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1. How did you finance your music education? How did you make your first dollar from music? How did you survive while building your career in music? When did you start calling yourself a professional musician?

I financed my music education through a mix of teaching private lessons, taking various odd jobs, and student loans. In high school I wanted lessons; my parents paid for some, and I paid for some. My first job was at Taco Bell. I quit a week later to go work at a water park. They let me work overtime during the summers, so I was able to save up to buy an archtop jazz guitar. Unfortunately, I no longer have that instrument.

My very first earnings from music came at age 18. I burned a CD of pieces I was performing, walked into local restaurants, and asked if I could play background music. One restaurant took me up on it, and I played my first official gig there—three hours for $40 plus dinner. I had an absolute blast and still remember how exciting it felt. I did that for about 6 months until I moved for college.

Building a sustainable career took a long time. For years I balanced performing, teaching, and whatever music-related work I could find. I didn’t start calling myself a professional musician until several years later—after completing my master’s degree—when I was consistently earning a living through regular paid performance and teaching opportunities.

2. How did you choose your instrument? Or did it choose you? How did you get your first instrument? Your first professional instrument? Your current instrument(s)?

I first took piano lessons for a couple of years when I was a child. My mom had a rule that while I lived under her roof, I would be learning an instrument. When I was about 11, I heard a metal group called Apocalyptica. They were a Finnish group made up of three cellists who absolutely blew me away. That really piqued my interest and I decided I would switch from piano to cello.

But we couldn’t afford a cello or lessons at the time. Shortly after that, I discovered an inexpensive classical guitar from the 1970s that my parents had tucked away in a closet. I picked it up, learned a few riffs from one of my older brothers, and immediately loved how portable it was. I could play outside! I could bring it to school! From about sixth grade on, I played that thing every single day. I still remember the summer I learned how to properly get a barré chord down. I had my wisdom teeth removed and was home for a few days recovering. There was nothing to do except watch T.V. and play guitar. I am so fortunate the internet was kind of boring back then! I probably did more practicing during that week than I had in the previous year.

My first real concert guitar was an instrument by Paulino Bernabé, Sr. I bought it in 2007 from a former teacher of mine. The moment I tried it, I knew I wanted it. Just one week later, Bernabé, Sr. passed away. I still own and play that guitar today.

3. Have you ever wanted to quit music? How have you persevered? How do you recharge musically? What keeps you coming back to music? Where does your creativity come from?

Yes, I’ve wanted to quit music dozens of times! But I realized early on that feeling like quitting and actually quitting are not necessarily the same thing. Sometimes all I needed was a short break or to play something completely different.

What kept me coming back was constantly exploring. I'd dive deep into one band or style, then move on to jazz, classic rock, classical, or whatever caught my ear next. I loved tracing influences: who inspired the artists I loved?

When I first picked up the guitar in the mid-’90s, grunge had faded and “alternative” was everywhere -- I'm thinking of groups like Green Day, Third Eye Blind, a "little group" from Sacramento called Cake, and many others. I wanted to be in Nirvana, then Metallica, then Megadeth and the Smashing Pumpkins. At home, I was surrounded by my family’s music: my mom played recordings of all kinds of music by groups like a vocal jazz ensemble called Manhattan Transfer, Hank Williams, The Carter Family, Johnny Cash, Aretha Franklin, Sinead O'Connor, Stevie Wonder, and The Beatles. My dad loved The Doors, The Police, Paul Simon, and Billy Joel, to name a few. He would sit at the piano playing Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, improvising when he forgot a section. I would sometimes “borrow” my brothers’ cassette tapes of Prince, Alice in Chains, Aerosmith, De La Soul’s 3 Feet High and Rising, Pearl Jam, the Beastie Boys, and David Bowie. One night when I was about 12, I woke up around 2:00 or 3:00 a.m. to a summer rainstorm. The radio was on quietly and the Capital Public Radio station was playing this piece by J.S. Bach. It was the Badinerie from Orchestral Suite 2 in B Minor. Even though I was in and out of sleep hearing this thing, I was so into it, and I still cannot say exactly why. For years I didn't know what that piece was; there was no Google and I didn't think of asking a musician. I didn't hear it again until I was in college. The piece is very... metal! But it's also a little mysterious and magical. To this day I hear it and am amazed by how much music Bach was able to fit into a short little movement like that.

On guitar, I would be thinking of all these varying types of music. When I first heard classical guitar, I heard bass, melody, and middle voices. It seemed like a magic trick. There was something different about it and it seemed almost like the idea of the music, the composer's intentions, and the sound of the music itself were not necessarily the same thing. Suddenly, I had this realization that the idea of an orchestra was there, but the only instrument present was the guitar. I had stumbled onto what felt like a secret way of imagining, hearing, and realizing music.

Having been introduced to so many musical styles at an early age and seeing how much my family valued music has stayed with me. Recalling those early experiences helped me through times when I was deeply questioning whether I should pursue this career. My relationship with music and my instrument is dynamic; it’s never static. When I hit a slump or get frustrated now, I know from experience it’s temporary. If it were 100% fun all the time, it would probably get boring! I think the challenging times make the good ones more meaningful, and that much more enjoyable.

I’m incredibly lucky to have grown up with music and to have stuck with it through difficult phases. Now, I get to share a deep appreciation for this art form with my students. Working with students keeps me inspired and excited about new projects and fresh ways of understanding a piece of music. I get a ton of joy from collaborating with other musicians. In rehearsals and lessons, we take an active role in interpreting the music together -- and that is an absurdly special thing to be able to do.

Professional Bio

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.

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Professional Bio