About the prize

George was born musical — anything that had rhythm or that rhymed gave him great joy.  And he always had great taste in music. He wasn’t yet two when his life-long love of the Beatles’ music began. 

His maternal grandmother, Irene, a gifted pianist herself, was thrilled with his musicality.  She presented him with a drum set when he was three which he happily shared with his friend René. They took turns entertaining us with their improvised solos. 

When George was four he started music lessons with Sally Ranti, a Juilliard graduate whose lessons were based on the Orff method. She too was thrilled with his musicality and correctly predicted that music would be important in his life.

George was a lovely son with a great sense of humour, true, loyal, thoughtful, generous and fun, an excellent brother to Wilder and to Sean, just as they were to him. He will always be missed. 

In celebration and in memory of George as both musician and teacher, The George L.B. Wall Prize in Jazz Guitar has been established to reward the performance achievements of future Concordia jazz guitarists.

In creating this award, we heed the words of William Shakespeare in Act 1 of Measure for Measure:

Heaven doth with us as we with torches do,

Not light them for themselves; for if our virtues

Did not go forth of us, ’twere all alike

As if we had them not.

We invite you to join us in lighting this torch. 

— Deanna Barwick Wall

I was privileged to be George’s private guitar teacher for several years. I am broken-hearted about George’s passing as I adored and respected him — we had a very special relationship. He shared his passion for literature and gifted me one of his favourite books on William Blake.

Though he studied music with me, I felt that I was on his journey. I considered my years with George a privilege because he allowed me to teach him, he opened himself to the challenges set before him and granted me his trust. Music and trust became our bond.

Trust is essential because a musician that decides to study must leave the “old” behind, abandon previous knowledge and comfort zones and master new skills that seem for a long time unattainable. It’s a perilous and frightening journey for all who enter. It’s more than very hard work and practice — it’s a hero’s journey and takes courage. George succeeded and became, as friends and family noticed, a better musician and a beautiful guitar player.

I am very proud of what he achieved and grateful to have been invited by him on his journey. He was a very special person, a great and interesting man. I am extremely sad at his passing.

— Neil Smolar, guitar teacher

I had the great pleasure of playing music with George for over twenty years. We met the summer before we both started in the Concordia Music Program. At that time, we were playing in a jazz quartet which drew heavily upon the Chet Baker repertoire. I remember that we recorded one of our early rehearsals.

George played a solo on the standard There Will Never Be Another You.  When I got home, I listened to that solo repeatedly. I was so impressed with George’s melodic lines and his rock-solid sense of time and rhythm.

As musicians, we always want to be in a situation where we are playing with the best players.  George was easily the best guitarist with whom I had ever worked.  He inspired me then and continued to inspire me throughout all the years we played together. It was not only George’s innate musicality that made it such a pleasure to play with him.

There was that, of course, but George brought so much more. He was extremely knowledgeable about music and many other topics.  He knew the lyrics to all the Standards we played.  He read the biographies of the musicians and the bands we loved. He could speak about anything from Bach to the Beatles.

Off the bandstand, he was ready with a joke or an amusing anecdote.  He was a consummate professional. He came to gigs well prepared. He was on time. If the music took a left turn and went somewhere unexpected, George was right there with it, supporting everyone. His ears were always open.

I am grateful that I had a chance to spend so much time with a close friend doing something we both loved so much. I miss him dearly. I consider myself lucky that I have over twenty years of recordings with George that I can listen to whenever I want to feel close to him. It is very fitting that there will be a prize named in his honour.

— Mark Rief, musician

George Wall was a natural teacher and I think it permeated his life. He was well versed in music, politics, sports, and of course Shakespeare, as he was also an English teacher as well as a successful basketball coach.  He was dedicated to his students, and to the craft of music.

He would always look for new avenues to explore improvising, ranging from the jazz greats, to Debussy to even the Ramones.  All this based on carefully built vocabulary steeped in jazz tradition. 

Often during lessons he would make reference to a sport analogy, as he believed the mental discipline of great athletes was akin to that of musicians. Or he would talk about Shakespearean pentameter and relate it to phrasing. Often creating powerful images or reference points to encourage you on the right path. 

Regardless of the topic of the lesson, you would unavoidably leave happy, humming a song or a phrase. He was a master pedagogue and deeply believed in the potential of his students. “Nobody gets better by feeling bad about themselves,” he would say.

My jazz musical journey started with George when I was 15 years old, I studied with him for a total of 21 years. It was always with George that I musically changed / grew / evolved. He knew what wood to put in the fire and when.

Jim Hall once said that he wished he could play like Charlie Christian.

I wish I could play like George.

— Victor Guerriero, student

I was George’s student at Hudson High School and a guitar student of his weekly Guitar Club hosted in a local church basement more than 25 years ago now. What he generously taught me spiked my learning curve and inspirations in music. He was a mentor and spoke to me as a friend.

Seven years ago I reconnected with George and we immediately re-started lessons together. It was an instant return to inspiration in music, yet more welcome was the opportunity to connect as peers and redefine our friendship.

He brought joy and gentle perspective to me and my young family. He showed love and enthusiasm for my curious children and they engaged with him as a source of wisdom and calm. He believed in my potential and I admired his genius.

I miss George very much.

— David Cervantes, student