All Virginia Guitar Ensemble
AVGE 2019 with guest conductor Chuck Hulihan
2023 Guest Conductor
Kami Rowan
AVGE Guest Conductor 2023
Dr. Kami Rowan, Charles A. Dana Professor of Music, has taught at Guilford College in Greensboro, NC since 1993. Her success has resulted in a nationally recognized classical guitar program within a liberal arts setting. The Guilford College Guitar Ensemble has received top prizes at ensemble festivals and competitions, and has performed in Virginia, South Carolina, Illinois, Georgia, NYC, Philadelphia, and Ireland. Kami is also the faculty advisor for the Guilford College Radio Station, WQFS, ranked as high as 3rd in the nation among college stations by the Princeton Review. As a teacher, Kami guides students in the process of finding themselves through the guitar. Her Guilford alums have pursued higher-level music degrees at prestigious institutions, have taught for colleges and universities, public and private schools, music academies, and have been successful in creating professional performing and recording careers.
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Kami completed her Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music degrees in performance at Shenandoah Conservatory of Shenandoah University under the tutelage of Dr. Glenn Caluda. Dr. Rowan also studied with the renowned Aaron Shearer, at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, in Winston-Salem, NC, where she received her Bachelor of Music in performance. Kami received her NC-A Teaching Certificate from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and taught full-time for the Guilford County Public Schools for six years. She was part of the team that designed and put into operation the Weaver High School for Performing & Visual Arts, an options high school in Guilford County. During that time, Kami created and implemented a complete guitar curriculum for the high school level.
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Dr. Rowan currently sits on the board of six non-profit organizations including The Eastern Music Festival, The Aaron Shearer Foundation, the Piedmont Classic Guitar Society, and The Guitar Foundation of America. Additionally, she has been a clinician, guest conductor, and adjudicator for many guitar festivals and competitions on the east coast and is a published author and editor. Kami teaches every summer at the Shearer Summer Institute in Zion National Park, and most recently in the mountains of NC. In 2015, Dr. Rowan began the Guitar Summit at the prestigious Eastern Music Festival where she is currently director and teaches alongside Jason Vieaux, Julian Gray, and guest artists Thomas Viloteau, Jimi Kim, and Bad Assad in 2023. Kami also co-created and directed the US Guitar Orchestra (USGO), which launched in Carnegie Hall followed by a tour of France in summer 2019. In 2022, the second iteration of the USGO performed in Merkin Hall and toured Spain. These two experiences included a total of 5 world premiere commissions written for the USGO.
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Kami enjoys composing and performing both chamber and solo music in a variety of settings. In her free time, she is an avid traveler and enjoys spending time with her animals and family.