Cameron O’Connor & George England
Duets
8/30/25 - 5:00 pm in Davis
8/31/25 - 5:00 pm in Sacramento
About the Performers
George Benton England is an acclaimed guitarist recognized for his versatility as a soloist and chamber musician, with equal fluency on modern and historical instruments. His artistry has led to collaborations with distinguished ensembles and institutions throughout the United States and abroad.
In New York City, Dr. England has performed with esteemed groups including The Cantanti Project, Ensemble Musica Humana, and the Brooklyn Composers’ Collective. On the West Coast, he is frequently engaged with ensembles such as Backyard Baroque and Sinfonia Spirituosa in Sacramento, and has performed with Sacramento Philharmonic & Opera in Mozart’s Don Giovanni on mandolin, UC Davis Orchestra in Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue on banjo, as well as Sacramento’s Schola Cantorum on guitar.
George received a Fender Instruments Corporation Grant through the Berklee School of Music and was a recipient of the prestigious Andrés Segovia Memorial Endowment at California State University, Northridge. He was selected to participate in the Grammy Foundation’s Master Class Sessions with the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet in Beverly Hills, and went on to win First Prize in both the Sacramento State Festival of New American Music Student Performance Competition and the Sacramento Region American String Teachers Association Competition. He was also a finalist in the 2007 Sierra Nevada International Guitar Competition.
As an educator, Dr. England is passionate about pedagogy and public access to the arts. He currently directs the classical guitar program at Sacramento State University and Napa Valley College, where he also lectures in broader areas of music. His previous teaching appointments include California State University, Northridge; Yuba Community College; the Diller-Quaile School of Music in Manhattan; 92nd Street Y; Third Street Music School; NYC Guitar School; and Music Stream Center in Davis, California. He is also the founder of Sacramento Guitar School.
George earned the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Stony Brook University, where his doctoral work focused on the analysis and performance practice of 17th-century French and Italian lute repertoire, as well as 20th-century serial compositions for guitar. He holds a Master of Music degree from Sacramento State and a Bachelor of Music degree, cum laude, from CSU Northridge.
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Award-winning and acclaimed as "stunning and emotive" (Eugene Register-Guard) and "accomplished and soulful" (Portland Magazine) Cameron O’Connor enjoys a diverse career in solo, chamber, and contemporary music. Recent and upcoming highlights include solo and duo recitals throughout Japan; performing as a guest artist at the Loyola Marymount, Corvallis, Siempre la Guitarra, and Northwest Guitar Festivals; chamber music and opera appearances with Eugene Opera and musicians of the Oregon Symphony in their Classical Up Close concert series; as a chamber music soloist at the New World Symphony in Miami (for which the South Florida Classical Review noted that he was “especially effective in the quick and diabolical figures”); appearing as a guest artist and performing duos with Sharon Isbin at the Aspen Music Festival and School; performing with Michael Tilson Thomas and the New World Symphony; and appearing under the baton of Chinese composer Tan Dun in his Eastern-tinged Concerto for Six, for which the New York Times noted that “O’Connor fluttered on his guitar strings in a manner reminiscent of a pipa player’s technique.” He is furthermore a prizewinner in many international competitions, including the Frances Walton and Tokyo International Guitar Competition. His playing has been featured in films, including James Franco’s Don Quixote and Scott Tennant's instructional classic Pumping Nylon, and his performances have been featured on Seattle's Classical 98.1 KingFM, All Classical Portland, American Public Media’s Performance Today, and KPFK's Global Village. His recording of Michael Lee's Unmasked (written for O'Connor) was chosen for Ablaze Record's Millenial Masters, distributed by Naxos. As a composer, O'Connor won the 2019 Keene State College Call for Scores, the "Outstanding Winner" 2nd prize at the Changsha International Guitar Festival in China, and is a finalist in the 2nd Portugal International Guitar Composition Competition. O'Connor also performs regularly for musical theatre productions on electric guitar, banjo, and mandolin, as well as in early music settings on the vihuela and lute.
O’Connor was a full scholarship recipient at CSU Northridge, where he studied guitar with Ron Borczon and lute with Ron Purcell; the Juilliard School in New York City, where he studied with Sharon Isbin; and at the USC Thornton School of Music under William Kanengiser. Upon receiving his degree, the Thornton School recognized him as the Outstanding Doctoral Graduate of his class. He has served on the faculties of Oregon State University, CSU Bakersfield, Riverside City College, and Bakersfield College; his compositions and arrangements can be found through LACG Editions (lacg.net); and his writing published in the pages of the Guitar Foundation of America's quarterly, Soundboard.
Cameron is the Artistic Director of the Corvallis Guitar Society, which puts on educational efforts and sponsors many concerts each year.
Join acclaimed guitarists Cameron O’Connor and George England for an unforgettable evening of virtuosic duets. This unique program pairs the classical elegance of Franz Joseph Haydn’s String Quartet in E Major, Op. 2 No. 2 (in a luminous arrangement for two guitars by François de Fossa) with the contemporary lyricism of Hirokazu Sato’s 12 Preludes for Two Guitars. Intimate, intricate, and richly expressive, this concert offers a rare opportunity to hear two masterful voices in perfect dialogue.
Saturday, August 30th - 5:00 pm
Episcopal Church of St. Martin
640 Hawthorn Lane, Davis, CA 95616
$20 General Admission
$10 Student
Cash or Venmo at the door; or purchase tickets online here:
Sunday, August 31st - 5:00 pm
Geery Theatre at the Pease Conservatory of Music
2130 L Street, Sacramento, CA 95816
$20 General Admission
$10 Student
Cash or Venmo at the door; or purchase tickets online here:
Doors open at 4:30 PM
Concert duration: Approximately 50–70 minutes
Sinfonia Spirituosa
Magic and Melancholy
September 27 – 28, 2025
Sinfonia Spirituosa opens our 2025 – 6 season with works by G.P. Telemann, G.F. Handel, and Dieterich Buxtehude in concerts in both Sacramento and Davis.
For more information and tickets, visit: https://sinfoniaspirituosa.org/performances/magic-and-melancholy-sep-27-28-2025/