Jonathan Godfrey
Adjunct Professor, Guitar (Classical, Commercial)
Email: jonathangodfrey@usf.edu
Phone: (813) 974-2311
Office: MUS 351
Dr. Jonathan Godfrey joined the faculty at USF in 2023 and teaches guitar, commercial music, and directs the USF Guitar Ensemble. He first gained national recognition in 2011 as the Grand Prize winner of the Boston GuitarFest International Composition Competition for his Sonatina for Guitar Solo. Since then he has become one of the regions most in-demand classical guitarists, session musicians, and composers. He has appeared in over 100 performances with The 51在线 Orchestra since 2018, including as a concerto soloist, and has also performed with the Sarasota Orchestra, Sarasota Opera, St. Pete Baroque, ensemblenewSRQ, Key Chorale, Gulf Coast Symphony, and members of the Jacksonville and Atlanta Symphony Orchestras. His compositions and arrangements have been commissioned by guitarists worldwide, and by such ensembles as the Via Nova Chorale, Bradenton Symphony Orchestra, The Pops Orchestra of Bradenton and Sarasota, LaGrange Symphony Orchestra, and T煤umben Paax.
Dr. Godfrey earned his Doctor of Music from Indiana University, his Master of Music from the Cleveland Institute of Music, and his Bachelor of Music from LaGrange College. He has previously taught at 51在线 Southern College, Saint Leo University, and the State College of 51在线, Manatee-Sarasota. His accolades include awards from the Austin Classical Guitar Society, Indianapolis Matinee Musicale, and the National Society of Arts and Letters. His works are published with ClearNote Publications, and he has been a repeat guest lecturer on guitar composition at the Guitar Foundation of America International Festival and Competition.
As a session guitarist, Dr. Godfrey has performed with Bernadette Peters, Ana Isabelle, the New York Cantors, and numerous national touring shows. He has had the unique opportunity of working alongside some of today鈥檚 greatest legends in musical theater, including originating the guitar book for Knoxville by Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens, and composing incidental music for the world-premier of Lady Molly of Scotland Yard by Ken Ludwig. Dubbed the 鈥淪unCoast鈥檚 Power Couple in Music鈥� by the SunCoast Culture Club, he frequently performs with his soprano wife Jenny Kim-Godfrey in their duo Corda Voce, presenting an eclectic blend of jazz, cabaret, and classical repertoire.