Gregory James Coleman (29 June 1949 – 16 September 2005) was a classical guitarist, educator, composer, and arranger. Coleman taught

classical guitar The classical guitar, also known as Spanish guitar, is a member of the guitar family used in classical music and other styles. An acoustic wooden string (music), string instrument with strings made of catgut, gut or nylon, it is a precursor of the ...

for over 42 years at

Saddleback College Saddleback College is a public community college in Mission Viejo, California. It is part of the California Community College system and awards over 300 associate degrees, academic certificates, and occupational skills awards in 190 programs. ...

Orange Coast College Orange Coast College (OCC) is a Public college, public community college in Costa Mesa, California, Costa Mesa in Orange County, California. It was founded in 1947, with its first classes opening in the fall of 1948. It provides Associate of Ar ...

Irvine Valley College Irvine Valley College (also known as IVC or Irvine Valley) is a public community college in Irvine, California. It is part of the California Community Colleges system. The college inherited its name from the Irvine family and the Irvine Compan ...

University of Redlands The University of Redlands is a private university in Redlands, California, United States. The university's main, residential campus is situated on 160 acres (65 ha) near downtown Redlands. An additional eight regional locations throughout Calif ...

, Cal State San Bernardino, and privately. He studied with renowned guitarists, including

Laurindo Almeida Laurindo José de Araújo Almeida Nóbrega Neto (2 September 1917 – 26 July 1995) was a Brazilian guitarist and composer in classical, jazz, and Latin music. He was one of the pioneers in the creation of bossa nova. Almeida was the firs ...

Christopher Parkening Christopher William Parkening (born December 14, 1947) is an American classical guitarist. He holds the Chair of Classical Guitar at Pepperdine University under the title Distinguished Professor of Music. Biography Parkening was born in Los Ange ...

Joe Pass Joe Pass (born Joseph Anthony Jacobi Passalacqua; January 13, 1929 – May 23, 1994) was an American jazz guitarist. Although Pass recorded and performed live with pianist Oscar Peterson, composer Duke Ellington, and vocalist Ella Fitzgerald, he ...

Howard Roberts Howard Mancel Roberts (October 2, 1929 – June 28, 1992) was an American jazz guitarist, educator, and session musician. Early life Roberts was born in Phoenix, Arizona to Damon and Vesta Roberts, and began playing guitar at the age of 8 — a ...

, and

Pepe Romero Pepe Romero (born 8 March 1944, in Málaga, Spain) is a classical and flamenco guitarist. Biography Early life Pepe Romero was born in Spain, the second son of celebrated guitarist and composer Celedonio Romero, who was his only guitar ...

. Coleman's father Ervan Coleman was a studio guitarist, a founding member of the

Baja Marimba Band The Baja Marimba Band was an American musical group led by marimba player Julius Wechter. Formed by producer Herb Alpert after his own Tijuana Brass, the Baja Marimba Band outlasted the Tijuana Brass by several years in part due to TV producer Ch ...

, and a session player with The Tijuana Brass. Coleman attended Saddleback College and the

University of California, Irvine The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Irvine, California, United States. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, U ...

."A father's last wish fulfilled"
''The Orange County Register'', 12 April 2006. He died from

melanoma Melanoma is the most dangerous type of skin cancer; it develops from the melanin-producing cells known as melanocytes. It typically occurs in the skin, but may rarely occur in the mouth, intestines, or eye (uveal melanoma). In very rare case ...

on 16 September 2005 in

Trabuco Canyon Trabuco Canyon (''Trabuco'', Spanish for "Blunderbuss") is a small unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located in the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains in eastern Orange County, California, and lies partly within the Cl ...

."Guitarist's dying wish is UCI degree"
''The Orange County Register'', 20 September 2005.

Discography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coleman, Gregory 1949 births American classical guitarists American male guitarists 2005 deaths Musicians from Orange County, California Guitarists from California 20th-century American guitarists Classical musicians from California 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century American classical musicians