Kami Rowan, Charles A. Dana Professor of Music, has taught at Guilford College in Greensboro, North Carolina, since 1993. Her success has resulted in a nationally recognized classical guitar program within a liberal arts setting. Currently, Kami has a lively and strong group of guitar majors representing diverse levels, ages, and genders. Her duties at Guilford College include directing the guitar program, teaching major's lessons, guitar ensemble, and teaching academic classes such as Music & Contemporary Culture, The Byrne Experience, Music Beyond the Notes, Music as Medicine, Music Appreciation, First Year Seminar courses, and Guitar Pedagogy and Literature. The Guilford College Guitar Ensemble received first and third prizes at the Brownsville Texas Guitar Ensemble Festival and Competition. The ensemble has also performed in Virginia, South Carolina, Illinois, Georgia, South Carolina, New York City, Philadelphia, and Ireland. Kami is the faculty advisor for the Guilford College Radio Station, WQFS, ranked as high as third in the nation among college stations by the Princeton review. The WQFS Practicum class was designed and implemented by Kami to support the station.

Kami guides students in the process of finding themselves through the guitar. She sees art as a tool for expression, self-awareness, and change. Kami teaches a strong foundation of technique, which allows greater access to musicality and interpretation. She challenges each student to look within to find their strengths and improve their weaknesses. Her past Guilford graduates have pursued higher-level music degrees at institutions including University of Colorado, San Francisco Conservatory, Berklee School of Music, North Carolina School of the Arts, Cincinnati Conservatory, University of South Carolina, Cleveland Conservatory, University of Hawaii, University of Southern California, Akron University, Florida State University, and Duquesne University. Her students have also taught for colleges and universities, public and private schools, music academies, managed music stores, and have been successful in creating professional performing careers.

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, North Carolina, 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.

Dr. Rowan is currently on the board of four nonprofit musical organizations: The Guitar Foundation of America,  the Eastern Music Festival, the Piedmont Classic Guitar Society and the United Arts Council of Greater Greensboro. These professional organizations provide high quality guitar community educational and performance opportunities on a local and national level. Additionally, she has been a clinician and adjudicator for many guitar festivals and competitions on the east coast, including the Beatty Competition, Rantucci Guitar Competition, Appalachian State University Guitar Festival & Competition, Southern Guitar festival, GFA Regional Symposia, Music Academy of NC Festival & Competition, Loudoun County Schools All-County Guitar High School and Middle School Festivals, and the Hawaii International Conference on Arts & Humanities. Kami teaches every summer at the Shearer Summer Institute in Zion National Park.  In 2015, Dr. Rowan began the Guitar Summit at the prestigious Eastern Music Festival where she is currently director and teaches alongside Jason Vieaux and Julian Gray. Kami also co-created and directed the U.S. Guitar Orchestra (USGO) in Carnegie Hall followed by a tour of France in summer 2019. This experience was sponsored by ASF and included three world premiere compositions. The USGO did a second tour in the summer of 2022 in Merkin Hall in New York City followed by a tour of Spain.

Kami enjoys composing and performing, both chamber music and solo in a variety of settings. She is also a member of Big Betty and the Punchbowl, a band that plays for fundraising events for organizations in the Greensboro area. Further, she loves to travel as often as possible, and has been to Europe, Canada, China, Indonesia, India, South America, Africa, and most of the United States. Kami believes life happens now and engages in any adventures she can find during her free time.

Visit www.kamirowan.com to learn more.