John Truitt

Instructor: Woodwinds, Flamenco Guitar, Jazz Improvisation

John Truitt, passionate advocate for music in the lives of young people, has given 50 years of service to the schools in Albuquerque New Mexico. He has taught at all levels, K-college, and helped to establish and develop the band and guitar programs at Albuquerque Academy in the 1970’s. Early in his career, he found it necessary to write both didactic and performance material for his guitar classes, as so little material was available for school guitar groups. All of the music in tonight’s program was written for student ensembles. Mr. Truitt has studied flamenco guitar and accompanying in Spain and has performed with many famous artists, including Eva Encinias, Joaquin Encinias, El Pelete, Maria Benitez, Pedro Cortez, Pablo Rodarte, Jose Greco, La Tati, Daniel Ward, Luis Campos and Lili del Castillo. He retired as guitar instructor and Director of Bands at Albuquerque Academy in 2011, was chair of the Council for Guitar Education of NAfME, a past member of the Pre-College Guitar Education Committee of the Guitar Foundation of America, and former Vice President of the Guitar Division for the New Mexico Music Educators Association. In 2010, Mr.Truitt, along with his Academy colleague Mickey Jones and the guitar directors from seven other schools, spearheaded the effort to begin the inclusion of guitar ensemble in the annual New Mexico All-State Music Festival, the first state in the nation to do so. He is the recipient of the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra Teacher of the Year award for 1994, The Presidential Teacher Award from New Mexico for 2008, both the Gage and Slevin Awards for excellence in teaching from Albuquerque Academy, and was inducted into the New Mexico Jazz Workshop Hall of Fame in June of 2011. He was inducted into the New Mexico Music Hall of fame in 2022, and was awarded the Robb Foundation Award in 2023. He has adjudicated and directed many festivals, and is the composer of more than 30 works for guitar ensemble. He was blessed with loving and supportive parents, and also blessed with his wife of 49 years, Holly. He has two children, airline pilot Lee, and Scandanavian historian Jacquelyn. Be sure to ask him about his three grandchildren, Grant 14, Grady 9, and Gibson, 3.