JOHN GRIGGS
John Griggs founded the Griggs School of Music in 1957. Since that time, he has taught thousands of pupils to play jazz guitar and classical guitar. Many of his pupils have become teachers and performers. Also, John established the first guitar department at the college level in the state of Virginia. Since then, guitar departments have blossomed statewide. Currently, John teaches guitar for Old Dominion University, Virginia Wesleyan College, and Tidewater Community College, in addition to his private teaching. Besides teaching, John performs with The John Griggs Trio. They have performed in concert with such notables as Charlie Byrd and Carlos Barbosa-Lima. For years, John sponsored the Griggs School of Music Concert Series, the most prestigious concert series yet to be presented in the Norfolk/Virginia Beach area of Virginia. The series presented the world's greatest artists in concert, i.e., Andres Segovia, Isaac Stern, Beverly Sills, Van Cliburn, Victor Borge, Roberta Peters, Carlos Montoya, Dave Brubeck, Alicia DeLarrocha, Peter Nero, The Houston Ballet, Jose Greco, Roger Williams, The Duke Ellington Orchestra, John Williams, and Julian Bream, to name but a few. John also finds time to transcribe, arrange, and compose works for the guitar. He has been published by Belwin-Mills and Columbia Music Company. His music has been recorded on Bird Records, Unart Records, and United Artists Records. John was a pupil of Sophocles Papas.