Education
MM, The Hartt School, University of Hartford
BM, Montclair State University
Classical guitarist John Cesar has been a performer and instructor for over 10 years. He earned his bachelor’s from Montclair State University and his master’s from The Hartt School of music, both degrees in classical guitar performance. Over the last few years John has performed around the tri-state area and beyond. Some of these places include Jed Leshowitz Recital Hall, Mannes New School For Music, Berkman Recital Hall, Trumpets Jazz Club, and at INABIF in Lima Peru. In his current program John highlights the use of the guitar in various styles of music over time. This includes movements from the baroque suite, pieces influenced by the traditional music of Spain and South America, and the contemporary style of the United States.
Since his undergraduate studies, John has been involved in numerous chamber projects as well as recording his first album “Solo Guitar Recital” released in the spring of 2016. He was a founding member of the NJ based guitar quintet “Quinteto Paisano” and owns and operates the online classical guitar page/youtube channel For The Classical Guitarist. To find out more about John such as concert dates, media releases, and teaching as well as performance services please visit www.johncesarguitar.com. In 2023 John became a cofounder of the Connecticut Guitar Guild, a nonprofit group in Connecticut supporting and promoting the art of classical guitar through concerts, workshops, and festivals. Outside of this John remains an active classical guitar teacher in the Hartford area and beyond with a strong focus on the Suzuki Method.
Teaching Philosophy
As a teacher I believe that meeting a student where they are at is key to the students success. Understanding not just the what but the why of what we are working towards is something I make clear to the student at the beginning and ensure the student that questions of any kind are a big key to growing. Helping the student build, work towards, understand, and accomplish their goals is a big part of the learning process.