Profile

Dr. George Benton England is a versatile guitarist whose artistry bridges modern and historical performance practice. Equally at home as a soloist and chamber musician, he performs on contemporary and period instruments, bringing stylistic depth and expressive nuance to a broad and diverse repertoire.

Dr. England has collaborated with distinguished ensembles throughout the United States and abroad. In New York City, he has appeared with the Cantanti Project, Ensemble Musica Humana, and the Brooklyn Composers’ Collective. On the West Coast, his performances include appearances with the Sacramento Philharmonic and Opera (mandolin), the UC Davis University Orchestra (banjo), Marin Baroque, Sacramento Baroque Soloists, Sinfonia Spirituosa (baroque guitar and lute), and the O’Connor/England Guitar Duo. Internationally, he has performed in Koblenz, Germany as a member of Duo Raccontare with soprano Dr. Kathleen O’Rourke, and has appeared as a soloist in Khanom, Thailand.

As a student, he received a Fender Instruments Corporation Grant through Berklee College of Music, the Andrés Segovia Memorial Endowment at California State University, Northridge, and a departmental scholarship to complete his doctoral studies at Stony Brook University. Additional distinctions include First Prize in the Sacramento State Festival of New American Music Student Performance Competition and finalist recognition in the Sierra-Nevada International Guitar Competition.

An active educator dedicated to fostering ties with the broader community, Dr. England currently leads guitar studies at Napa Valley College and serves as Lecturer in Guitar at Sacramento State, where he also advises the Guitar Club. His previous faculty appointments include California State University, Northridge; Yuba Community College; the Diller-Quaile School of Music; 92nd Street Y; Third Street Music School; NYC Guitar School; and Music Stream Center in Davis. He is the founder of the Sacramento Guitar School and serves on the Board of Directors of Sinfonia Spirituosa.

George holds the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Stony Brook University, where his research focused on the analysis and interpretation of seventeenth-century French and Italian lute works and twentieth-century serial compositions for guitar.