Garrett Knighton is a lifelong musician who is passionate about music education and performance. He is a multi-instrumentalist who plays guitar, violin, piano and flute with over 20 years of music experience and 7 years of teaching experience in various music genres. He enjoys seeing students accomplish their musical goals and giving them the tools and motivation to practice music at any stage of their musical development. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in music performance from the University of Georgia in 2014.

 

Garrett began his music education on piano at a young age and in middle school he started learning guitar, violin, and flute. Garrett was an active member in his school's band and orchestra programs, later becoming the concert master at his highschool and joining the Mercer Macon Youth Symphony Orchestra. He began taking guitar lessons from Terry Cantwell who is the guitar instructor at Mercer University and Macon State during this time.

 

In 2010, after winning music scholarships, he began studying music performance for classical guitar under the instruction of John Sutherland and Philip Snyder, and joined the UGA Philharmonia between the years of 2010-2014. While working towards his degree he would co-found music projects that would perform at music festivals incluidng Bragg Jamm (Macon), Kat Kat Phest (Philadelphia), and Mighty Oak Festival (Jacksonville) and played multiple tours on the East Coast. His music projects have been featured in multple press publications including but not limited to Athens Flagpole, Immersive Atlanta, The Blue Indian, and B-Metro Magazine. In 2017, his band project won the Flagpole Upstart award and was nominated for a Vic Chesnut Songwriter of the Year Award in 2018.

 

Garrett is excited to teach guitar, violin, and piano with the Hawk Music Academy. When not teaching, he enjoys rollerblading, martial arts, and gardening.