About The Instructors
John Knowles has worked with fingerstyle and classical guitarists Including Chet Atkins, Jerry Reed, Lenny Breau and Tommy Emmanuel. Knowles is a composer and arranger and has won many awards including a Grammy and 2 Emmy nominations. In 1996, Chet Atkinsawarded John the first honorary Certified Guitar Player (CGP) degree. John is a regular instructor at numerous workshops including Rocky Mountain Guitar Camp, Tommy Emmanuel Camps, Martin Taylor Retreats,Guitar Town and the Chet Atkins Appreciation Society convention.
Jim Nichols has appeared on TV, radio, Carnegie Hall and the Tonight Show. He has played or recorded with Joe Pass,Kenny Rankin, and Buddy Montgomery, to name a few. Jim has served as master instructor for numerous workshops Including the Chet Atkins Appreciation Society convention, the Rocky Mountain Guitar Camp, Tommy Emmanuel Guitar Camps. He recorded “Chet Lag” with Tommy Emmanuel.
David Hamburger, widely recognized as a terrific fingerstyle blues guitarist, is a contributing editor to Acoustic Guitar. He has authored
numerous instructional books and videos for Truefire, Homespun Tapes, String Letter Publishing, Hal Leonard and Alfred. David has taught at the National Guitar Workshop, Mark Hanson’s Accent on Music, the Kerrville Folk Festival Roots and Blues Camp and given in- store clinics across the country.
Brooks Robertson At age 11, renowned guitarist Buster B. Jones took Brooks under his wings. He began playing high-profile gigs such as the Nokie Edwards Festival, the NAMM Show in Anaheim, the Montreal Jazz Festival and the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield among others. By the time he was a teenager he had traveled to several states and foreigncountriestoperform. Brooks,a recent
graduate of the Berkley School of Music, is now a member of the guitar department faculty at Berkeley.
Pat Bergeson earned a degree in Jazz Studies from William Paterson University. He moved to Nashville upon the request of Chet Atkins who heard Pat on a demo tape. Pat played with Chet for 7 years and on his album “Sneakin’ Around”. Pat’s guitar and compositions are found on Chet’s 1994 release “Read My Licks” and “Simpatico” with Chet and Suzy Bogguss. Pat was named as one of the top twelve favorite guitarists in the Oct. 2001 issue of
Vintage Guitar magazine.
Richard Smith started his guitar career at age 5 under the instruction of his father. Studying ChetAtkinsandMerleTravis,
Richard learned the most complicated tunes. He played on stage with Chet when he was just 11. He has also toured as a solo artist; with his wife,Julie Adams, his brothers, and The Hot Club of Nashville. Tommy Emmanuel prefers Richard Smith as one of his favorite duet partners.
About Rocky Mountain Guitar Camps
The Rocky Mountain Guitar Camp, Inc. is a registered 501 c(3) nonprofit corporation. They are a Colorado-based group of fingerstyle guitar enthusiasts dedicated to bringing world-class instructors and students to an intimate, beautiful setting at the lowest possible cost.
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