Birth name George Joseph Stone Role Composer Name George Stone | Years active Present Instruments Trumpet, Piano Genres Jazz, Big band | |
Origin Newhall, CA, United States Occupation(s) Composer, Arranger, Educator Website www.georgestonemusic.com Education California State University, Northridge Similar People Frank Mantooth, John LaBarbera, Bob Florence, Tom Kubis, Sammy Nestico | ||
George Stone (born January 19, 1965) is a musician and educator. He has arranged works for instrumental ensembles, with the bulk of his material for big band.
History
George has enjoyed jazz music since the age of 5 when he first heard Maynard Ferguson. When he was young, he listened daily to recordings of groups such as the Four Freshmen, The Hi-Lo’s, Woody Herman, Buddy Rich, Frank Rosolino, the Sauter-Finegan Orchestra, Gerry Mulligan and Paul Desmond.
At the age of 12 he began writing for and directing his first jazz combo, and by age 13 he wrote his first large ensemble arrangements followed by his first big band arrangement at age 14. He then attended Hart High School under the direction of Larry Thornton, he wrote and composed music for his high school band while concurrently enrolled at College of the Canyons (COC) in Valencia, CA. Upon graduation he enrolled at CSU Northridge where he became a member of the Jazz Band. By age 18 he was leading his own big band and writing.
Upon completion of his degree at CSU Northridge, he began teaching instrumental music at Hart High School. In 1996 he moved to the Central Coast of CA where he teaches Audio Technology at Cuesta College in San Luis Obispo, CA.
George has directed State Jazz bands for ensembles.