Music Biography
George began his music studies in 1964, learning drums and percussion. He started his study of guitar in 1967 and later added Bass Guitar, Keyboards, Mandolin, Shakuhachi Flute and Native American Flute. George studied with many of the top jazz instructors in the Chicago area, and taught and performed locally from 1972, until 2015. He first taught private lessons in 1972 at Lyon Healy Music in Mount Prospect Illinois. When Lyon Healy closed, he began teaching at Just Guitars in Wauconda, Illinois. When the store relocated to Sarasota Florida, he moved on to teach at Schaumburg Music, Palatine Music, Consolidated Music of Barrington and the Players Bench in Crystal Lake, Illinois. He eventually consolidated his schedule and taught all of his students at The Players Bench Music Store in Crystal Lake, Illinois, until he retired and moved to the Tucson area in 2015. He is currently accepting a limited number of private students at his home studio in the Tucson area. He also composes music in many different styles, some of which have been featured on instructional DVDs, in computer games, used in group meditations world-wide and used as theme music for online broadcasts.
Educationally, he received his BA from Loyola University of Chicago in 1974, during which time he began studies with many of the top Jazz players in the Chicago area. In 1982 he completed the Berklee School of Music Correspondence Course, which included the study of modern harmony, arranging, improvisation and orchestration. He has performed as a jobbing musician, in small groups, and in Big Bands. Most recently he has been performing as a solo Jazz guitarist. In January of 2020 George was awarded his Master Certificate in Jan Michael Looking Wolf’s Native American Flute Apprentice Program.
His performance experience covers everything from big bands, to small groups, to solo performance. George also has experience conducting improvisational, MIDI and computer music workshops.
