Judy Handler
Judy is passionate about teaching and sharing her love for guitar music with students of all ages and levels. She is a dedicated teacher who enjoys helping students develop the skills to be able to interpret music that inspires them. Judy has many years of experience teaching private lessons, masterclasses and performance workshops. She is looking forward to teaching students in the Clifton area where she lived and taught while studying at CCM!
Judy is Co-Founder of the Connecticut Classical Guitar Society and is established as a preeminent guitarist in the region. She has given solo concerts & workshops at numerous venues throughout the United States including the University of Arizona, Commons Theater in Chicago, the Boston Classical Guitar Society and the Guitar Salon in New York. Judy’s wide repertoire includes traditional classical guitar pieces, Spanish & Latin-American music and arrangements of popular, jazz & Brazilian music. She has received numerous awards including an Individual Artist Fellowship from the Greater Hartford Arts Council.
In 2021 Judy recorded the audio for a new edition of Book 3 of A Modern Approach to Classical Guitar by Charles Duncan which will be published by Hal Leonard in 2022.
Judy performs nationally with her husband, guitarist/mandolinist Mark Levesque. The duo performs their own arrangements of many genres of music including classical, Celtic, Brazilian, swing, gypsy, Spanish, Latin American and Eastern European. Judy and Mark are on the roster of artists for the New England Foundation for the Arts and Cantaloupe Productions in Manhattan. They have received critical acclaim for their CDs Joy to the World (2019), Passion (2008), Two Guitars Live! (2003) and Acoustic Blend (2001). They are also featured on 5 CDs produced by the Connecticut Classical Guitar Society.
In 2013 Judy became a founding member of the New American Mandolin Ensemble which performs music for plucked string ensemble. They have done three tours in Europe performing at international festivals, concertized around the East Coast and played at a national mandolin festival in Portland, Oregon. They recorded a unique CD of contemporary works in 2017.
Judy received a Bachelor of Music degree from the College-Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati with Clare Callahan and a Master of Music degree from the Hartt School of Music in West Hartford, CT with Oscar Ghiglia. She also earned a Certificate from the Vila-Seca i Salou Conservatory in Spain with José Tomás, a Diploma of Merit from the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Italy with Oscar Ghiglia and a certificate for summer study at the Aspen Music Festival. Judy has played in masterclasses for many renowned guitarists including Pepe Romero, David Russell, Manuel Barrueco, Eliot Fisk, and Carlos Barbosa Lima.
