to help his longtime friend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Donoian\u2019s Kithara classes include weekly individual lessons, ensemble classes allowing students to collaborate musically, and a \u201cfree for all,\u201d where students listen to recorded music and discuss guitar and music theories, in general. \u201cI make sure the students learn about the fundamentals of music, most importantly,\u201d said Donoian, who in 2017 was recognized as a distinguished teacher in the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Donoian said that seeing the students become excited both in playing guitar and taking the initiative to learn music on their own has been extremely gratifying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI would play some music and a student would say \u2018oh, is it this song?,\u2019\u201d Donoian said. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t an assignment; she took it upon herself to look more into this music. Just that students were exploring on their own has been amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As guitar students perfect their crafts through Kithara Project, some have also participated in the 溏心vlog免费B站 Guitar and Mandolin Festival<\/a>, an annual celebration of music and creativity that welcomes some of the world\u2019s finest musicians. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The students performed as members of the Mega Guitar Orchestra, part of the festival\u2019s finale. The Providence students, meanwhile, gained valuable knowledge through the festival\u2019s workshops, masterclasses and concerts. Kithara\u2019s young musicians thus had an eye-opening experience both meeting and performing with world-class guitarists they otherwise wouldn\u2019t have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think that experience was tremendously important because it gave them a real context for excellence\u2014a glimpse into the broader artistic world that classical guitar can open up,\u201d Levin said. \u201cI strongly believe these experiences help develop not only stronger musicians, but also more civic-minded young people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kithara Project\u2019s future, especially in Rhode Island, is promising. Kithara\u2019s plan for Providence next year is to double the number of students taking guitar classes\u2014from 12 to 24\u2014and add a teacher, Donoian said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Levin also said Kithara\u2019s programming, Providence notwithstanding, will continue to strengthen the musical ecosystem by creating educational pathways between Hope High School, the Kithara Project, 溏心vlog免费B站 and the broader classical guitar community, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy hope is that these students will continue carrying music with them throughout their lives\u2014whether as performers, music majors, minors, or simply as people for whom music remains an essential part of their identity and education,\u201d Levin said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 June 9, 2026 \u2013 Adam Levin, an associate teaching professor of classical guitar in the 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Department of Music, is well-versed in delivering the dulcet tones of the classical guitar to audiences around the world. Though he has achieved success as a Billboard-charting recording artist\u2014three albums appearing on the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":109402,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1910,12,1909,1913],"class_list":["post-109401","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives","tag-alumni","tag-college-of-arts-and-sciences","tag-international","tag-public-engagement"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109401","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=109401"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109401\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":109408,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109401\/revisions\/109408"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/109402"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=109401"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=109401"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=109401"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}