BGFEST XVII

Scott Borg

Classical Guitarist

Scott Borg

Classical Guitarist

With a string of international scholarships and awards under his belt, Augustine Artist Scott Borg has been praised as a daring and innovative artist with “enormous facility on the guitar, a fluent technique, who plays with total confidence and professional expertise, panache and artful spontaneity.” As a winner of Artists International, New York Concert Review described his Carnegie Hall debut as “gracefully presented, and expertly played…each note was purposeful and focused, as was each rest.” He received his D.M.A from New England Conservatory, an Artist Diploma from Yale University, M.M from the Juilliard School, and a BCA from the University of Wollongong. He has collaborated with musicians from the Metropolitan Opera, Brooklyn Rider, FLUX, members of the New York City Ballet and the Silk Road Ensemble, and has performed at venues as varied as the Kennedy Center to the Westminster Kennel Club ‘Best in Show’. He is a member of the breakthrough trio, The Great Necks, whose debut album reached the top 10 on the Billboard Traditional Classical Charts. He plays an 8 string guitar by Jeff Sigurdson and uses Augustine Regals.

Bruce Holzman

Classical Guitarists

Bruce Holzman

Classical Guitarists

Professor of Guitar at the Florida State University, has been Director of the Guitar Program since 1972. Holzman’s students have won many prestigious prizes in competitions worldwide, a partial list includes winners in: Guitar Foundation of America Solo/Duo Competition, Music Teachers National Association Collegiate Artists Competition (12), Alirio Diaz Competition of Caracas, Venezuela, Toronto International Festival Competition, Concours Internationale de Guitare of Paris, France, Incontri Chitarristici de Gargnano, Italy, Columbus State Guitar Symposium, Lachine International Guitar Competition, Montreal, Canada, Boston Guitarfest Competition, and Rantucci International Competition. Many of his students hold teaching positions at prominent Universities, Colleges and High Schools. These include, but not limited to: Stetson University, Kennesaw College, University of New Mexico, University of Memphis, Middle Tennessee State University, University of Texas, Austin, University of Texas, San Antonio, East Carolina University, Columbus State University, Montgomery Alabama Magnet Schools.

Ria Modak

Classical Guitarist

Ria Modak

Classical Guitarist

Céili Connors

Event Coordinator

Céili Connors

Event Coordinator

Is a Boston based performer, teacher, and artistic administrator. She received her Masters degree in classical guitar performance at the New England Conservatory of Music under the primary instruction of Eliot Fisk and Jerome Mouffe and completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Rhode Island. As a Rhode Island native, she holds a faculty position at the Community College of Rhode Island while maintaining a private studio in Boston, as well as the New England Conservatory Preparatory School, EKS Music School, and the Kithara Project.

Adam Levin

Executive Director

Adam Levin

Executive Director

 is an award-winning classical guitarist that performs worldwide. He has received both national and international prizes in performance. Levin was honored as a Fulbright Scholar, Program for Cultural Cooperation Fellow, and Kate Neal Kinley Fellow to research contemporary Spanish repertoire in Spain. Levin commissioned over 30 solo and chamber guitar works from Spanish composers and has completed three out of four albums for Naxos. Levin’s discography includes nine commercially released recordings.

Levin is on faculty at University of Rhode Island and UMass Boston, a founder of the guitar education non-profit organization Kithara Project, as well as the artistic director of the University of Rhode Island Guitar Festival and Rhode Island Guitar Guild. He is endorsed by Augustine Strings and performs on guitars by Stephan Connor and Dominique Field.

Dr. Jérôme Mouffe

Classical Guitarist

Dr. Jérôme Mouffe

Classical Guitarist

Is an active concertist, pedagogue, and community builder. Faculty at the New England Conservatory in Boston, Jérôme Mouffe has toured throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Europe as a soloist and chamber musician. Highlight performances include the Celebrity Series of Boston, the OMNI Series in San Francisco, the Austin Classical Guitar International Series, the International Brussels Guitar Festival, the Festival del Noreste in Saltillo, Mexico, and the Newport Music Festival in Rhode Island, among others. Jérôme Mouffe has toured with guitar phenomenon Grisha Goryachev and Pacific Symphony Orchestra principal flute, Benjamin Smolen. Jérôme Mouffe has released two albums: Capriccio, on the VGo Recordings label in 2009, and more recently Bach to Beaser with flautist Benjamin Smolen. Dr. Mouffe holds degrees from the Royal Conservatory in Brussels and the Mozarteum Univertität Salzburg. He was the first classical guitarist to receive a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the New England Conservatory of Music. His principal teachers include Eliot Fisk, Ricardo Gallen, Emmanuel Rossfelder, and Hugues Navez. Jérôme Mouffe is also on Faculty at Bridgewater State University, and serves as an Artistic Advisor to the Boston Classical Guitar Society. To find out more, please visit: www.jeromemouffe.com

Molina Twins

Classical Guitarists

Molina Twins

Classical Guitarists

Evelyn & Paola Molina are best known as The Molina Twins. They love to perform in duo and to explore their extraordinary skills to synchronize and communicate through music. Their musicality and expressivity have embraced audiences with a beautiful palette of colors and tones, through lively performances of a very selective repertoire of masterpieces, from renaissance to contemporary music, in Guatemala and abroad. The Molina Twins achieved bachelor’s degrees in Architecture and Music in their home country Guatemala, and they hold a Master of Music (MM) in Guitar Performance from the New England Conservatory (NEC) in Boston, where they studied with the virtuoso guitarist Eliot Fisk. At NEC, while pursuing a Music-in-Education (MIE) Concentration, they shaped guitar techniques and methodologies for teaching. The Molina Twins have experienced that Architecture and Music complement amazingly well for producing creative projects and environments for music performance. The mixture of knowledge has made them creative and innovative professionals, being able to see things from different perspectives, in an artistic and detailed way. The Molina Twins embrace challenges and love to be surrounded by music and artists. In times of social distancing, they have expanded venues to online master classes, workshops and events without borders.

Jim Davidson

Guitarist

Jim Davidson

Guitarist

Maurice Liu

International Liaison / Event Coordinator

Maurice Liu

International Liaison / Event Coordinator

Maurice (Songyuan) Liu is a classical guitarist and artist who has performed on many stages and venues around the world. Liu premiered Joaquín Rodrigo’s Fantasía para un gentilhombre in China with Xiamen Philharmonic Orchestra in 2016. Liu graduated from New England Conservatory of music with honors and completed his Master’s Degree and Graduate Diploma in guitar performance with Eliot Fisk in 2020. He has been working closely with Boston GuitarFest since 2019, and with Latin American Music Festival since 2021.

Lautaro Mantilla

Composer Guitarist

Lautaro Mantilla

Composer Guitarist

Is a guitarist, composer, and improviser from Bogota, Colombia. He recently graduated from New England Conservatory (NEC) receiving a Doctorate in Composition / Contemporary Improvisation.
Based in Boston, Mantilla is an active musician from the NY and Boston music scenes as well as a faculty member of the Contemporary Improvisation department at NEC, where he co-produces the departmental concerts, teaches Ensembles and Studio Lessons, in addition to serving as Chair of Contemporary Improvisation Preparatory School and Continuing Education. B.A. in Classical Guitar, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana (Colombia); M.M., G.D in Contemporary Improvisation and D.M.A in Composition/CI, NEC.

Min Zhenqi

Classical Guitarist

Min Zhenqi

Classical Guitarist

Thatcher Harrison

Composer Guitarist

Thatcher Harrison

Composer Guitarist

Is a guitarist and a composer. As a composer, Thatcher Harrison tries to expand the boundaries of classical guitar repertoire through what he calls “classical fusion” composition: pieces based in classical composition and performance techniques, but with influences from other genres such as jazz music, rock music, fingerstyle guitar music, blues music, pop music, film score music, and world music. As a guitarist, Thatcher Harrison chooses to perform unconventional and daring programs, oftentimes consisting primarily of his own compositions. After winning 20 competition prizes, Thatcher Harrison is currently working to establish his career as an international concert artist, with his 2021-2022 season including concerts for Boston Classical Guitar Society, Pleven Guitar Festival, The 21st Century Guitar Conference, Twents Gitaarfestival, Boston Guitarfest, and Domaine Forget International Music Festival. Thatcher Harrison is currently studying for his Bachelor of Music degree in Classical Guitar Performance at New England Conservatory with Eliot Fisk and Jérôme Mouffe.

Zaira Meneses

Co – Director

Zaira Meneses

Co – Director

Alexander Romanov

Classical Guitarist

Alexander Romanov

Classical Guitarist

Alexander Romanov is a guitarist and audio engineer from the Washington D.C. area. He is a graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music with a Bachelor of Music degree in Guitar Performance studying with renowned musicians Eliot Fisk and Jerome Mouffe. During 2021, Alexander received accreditation from Berklee College of Music in audio engineering. He is pursuing his Master of Music diploma at the New England Conservatory of Music. Alexander is an active teacher, and maintains a private studio in Boston and online.