The University of Rhode Island hosted it’s 6th annual guitar festival in front of both a live audience and over the airways. PHOTO CREDIT: Nadia Sutyrina
The University of Rhode Island music department kicked off their sixth annual guitar festival with a well-attended concert at the Pump House, raising excitement for the rest of the successful weekend.
Festival Director Adam Levin started the show by extending a warm welcome to both the in-person and virtual audiences.
“This is the first time that the guitar festival has been in a hybrid format, and I think that’s kind of revolutionary,” Levin said. “We’re at the cutting edge of technology here in Rhode Island and that’s really extraordinary.”
Levin continued by thanking the University for allowing them to have this festival in a hybrid format, as it brought in audience members from around the world.
The chair of URI’s music department, Mark Conley, praised Levin for his hard work in building the guitar festival up from a two-day event in its first year to a five-day event in its sixth year, as well as managing a fully virtual festival in 2020.
Levin took the stage again to preview the rest of the festival, which included master classes with professionals and performances at St. Augustine’s Church and the Fine Arts Center.
He then introduced the first performance of the night, which was a pre-recorded virtual concert from last year’s guitar festival “Rising Star” competition winner Katarzyna Smolarek, who recorded the performance from her home in Poland.
After Smolarek’s performance ended, a musical group called Duo Mantar, which consists of Jacob Reuvin and Adam Levin, performed using mandolin and guitar.
Victor Main, president of the Rhode Island Guitar Guild and graduate assistant teacher at URI, said that planning a hybrid festival was challenging, however the department was excited for the festival ahead.
“Considering everything with COVID, we’re doing the best we can to provide a good experience for everyone who comes out,” Main said. “People feeling safe is our top priority, and we want everyone to be able to experience the festival, whether it’s virtual or in person.”
He continued by saying that the participation rates of this year’s festival are higher than that of 2019, which was the last year that the festival was fully in person.
“For us organizers, it was definitely more challenging planning an event in a hybrid format rather than fully in person or fully online,” Main said. “But, with that being said, we could reach people who might not be able to afford to get here or live far away.”
Main said that he thinks the concert at the Pump House was a great start to the festival and he was anticipating the rest of the weekend’s events.
“People can expect some really amazing classes, workshops and concerts with a variety of different music and guitar styles,” said Main.
He continued by saying that there will be classes in finger-style, mixed media and contemporary guitar playing.
Lastly, he highlighted his excitement for the live performances coming from performers such as Kaki King, Gohar Vardanyan and Jerome Mouffe, who he said were going to “blow the roof off” of the St. Augustine’s Church.
“The acoustics in the church are perfect for guitar, so it’s going to be a really awesome show. I’m really excited for people to be able to experience that,” Main said.