Rene Izquierdo plays Cuban Tuesday, August 17, 2021

Known as “The American Segovia,” Classical Guitarist Kevin Collins has traveled the world with his guitar, and shares his love of the guitar and its music. Called “warm and entertaining” by New York Times critic John Canaday, Kevin plays music from many countries and traditions. In Classical Guitar Around the World, you will meet Kevin’s friends and hear tales of their travels with the guitar.

Kevin Collins comes from a musical family. His mother played piano and he started learning the classical guitar at a very early age from his father. By the time he was a teen, Kevin was playing professionally and went on to study classical guitar at the Hartt School in West Hartford, Connecticut, the oldest in the U.S., with the founder of the Guitar Department Richard Provost. After college, he continued his studies at the Aspen Music School with Maestro Oscar Ghiglia and played for the International Design Conference at Aspen. Kevin made his debut in Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez with the Austin Symphony, and, in New York, he played at the Rainbow Room, as well as concerts in Europe and South America, and across the U.S.

Kevin is a former guitar faculty member at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He founded the Amherst Red Barn Music School, where literally thousands of people have come to share the joy of music.