Creativity and Innovation Expert, Jazz Musician,
Artist, and Leader of the “Rob Levit Trio”
Rob Levit, an acclaimed musician and artist, has created award-winning innovative “Life-Skills Through The Arts” programs for hundreds of at-risk youth and adults. He is currently Executive Director of Creating Communities and the first Artist-In-Residence at Hospice of the Chesapeake, where he created and infused healing activities for the wellbeing of staff, families and patients.
Inspirational Speaker
Rob Levit is a multi-directional artist. Levit lives on the cutting-edge of artistic inspiration and innovation and is a gifted speaker and facilitator on leadership, team building, and the creative process. He has given presentations for the Moss Foundation for Children’s Education, Daimler-Chrysler, Northwestern Mutual,Anne Arundel County Public Schools, New Jersey Hospital Association, Leadership Anne Arundel and many others.
Awards and Recognition
Rob is a 2013 Innovator of the Year from the Maryland Daily Record, 2012 Mentor of the Year for Anne Arundel County, 2011 recipient of the Martin Luther King Peacemaker Award, 2010 Rotary Club Service Above Self Award and was recently a Top 5 national finalist for the Energizer Keep Going Hall of Fame for community service. In 2006, he was a Fellow at UCLA’s Center for Intercultural Performance working and collaborating with artists from around the world. He is a multiple-time recipient of the Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artist Award and one of 10 composers to receive the inaugural jazz composition commission from Chamber Music America in 2000.
Community Outreach
While principally known as a guitarist and leader of the Rob Levit Trio renowned for its jazz renditions and improvisations, he also paints, writes poetry and essays and is active in infusing creativity and leadership into schools, communities and the workplace. In January 2007, he founded 2C (Creating Communities) to foster creativity and the arts for the underserved with a focus on elementary school children, hospital patients and adults with mental illness. Levit has also completed an acclaimed CD, Songs of Healing, for Hospice of the Chesapeake designed to give comfort to patients, workers and family in hospice care and it has since been distributed to over 1500 people. As an arts integration specialist Levit travels statewide working to harness the power of the arts as a learning tool in the classroom environment. He is on the roster of Maryland State Arts Council, Montgomery County Arts Council and Arts Council of Anne Arundel County. His organization, Creating Communities, received the Innovative Program award for the Arts Mentorship Academy for under-served youth, from the Volunteer Center of Anne Arundel County in October 2008.
Music and Arts
He has released and recorded over fifteen commercially available compact discs. He has painted the album art for his last four CD’s. His 2005 CD Touch the Spirit, a solo instrumental guitar album, was received to critical acclaim and climbed to #11 on the national New Age/World Music charts. In November 2006, Levit released Songs of Healing, an album of original guitar pieces designed for friend, families, and patients of Hospice of the Chesapeake. In 2007, he served as music consultant and composer for many tracks on the acclaimed Annapolis film Pip and Zastrow. In September 2008, he traveled to Los Angeles to perform at the opening concert of the World Festival of Sacred Music with musicians from around the world, the only American on the opening gala concert at UCLA’s Royce Hall. Major performances as a leader and co-leader include: Montreal International Jazz Festival, Boston Globe Jazz Festival, Ottawa International Jazz Festival, Texaco New York Jazz Festival, Kennedy Center Millennium Stage, Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts (with Ballet Theater of Maryland), Blues Alley, The Regatta Bar and the World Festival of Sacred Music.
A Creative Response to Build Resiliency Life Transitions
An easy and evocative hands-on and interactive session on how basic art activities make a difference for clinicians and their clients in the healing process. Sometimes words alone can fail, and we need effective ways to create an opening for a client's self expression. Creative interventions provide avenues of enrichment and connection for clients who are less verbal or who are self-conscious about sharing. This workshop provides a safe, supportive atmosphere for clinicians to try creative approaches. Absolutely no artistic experience or background required. Some topics to be covered and discovered: The use and creation of colorful mandalas; the use of poems and easy forms of creating poetry; life blue prints; drama and movement techniques like tableau, mirroring and more, meditative movement
Life Skills through the Arts Program Design for Non-profits
Many non-profit organizations fall short in delivering excellent programs beyond their core mission. Learn how to design and implement a Life Skills through the Arts Program that align with the mission and outcomes that your organization needs to succeed. Participants will learn 4-6 core activities, receive assessment and documentation tools and see case studies on successful programs that have reached adults with mental illness, the homeless, adults in addiction recovery, women in domestic violence counseling and more.
Creative Breakthroughs and All That Jazz...
What do jazz cats know about creativity that you don’t? Explore improvisation,teamwork, and idea generation using the jazz of Miles Davis, John Coltrane and Charlie Parker as the model for creative breakthroughs. This presentation includes a dynamic musical performance that encourages audience participation in a live jam session with musical instruments and scat-singing. Perfect for kicking off or ending a conference or for meaningful evening entertainment!
Healing the Healer: Self-care for Human Service Providers
Is your organization providing your human service providers – nurses, hospice workers, educators, social workers and counselors – the tools and strategies to refresh, renew and rejuvenate themselves in light of all the stressors and challenges they face at work? This popular presentation will encourage dialogue, hands-on participation and collaboration. Learn powerful self-care techniques, rituals and creative approaches to move from survive to thrive in the field.
Leonardo’s Studio
Leonardo da Vinci is widely considered to be the greatest multi-disciplinary artist who ever lived – expert painter, writer, draftsman, and musician. Using examples from Leonardo’s journals and artwork, employees will be introduced to three concepts that they can apply in their own creative lives: taking appropriate risks to work toward mastery,persistence in problem-solving and innovation, and thinking out of the box.
No Books Found
“As a result of Rob’s diligent work and follow up with me, we strategically added five new board members to our Board of Directors and plan to have Rob back to help the board and staff strategically plan and reevaluate our mission and vision as a group. I highly recommend Rob and his innovative techniques to any organization. His methods facilitated much needed conversation and walked us through a very difficult time.”
- St. Francis Neighborhood Center | Executive Director
“With your ideas and those ideas that you generated from everyone in attendance, our volunteers obtained a wealth of activities that they can do to enhance their work with their clients. Some of the other concepts you introduced will also help in deepening their work.”
- Hospice of the Chesapeake | Director of Volunteer Services
“Just a note to say thanks again, for the great job you did as our closing plenary presenter at this year’s Mennonite Health Assembly in Louisville, Kentucky in March. You met and exceeded our expectations in speaking to creativity in our work and service settings. It was clear you had researched your audience.”
- Mennonite Health Services |
