Kenton Youngstrom, guitarist, composer, arranger and educator is the first in a long line of prize-winning students of Jim Smith at the University of Southern California, where, while earning his Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees, he studied composition with Donald Crockett, arranging with Darniell Pershing and film scoring with David Raksin.
His eclectic performing career has taken him around the world, including appearances as a soloist with orchestras such as the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Los Angeles Jewish Symphony, New Haven Symphony, Jacksonville Symphony, Redlands Symphony and other regional orchestras, Los Angeles Opera, Long Beach Opera and under the baton of conductors John Williams, Kent Nagano, Valery Gergiev and Esa-Pekka Salonen.
He has toured internationally with Quarteto Nuevo and the Falla Guitar Trio, performing at the Dubrovnik Festival in former Yugoslavia, Hong Kong, Geneva, throughout the US, Canada, and Mexico, and a concert sponsored by Radio France in Paris. Mr. Youngstrom has performed concerts and recitals with numerous jazz notables such as Dave Brubeck, Hubert Laws, Taylor Eigsti, Scott Colley, Larry Koonse, Putter Smith and Paul Kribeck. He led an international jazz big band at the Cannes Film Festival in France, sang and performed on a prize-winning float with his own Mexican conjunto in the Tournament of Roses Parade, and played with numerous rock bands including the Margo Rey group at Nokia Theater in California and Mahaffey Theater in Florida.
Producing credits include the Falla Guitar Trio’s Concord Records release, “Virtuoso Music for Three Guitars,” which won a Record of the Year Award from Stereo Review magazine. Recent compositions include “Dizer O Que,” “Carnaval,” “Aquilegia” and “Line Drive,” for Quarteto Nuevo’s latest CDs, ”2” and “Jazz Road Suite,” the score of “Behind the Mask of Zorro” (History Channel), “Kengyadu – Three Movements for Guitar Trio and Orchestra” (co-written with Gyan Riley and Dusan Bogdanovic), and “Mary Pickford – A Life on Film” (Milestone Films).
Recent arrangements include Manuel de Falla’s “Noches en los Jardines de España” for the Falla Guitar Trio and orchestra, several pieces including Chick Corea’s “Children’s Song No. 6” for Quarteto Nuevo, J.S.Bach’s “Musical Offering” for the Red Quartet, jazz selections for the Pasadena Jazz Orchestra, and the movie “7 year ZigZag” (Next Step Studios).
His most recent solo release, “Voices of the Collection, Vols. 1&2,” featuring 55 classical guitar pieces performed on 55 world-class instruments and recorded for the Second Edition of Sheldon Urlik’s book, “A Collection of Fine Spanish Guitars From Torres to the Present” (Sunny Knoll Publishing) is widely available on all streaming platforms and his own artist channel on YouTube.
In addition to giving workshops and master classes throughout the U.S. and Mexico, Mr. Youngstrom has taught at the University of Southern California, Cypress College, Los Angeles Mission College, East Los Angeles College, the University of Redlands, Pepperdine University, Pasadena City College and joined the faculty at the Colburn Community School of Performing Arts in 1979.