John Knowles, our primary instructor is an internatonally known player, composer, arranger, and teacher. He is a regular teacher and performer at the annual Chet Atkins Appreciation Society convention in Nashville. John is classically trained but his professional awards are very diverse, including one Grammy, two Emmy nominations, a Chet Atkins awarded CGP (certified guitar player) two elections to the Thumbpicker Hall of Fame, and a PhD in physics!