KAMI ROWAN (guitar) is Charles A. Dana Professor of Music and the past Chair of the Music Department at Guilford College. Her success has resulted in a nationally recognized guitar program within a liberal arts context. The Guilford College Guitar Ensemble directed by Rowan received 1st and 3rd prizes at the Brownsville Texas Guitar Ensemble Festival and Competition and has performed in Virginia, Illinois, South Carolina, Georgia, Ireland, NYC, Philadelphia, New York City, Kentucky, and Texas. Kami completed her DMA and MM degrees in performance at Shenandoah Conservatory under the tutelage of Dr. Glenn Caluda. Rowan also studied with the renowned Aaron Shearer at UNC School of the Arts, where she received her BM in performance. Rowan received her NC-A Teaching Certificate from UNC Greensboro and taught full-time for the Guilford County 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 arts-options high school in Guilford County. During that time, she created and implemented a complete guitar curriculum for the high school level. Rowan is currently on the board of directors of The Guitar Foundation of America, The Aaron Shearer Foundation, and is the current president of the Piedmont Classic Guitar Society. Additionally, she has enjoyed being a clinician and adjudicator for many guitar festivals and competitions on the east coast. In 2015, Rowan created the guitar program at Eastern Music Festival, where she is currently director of the program. In 2019, Rowan created and directed the inaugural US Guitar Orchestra (USGO), which played at Carnegie Hall followed by a tour of France and included several EMF guitar program alumni. Rowan conducted the second iteration of the USGO in summer 2022, taking 8 EMF alumni in a 35-person guitar orchestra.