About George

George is the Producing Artistic Director of Chicago Fringe Opera, called “the city’s alt-opera company” by the Chicago Tribune.  Recent directing credits for the company include A CHRISTMAS CAROL and LA JETEÉ, as well as the company’s long-running hit show THE ROSINA PROJECT, a Hip-Hop adaptation of THE BARBER OF SEVILLE.

In addition, George has directed new productions, digital works, and scenes with Catapult Opera/Prototype Festival, Opera Festival of Chicago, Chicago Dramatists, the Chicago Sinfonietta, Pittsburgh Opera, the Bay View Music Festival, Chicago Folks Operetta, Wolf Trap Opera, and Chautauqua Opera.

An inspiring mentor, George is the Theatre Department Chair and Artistic Director of Opera at North Park University.  He also teaches at Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music, and has taught at DePaul University and Roosevelt University/CCPA.

Now in its eleventh season, George is the executive producer of OPERA BOX SCORE, America’s Talk Radio Show About Opera, heard on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and WNUR 89.3 FM Chicago.

George is the recipient of a National Opera Association award, the 2022 Best Music Video Award at the Aladerri International Film Festival, two American Prizes in Directing, Opera America’s 2013 Director-Designer competition, and the German Chancellor Fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.

George’s training includes residencies with Pittsburgh Opera, the Merola Opera Program, the Staatstheater Darmstadt, and Wolf Trap Opera, and three improvisation intensives at the Annoyance Theatre.  He holds an MFA in Directing from Northwestern and a BA in Theatre Studies and English from Yale.  George is a member of Steep Theatre Company and the American Guild of Musical Artists, and is a dual US-UK citizen.

George lives in Chicago with his wife, their two children, their cat, and their five chickens.

To learn more about George, visit gjcederquist.com.  He proudly uses zero social media platforms.

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