Don King
Don has taught the guitar for more than 35 years. Originally from Sydney, he studied with Sebastian Jorgenson who was one of Australia’s leading classical guitarist. After moving to New Zealand, he taught the guitar to adults as a staff member of Wellington Teachers College, and to children for the New Zealand Ministry of Education, as well as teaching the guitar and lute privately. A founder of the Wellington Classical guitar society in 1969, and the Early Music Union in 1977, Don served as president for both organizations. During this time he helped organise master classes with Antonio Losada and John Duarte. For several years he ran a popular performance centre called the Balladeer, where classical, flamenco and folk guitarists performed nightly. Don has always had an interest in early music and he studied the Renaissance lute in London and attended the English Lute Society Summer School in Cheltenham. In 2007 he was an organiser for the International Early Music Seminar in Hobart with the world famous lutenist Hopkinson Smith and recently participated in the Lute Society of America’s Seminar in Cleveland Ohio. In addition to solo work, he directed and played with ERA, an ensemble devoted to the performance of Medieval and Renaissance music – researching and arranging much of its repertoire. Don has written and published a number of guitar books including:
Play the Guitar Book One, a tutor book for beginners, has been so successful with teachers and students in New Zealand and Australia that it has had eleven printings since its launch in 1989. Don continues to enjoy teaching in Wellington and at present is busy writing and preparing for publication two new guitar books including Blues for Classical Guitarists.
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