One early morning in late May of ‘25, a Nor’easter had swept through southern Rhode Island. Typically, a storm of this designation occurs chiefly in Winter. But as Rhode Islanders know, the local weather is an enigma and we should often expect the unexpected. On this same stormy, rainy morning, I met, for coffee and an interview, with multi-talented classical guitarist, pianist, bass player, student, teacher and concert performer Hannah de Jesus. 

Inside the warmth of the Coffee Depot in Warren, I witnessed yet another unexpected tempest on the horizon: a torrent of talent, energy, intellect, dedication, and intense work ethic within a young, soft-spoken artist. At just 21 years old, de Jesus’s goal to be a concert classical guitarist is resolute, and her focus is unshakable.  

We chatted for the better part of an hour. I found the Warren resident to be warm, open and charming. At a mere 4 feet, 10 inches, her appearance is svelte and petite. But looks can be deceiving, for her personality, positivity, drive and musicality are immense. We touched on many subjects, including plowing through disappointment, how Paul McCartney may have been motivated by Johan Sebastian Bach and how her parents inspired her to follow her destiny: a life of music. 

“I am an avid music lover. I enjoy every style and every type of music but I just happen to really love classical. Music was instilled in me at a very young age. My parents are both musicians who truly love it and they put in me that same love,” said de Jesus. “I would wake up every morning to hearing them play guitar and hearing my dad play piano. They had their own band, and they were church musicians, so, every Sunday I would go to church and hear them play which was really amazing. They played all the time at home as well. It was a house full of music.”  

“I started to play piano at 12 when I was in middle school. I thought I wanted to be a pianist to accompany singers or maybe play some avant-garde piano stuff,” said de Jesus. “Then at 14, when I was in high school at Mount Hope in Bristol, I had a friend who was taking a classical guitar class. I thought, OK, I’ll do it for fun and to be with my friend. I didn’t anticipate liking it as much as I did. I thought it was cool and I liked it so much that I took the next set of courses. At some point a feeling came over me. I thought to myself, this is what I want to do for the rest of my life.”

Humble beginnings

During High school, when she had only been playing for about a year, de Jesus said she began taking the guitar even more seriously. At that time, her talent and potential were recognized by her music teacher who played a pivotal role in de Jesus’s musical and career development.  

“My teacher then was Vicki Boyle, who is a player and an educator who was just amazing. One day she told me, ‘Hannah I’m going to have you do All-State. These are the audition pieces you’re going to play. You’re going to do fine.’ I was really scared,” said de Jesus. “It was the first time I’d ever done something like that and All-State was prestigious. She had great faith in me.” 

The All-State music program in RI is an audition-based honor program for students in grades 7-12. After performing pieces assigned to them, their auditions are then evaluated, based on a reading and grading scale. Those who are accepted participate in ensembles and performances with guest conductors and other top musicians from across the state. Being chosen is a significant achievement for young musicians. 

“That first year, I made All-State. I did surprisingly well. They give you rankings which offers you an idea of how you’re doing. It’s kind of like an orchestra setting: first chair, second chair, etc. That year I got third chair,” said de Jesus. “By then I knew I loved it and I thought, oh my god, I’m good at this and maybe this is something I could truly pursue as a career. I recognized it was going to be difficult, but I wanted to do it.”

“I did All-State into the next year, and during the year after that, I got first chair, which was very exciting for me. I did an ensemble and solo competition. I didn’t do perfect but I did pretty well,” said de Jesus. “I was really happy because I’d only been playing for about two years. I started to learn more solo pieces and when I was sixteen, I decided to audition for the Interlochen summer music camp in Michigan.” 

The Interlochen Center for the Arts is a non-profit, world-renowned organization, dedicated to music, arts and education. They offer a variety of programs for young people and adults, including summer music camps. Committed to nurturing talent and fostering artistic expression, the admissions team recruits’ students with strong abilities, passion for learning and the potential for growth. 

“In 2021 I did my audition for Interlochen virtually due to covid. They asked me to play three different solo pieces from three different eras. One from the Classical, the Renaissance and the Romantic eras. One of the pieces that I played was ‘A study an E minor’ by Mauro Giuliani. It had a lot of fast right-hand technique which was fun and I felt like I did well. It’s a notable school and summer camp. I really didn’t expect to be accepted, but I was. They were very supportive and told me I had potential and should continue playing.” 

At Interlocken, de Jesus played and studied with many prominent guitarists. Her master class with Nicholas Goluses (who currently holds the Andres Segovia Chair at the Manhattan School of Music), had the greatest impact on her. Due to her slight body frame and diminutive height, she struggled, at the time, to hold and play the guitar completely comfortably. She petitioned Dr. Goluses for help and advice. 

“He told me it would be helpful if I had a smaller guitar but the larger issue was that I needed to hold the guitar in whichever way made me feel most comfortable. He said I should ignore the traditional aspects of holding the guitar and that I should explore any and all ways that made it easier for me, no matter if it defied conventional ‘correct’ techniques. I now hold the guitar a bit more downward, my shoulder a bit higher and use two footstools, where most, if not all players, only use one.”

Back home

When de Jesus returned from summer camp in Michigan, her high school music teacher informed her that she had taken de Jesus as far as she could and that de Jesus should now consider private, advanced lessons. 

“When I came back from Michigan, to my senior year of high school, I began taking private lessons with my current college teacher, (renowned professor of classical guitar) Adam Levin,” said de Jesus. “I also began preparing for my college auditions. Professor Levin helped me to pick the pieces I needed to play for the auditions. I applied to 10 colleges and got accepted to all of them.” 

Although elated by her achievement, de Jesus was left with the harsh reality of finances. Her dad had contracted Lyme disease and was unable to work for an extended period of time. This placed a financial strain on the family, which put her preferred college out of financial reach. 

“I was accepted at Berkley school of music in Boston, but I just didn’t have the money to go there. It’s been my dream to attend Berkley but it just wasn’t possible. I was accepted to many fine schools, but I chose URI which offered me a full scholarship.” 

“One day in high school I was in class early and I was feeling a bit down. My high school calculus teacher came up to me and said, ‘I know you’re upset because you’re not able to attend Berkley, but I’ve seen you play and wherever you go, you will achieve everything you want. It doesn’t matter what school you go to, it’s not the school, it’s you.’ His words really hit me. That’s what I needed to hear at that time and that’s all that I’ve thought about ever since - that I have the ability, that this is my purpose and no matter where I go, I’m going to live it and succeed.”

Today de Jesus maintains a dual role as a full-time college music student at URI and a part time music teacher in Barrington.  

“I didn’t think that music school would be so challenging. There’s so much to know about music theory in classical music. One of the things I had to learn was the science of how all the great composers composed their music. I would say Rachmaninoff is my favorite,” said de Jesus. “I learned all about choral writing in the Gregorian chant style, impressionism and atonal music. With studying Bach, I learned how to write counterpoint. Counterpoint is two or more separately functioning lines of music that are melodic on their own but when you put them together, you can hear the harmonic function. A good example of counterpoint in popular music is ‘Blackbird’ by Paul McCartney. It’s two lines moving separately yet in tandem. It’s a piece heavily influenced by Bach.” 

Incredibly, with a full plate of studies and teaching obligations, de Jesus somehow finds time to carve out a minimum of 2 to 3 hours a day to practice her guitar. 

“When you practice every day, it keeps your repertoire and the pieces that you’re studying in your mind. It also keeps the muscle memory engaged in your fingers which is very important so you can always play to the fullest of your capacity,”   said de Jesus. “There’s always something new to practice whether it’s a technical thing or just learning the actual music. If you want to be good you got to practice and I really, really want to be good.” 

Aside from playing and learning, de Jesus loves to teach. She currently teaches guitar, bass, piano and voice. Her students run the gamut of young children to adults. She says that all the different age groups are interesting and unique in their own way. 

“No matter where students are in their life or in their musical journey, I strive to instill passion for the music. With younger students I especially try to help them to love their chosen instrument. My goal is to teach a strong technical background but I also want to make sure that they just enjoy it,” said de Jesus. “I always ask the student what they want to learn. Sometimes they’ll pick a song that’s too difficult for them so I will write out a more simplified version to match their level. It’s hard to learn when you’re learning songs that you don’t enjoy or don’t have any feelings for, so I try to find songs that my students are interested in and I think I’ve gotten great results.” 

“Teaching adults is different in some ways. Because they have more life experience, they understand what I’m talking about and because they made a personal choice to learn they can often be more receptive. The difficult part sometimes is getting them to actually execute the action,” said de Jesus. “Kids have more flexibility and can be more open, but with adults, they spent their whole life doing things a certain way, so in some ways, I have to help them to undo certain thought processes and that is something that takes time. I’m very patient and I think that helps me to help them to be as good a musician as they can be.” 

As we came to the interview’s conclusion, I wondered if she, an artist that is completely immersed in her studies, teaching, and her guitar, had any other interests outside of music? 

“Yes. I love baking. I get to take all these different ingredients, things that by themselves in their natural state, don’t necessarily taste as wonderful as they could. But when you blend them all together and put them in the oven, boom!,” said de Jesus. “I feel like in a lot of ways it’s similar to music. Taking all these components — the technical, the music, the ideas, all the different instruments that go into a classical work. And I’m like the oven. You combine all these components and you put them all inside of me. Then I cook it all and push it out, and the audience is left with this delicious piece that they get to devour.”

You can contact de Jesus on Instagram @hannahdejesusmusic  

or hangabemich@gmail.com 

Michael Khouri is a Barrington resident writing occasionally about the Rhode Island music scene. Reach him at mkhouri@cox.net.