A.J. Hanson has over 10 years of experience playing guitar and has been classically trained for 7 years. He has 8 years of teaching experience of all guitar genres to students of all ages. A graduate of Carthage College who received his B.M. in both Classical and Jazz Guitar Performance, A.J.’s passion lies in Contemporary and Progressive music, and furthered his knowledge while attending Guitar Sessions Master Classes at Berklee College of Music in Boston under the tutelage of Jon Finn, and John Stowell. A.J.’s main influences include Jimmy Page, John Petrucci, David Gilmore, Christopher Parkening, Julian Bream, Joe Pass, Wes Montgomery, Francisco Tarrega and Franz Schubert. A.J. also performs at weddings, fund-raisers, and dinners. As a born musician A.J. is also working on writing original music. In addition to playing guitar he can also play bass guitar, mandolin, banjo, ukulele, and shamisen – a Japanese stringed instrument.