Professor performs with classic guitar

March 19, 2014

By Lauren Piek

Taught at a young age to play music, George Lindquist used his early-learned talent to create a career.

Lindquist, a classical guitarist and professor at UW-Whitewater, will perform a faculty recital at 7:30 p.m. on March 20, at the Light Recital Hall. Tickets are $3 for students and those 18 and under, $4 for 65 and older, and $5 for the general public.

Lindquist started out playing ukulele and guitar, both taught to him by his father. As a teenager, and into his early 20s, Lindquist played guitar in multiple bands.

He attended Carthage College with the hopes of earning a business degree. While at Carthage College, he couldn’t help but maintain his interest in playing guitar, Lindquist said.

“I kept gravitating to the music classes,” Lindquist said. “I was fortunate because the chairman there at the time knew that I played guitar, and he said I could study guitar as long as it was classical guitar. I didn’t really know much about classical guitar at the time.”

Lindquist was granted permission to study the art under classical guitarist James Yoghourtijan. He eventually earned a business degree and classical guitar degree from Carthage, Lindquist said.

After graduating from Carthage College, Lindquist earned his master’s degree in musicology from the University of Wisconsin. He began teaching at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music in Milwaukee, where he still teaches part-time, Lindquist said.

At UW-Whitewater, he teaches classical guitar, folk guitar classes and guitar ensemble Lindquist said. He tries to perform at a recital every year.

“Faculty recitals allow students to see their professors perform on stage and see how it’s done,” Associate Director of Public Events, Leslie LaMuro said.

The first half of the recital will consist of solo performances from Lindquist. He will perform lute pieces—transcribed for classical guitar—along with pieces by John Duarte, Isaac Albeniz, Manuel de Falla, and Enrique Granados.

“The audience will be amazed by how fast George’s fingers fly across the strings,” LaMuro said. “George picked pieces by some of the greatest composers for this recital.”

In the second half of the recital, Lindquist will be joined by fellow music professor and cellist Benjamin Whitcomb. Lindquist had accompanied Whitcomb during his own faculty recital.

Lindquist offers one piece of advice for students pursuing a career in music: be versatile.

“You need to know a lot of different styles of guitar,” Lindquist said. “If you only focus on one thing, like I have, it’s kind of tough. My advice is to know as much as you can about guitar. Always try to find someone who can teach you something new.”