John Holenko
About John Holenko
Multi-instrumentalist John Holenko has been playing and performing music all his life. From Traditional Folk to Classical to Rock, John has performed on acoustic and electric guitars, mandolin, banjo, and historic medieval and Renaissance instruments, both as a soloist and ensemble player. While receiving degrees in Classical Guitar Performance from The New England Conservatory and University of Southern California, John also played and studied Renaissance music, and later, Medieval music. John performed and recorded with the medieval ensemble Sonus. John has played with The Charleston Symphony Orchestra and the Spoleto Orchestra. His own group, The Hungry Monks, performs original and traditional music, both acoustic and electric. He is also a member of the group Porto Seguro, playing Brazilian choro and bossa nova.
As a member of The Gatsby Orchestra, John performs big band music from the 1920’s and 1930’s on banjo. He also plays guitar in the Joe Clark Big Band. John runs Hungry Monk Music, a music teaching studio in Charleston, SC. He has been active in the American Music Systems, residencies through the South Carolina Arts Commission, Charlotte Children’s Theatre in Charlotte, NC, and at the Cuyahoga Valley Environmental Education Center in Ohio, where he has also been Artist-in Residence. John has made a number of recordings including a solo guitar recording, three Hungry Monks recordings, and guest appearances on several other artists' recordings. Mr. Holenko has published several editions with Mel Bay Publications.