JEFFREY ASHTON has been playing guitar for over thirty years and is an active performer, teacher, composer, recording artist, writer, and arranger. Born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1955, he began to play the guitar at the age of ten. His teachers include Kurt Gudian, Robert Sullivan, Oliver Hunt, Eliot Fisk and Bryan Johanson. Mr. Ashton holds degrees from Boston University (B.A. History and Art History) and Portland State University (B.A. Music, Guitar Performance; M.A.T, Music). He lived in Europe for seven years, which included residence in
Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, Italy and England. This immersion into the “Old World” resulted in a deep appreciation of European culture, early music, and the Renaissance. During the years 1978-82, he served on the
Musikschule faculty in Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Mittenwald, Germany. He moved to Portland, Oregon in 1982, where he lives with his family and teaches at the University of Portland, Portland State University and the Community Music
Center.