Classical Guitar
Judith's Website
Handler & Levesque Duo guitar & mandolin
"Flowing fluently yet tightly together, the interactive Handler/Levesque collaboration swings and shimmers with gusto and romance. The duo's musical passion over the years just keeps getting warmer and brighter, while its artistic commitment and scope get even wider and deeper."
Owen McNally, music critic, Hartford Courant.
Judy has performed over 1,500 concerts in the United States with husband Mark Levesque. They have developed world class arrangements that blend classical, Brazilian, Latin American, klezmer, gypsy, jazz, Celtic and folk music influences to create a unique and extraordinary sound. This, matched with their impeccable musicianship, has won them a widespread enthusiastic following.
Handler & Levesque have performed for festivals, arts centers, universities and museums, some of which include Troy Music Hall, International Festival of Arts & Ideas, The Brooklyn Museum of Art, The Hudson River Museum, Roger Williams University, The University of Connecticut, The Bushnell Performing Arts Center, The Hartford Symphony Orchestra’s Musical Dialogue Series, The Byron Colby Barn, Music Mountain and the Jewish Museum in Manhattan. They have performed for many community events including First Night Westport, The Mystic Arts Café, Bean Blossom Music Series in Indiana, the Rainbow’s End Series in Chicago, Nashua Public Library in New Hampshire and the Quechee Club in Vermont.
Handler & Levesque are on the roster of Cantaloupe Music Productions in Manhattan, New England Foundation for the Arts, the Connecticut Office of the Arts and the Connecticut Library Consortium. Their CDs Passion, Two Guitars Live! & Acoustic Blend have received critical acclaim and have been sold in dozens of countries throughout the world. All three CDs have been used by the Greater Hartford Arts Council as a gift to thousands of donors to their United Arts Campaign in 2003, 2006 and 2009. Handler & Levesque have also been featured on numerous compilation CDs with other artists as well as many radio & cable programs.
The Rosewood Chamber Ensemble:
historical programs on period instruments
Since 2008 Judy has been performing with flutist Barbara Hopkins as The Rosewood Chamber Ensemble. They have developed four programs based on music from 19th century America with background stories about the periods, historical figures, music and instruments. Judy performs on a Martin parlor guitar which is the same model that Mark Twain owned and played. Barbara has several Asa Hopkins flutes made in Connecticut in the 1830s as well as Classical & Romantic era flutes.
Judy and Barbara have taken their unique blend of musicality, humor, and scholarship to many notable venues including the Adams National Historical Park, Yale Collection of Musical Instruments, Litchfield Historical Society, Stony Brook University and the National Flute Association Convention in New York. The high quality of their programs has earned them membership on the Connecticut Office of the Arts Performing Artists Roster, four grants from the Evelyn Preston Memorial Trust Fund and a grant from the Dean’s Fund at the University of Connecticut. www.barbarahopkins.com/Rosewood.htm
Solo classical guitar
Judy has given concerts & workshops throughout the United States. Her solo playing spans diverse genres of music including classical, Latin American, Brazilian, and jazz arrangements. She has performed with many prominent guitarists including Charlie Byrd and Oscar Ghiglia. Judy has received numerous awards including an Individual Artist Fellowship from the Greater Hartford Arts Council.
Judy's studies began in her hometown, Chicago and she went on to earn a Bachelor of Music in guitar from the College Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati, a Master of Music from the Hartt School of Music, and certificates from summer studies at the Aspen Music Festival, the Vila-Seca i Salou Conservatory in Spain and a Diploma of Merit from the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Italy. She enjoys teaching guitar and runs monthly performance classes at a private studio in Vernon, Connecticut. Judy is co-founder of the Connecticut Classical Guitar Society, one of the largest organizations of its kind in the country.
VIDEO RECORDINGS:
Mark Levesque and Judy Handler: Pedacinhos do Céu
Mark Levesque and Judy Handler: Como Llora Una Estrella