URI’s 11th Guitar and Mandolin Festival takes the stage beginning Oct. 18

Here's a rundown on who will be appearing

By James Bessette 

The warm, mellow sounds of guitars and mandolins will once again blend with the cool autumn air across the University of Rhode Island campus and neighboring southern Rhode Island communities in late October.

Joao Luiz Rezende, a two-time Latin Grammy nominee and
professor at the Yale University School of Music, will be the
artist-in-residence in this year’s URI Guitar and Mandolin Festival,
and will perform on Oct. 22.
(Photos courtesy URI Guitar and Mandolin Festival)

The 11^th annual URI Guitar and Mandolin Festival will bring together the global string artist community for a weeklong celebration of music beginning Oct 18. Guitarists and mandolinists from all corners of the world, including Brazil, Peru, Australia, Costa Rica, Italy, France, South Korea, Israel, Greece and Japan, will descend upon the Ocean State to delight local music enthusiasts.

Ten performances will be held Oct. 18-25 on the Kingston Campus and the surrounding area.  Thirty notable artists, including Duke Robillard, Eliot Fisk, Jorge Caballero, Antoine Boyer, Eleonora Strino, Vincent Beer-Demander, Fabio Gallucci, Ian Coury, Jacob Reuven, Duo Sonidos, Adrian Montero Moya, URI Associate Teaching Professor, Instructor of Classical Guitar and festival founder Adam Levin and more will be featured. URI music students and alumni and faculty will also take the various stages during the festival, including at the General Stanton Inn, the URI Fine Arts Center and Edwards Hall Auditorium.

Rhode Island blues legend Duke Robillard will perform at this year’s
 festival on Oct. 18.

The seven-day festival will also offer several educational and competition programs, including masterclasses by guest artists, workshops, a guitar and mandolin competition and an expo featuring instrument makers showcasing their work. These educational opportunities will provide students a chance to learn from the best performing an array of genres, including jazz, Latin mix, classical and blues. 

The festival is a melting pot, of sorts, where aspiring artists can meet their heroes—and possibly even collaborate with them—in front of a live audience, creating a special atmosphere at the University and points elsewhere, and establishing itself as a cultural mainstay at URI, according to Levin.

“Over the past decade, this festival has become a stomping ground for artists and students alike to have a conversation, to engage one another in a relaxed environment. A student can ask an artist, ‘how can I play this passage better?’ And an artist can offer one-of-a-kind feedback into how to refine their artistry,” Levin said. 

Japanese mandolinist Suzuna Takahashi and Greek guitarist
Sotiris Athanasiou, last year’s URI Guitar Competition winners, will perform
live at this year’s Guitar and Mandolin Festival on Oct. 20.

“We’re providing access to the best classical guitar and mandolin education to a broad group of students, regardless of age and skill. We’re here to make great music, to listen to multi-genre and multi-cultural music, and to share ideas. That’s a really powerful message to those who are considering coming to the festival this year.”

New this year, URI is welcoming renowned Brazilian classical guitarist João Luiz Rezende as artist-in-residence and composer-in-residence to the festival. A two-time Latin Grammy nominee and professor at the Yale University School of Music, Luiz Rezende has performed across the world with artists such as Yo-Yo Ma and Carlos Prieto. His interests include bridging classical, jazz, and Latin American music, and discovering ways to make classical music education more accessible to communities with limited access to music. 

Duo Sondios, featuring URI Associate Teaching Professor,
Instructor of Classical Guitar and festival founder Adam Levin, left,
and partner William Knuth, will perform on Oct. 22.

Luiz Rezende will deliver lectures and masterclasses, as well as premiere his new piece “Sonata for violin and guitar,” which Levin and his duo partner William Knuth of Duo Sonidos commissioned for violin and guitar, on Thursday, Oct. 22, at the United Theatre in Westerly—marking the first time the festival will perform there.

“We are beyond excited to host acclaimed artist and composer-in-residence João Luiz Rezende at the 2026 festival,” Levin said. “He will provide knowledge and guidance on composition, Brazilian music and workshops geared to guitarists. Plus, bringing the festival to the United Theatre is a wonderful opportunity for us to introduce ourselves to a new audience and a new community in an entertaining and eclectic way.” 

Showtime

The festival will open Sunday, Oct. 18, with an outdoor afternoon compilation at the General Stanton Inn in Charlestown from noon to 4 p.m. featuring URI students Lucca Maher, Thomas Marchioi, Andrew Oswinkle and Heybrajan Tamariz with Duke Robillard—a Rhode Island blues guitarist institution—and the Atlantic Mandolin Quartet, whose repertoire spans classical, romantic and contemporary works.

On Tuesday, Oct. 20, at 7:30 p.m., Japanese mandolinist Suzuna Takahashi and Greek guitarist Sotiris Athanasiou—last year’s winners of the URI Guitar Competition—will perform live in the URI Fine Arts Center’s Choir Room. Takahashi is a rising star within the mandolin world who has won several awards for her art in both Japan and in Germany. An award-winning classical guitarist, Athanasiou’s musical horizons span from the 17^th century to the avant-garde.

Athanasiou and Takahashi will be joined on stage by Adrian Montero Moya ’23, a Costa Rican guitarist and URI alum who has won half a dozen international competitions during and after his studies at URI.

Then at Edwards Hall on Wednesday, Oct. 21, at 7:30 p.m., URI faculty Alexey Shabalin (violin) and Joe Bentley (bass) will be joined by the New England Conservatory’s Michal Shein (cello) and Gillian Gallagher (viola) as the string quartet provides an evening of vibrant chamber music alongside Duo Mantar, featuring Levin and Israeli mandolinist Jacob Reuven, who will perform Mediterranean works from Italy, Turkey, and Israel.

At URI Hillel on Thursday, Oct. 22, the Elite Mandolin Ensemble, featuring emerging virtuosos and festival faculty members Reuven, Dor Amran, and Ekaterina Skliar, will perform its Mandolin Outreach Concert at 5 p.m. The ensemble will offer the audience a diverse repertoire of classical masterpieces, folk music and contemporary pieces. Along with Luiz, the Ian Coury Trio, Duo Sonidos will take the stage to celebrate Brazil at 8 p.m. at the United Theatre. 

Back on campus on Friday, Oct. 23, mandolinists Vincent Beer-Demander and Fabio Gallucci, rising gypsy jazz guitarist Antoine Boyer and harmonica player Yeonore Kim will entertain crowds in Edwards Hall at 8 p.m. 

The weekend’s jam-packed schedule will feature shows both on campus and off. The festival’s Guitar Competition semifinals will take place in the Fine Arts Center’s Concert Hall from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 24—the finals being held Oct. 25 from 2-3 p.m. The competition winners will perform their own concerts at the 2027 festival. Additionally, the Elite Mandolin Soloists will hold a concert at St. Augustine’s Church, 15 Lower College Road, Kingston—across from URI’s main entrance.

Also on Oct. 24, at Edwards Hall at 8 p.m., the Eleonora Strino Quartet will perform modern jazz for local music lovers, followed by Peruvian classical guitar virtuoso and composer Jorge Caballero. Caballero, an award-winning soloist and recognized as one of the world’s most important guitarists, is well known for adapting and performing classical masterworks originally written for piano or orchestras.

The grand finale on Sunday, Oct. 25, will include the festival’s trademark Mega Guitar and Mandolin Orchestra, featuring approximately 70 artists all on one stage led by Australian classical guitarist Scott Borg, performing at 11 a.m. in the Fine Arts Center’s Concert Hall. World-renowned American classical guitar soloist Eliot Fisk—Levin’s mentor at the New England Conservatory—will perform after listening to Tango music performed by mandolinists Amran, Reuven, Beer-Demander and Gallucci in the Gala Finale at 6 p.m. at Edwards Hall.

The festival will also include the New England Invitational Luthier Expo, held Oct. 22-25 at the Fine Arts Center, where North American instrument makers will show off their work. Guitar private lessons and masterclasses from Borg, Rohde, Levin, Fisk, Caballero, Luiz Rezende, Montero and Athanasiou, as well as workshops by Boyer, Strino, Luiz Rezende and other artists will be offered during the festival, giving aspiring performers an opportunity to be mentored by the best at their craft.

“I always tell my students to use these opportunities to build friendships and expand their networks,” Levin said. “The people standing shoulder to shoulder with you today will become your colleagues and friends tomorrow—and may ultimately help open the door to the next stage of your career.”

Student tickets cost $5, and general admission individual tickets and passes vary. A full calendar of events and opportunities to purchase tickets can be found on the festival’s official website.