JOHANNESBURG GUITAR QUARTET

Based in Johannesburg

Following in the tradition of the Romeros and the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet (LAGQ), the Johannesburg Guitar Quartet (JGQ) formed in 2006 and has been making waves in the South African music industry ever since.

Specialising in the performance of South American, Baroque and Modern classics, the JGQ do, however, have their musical feet firmly planted in South Africa and Africa. The ensemble is known to deconstruct South American rhythms and accentuate the African roots of these styles such as the rumba, samba and the milonga. The JGQ have fun interpreting tangos and even baroque pieces as only a South African ensemble could!

The quartet has been concertizing to critical and public acclaim, having performed on numerous occasions for the Classical Guitar Society of South Africa, Concerts on Congo, Classic FM Cool Classical Concerts, The Forum, and many others. The members include Michal George, Russell Stirling, Darryl Rule and Dillon Davie – all graduates from the University of the Witwatersrand’s School of Music.

The JGQ’s current repertoire includes baroque works by Vivaldi, Spanish, Latin and South American pieces by Brouwer, Torroba, Barrios and Jirimal, and modern, avant garde works by the Russian composer, Koshkin. The group also plays numerous jazz standards, arranged for the guitar quartet format. The JGQ is currently working on a medley of traditional South African folk songs.

Detailed Information on JGQ Members

Michal George began his classical guitar studies at the University of Cape Town, and went on to study at the University of the Witwatersrand, School of Music, as well as at the Cleveland Institute of Music in the USA , where he studied under John Holmquist and graduated 1999 attaining the degree of Master in Music. Award-winner in numerous classical music competitions including the 2002 Web Concert Hall 4th International Competition, Michal‘s playing has been hailed by 21st Century Music magazine (January 2004 - San Francisco, California, USA) as “sensitive and virtuosic”, Michal has recorded two solo CDs and other chamber and orchestral projects.

Russell Stirling has been playing guitar since age 8 – studying under Fritz Buss and going on to graduate with a BMus from the University of Witwatersrand, School of Music in 1981. Since then he has been a performer, songwriter and producer, working with PACT and the SABC. He has lectured Composition, Film Scoring and Electronic Music at the Pretoria Technikon, and has been involved in several crossover projects, including most recently “African Baroque” which is enjoying much popularity on Classic FM. In 2005 Russell achieved a performance licentiate (LTCL) from Trinity College London.

Darryl Rule started playing the guitar when he was 10. After having studied classical guitar with Kim Harris, he later studied with David Hewitt and Fritz Buss while he was completing his Bachelor of Music at the University of Witwatersrand, School of Music. Specialising in musicology, his other strength lay in writing - of which he did for the Mail & Guardian, The Star and Media24, covering mainly film, music and travel. Darryl was assistant researcher for the acclaimed Continuum publication "Soweto Blues: Jazz, Popular Music, and Politics in South Africa ", and completed his MA in Journalism and Media Studies in 2006; currently he writes for the AA Travel Guides. He is an active guitarist playing with various guitar duos and other ensembles.

Dillon Davie was born in Durban in 1984. He began playing guitar at the age of 14, inspired by an earnest desire to play the electric guitar in a rock band. That desire having abated, he switched to classical guitar and studied towards a BMus degree at University of Witwatersrand School of Music, double majoring in Guitar Performance and Composition. He graduated in 2005. His guitar teachers at Wits were Reza Khota and Michal George. Dillon also has an interest in vocal and choral music, sparked by him joining the Wits Choir while a student. He now studies vocal technique in Johannesburg.