Education
BA Yale University, Theatre Studies and English
MFA Northwestern University, Directing
About
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 La Jeteé and Corsair, 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 and workshops of operas, musicals, and plays with Opera Festival of Chicago, Chicago Dramatists, the Chicago Sinfonietta, Pittsburgh Opera, the Bay View Music Festival and Chicago Folks Operetta, as well as opera scenes at Wolf Trap Opera and Chautauqua Opera.
An inspiring mentor, George is the Producing Artistic Director of Opera and Theatre at North Park University, and has taught courses, masterclasses and guest lectures at Northwestern University, Roosevelt University, DePaul University, the University of Illinois and CCM.
Now in its ninth season, George hosts OPERA BOX SCORE [America’s Talk Radio Show About Opera] on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and WNUR 89.3 FM Chicago. The show tackles the week’s opera headlines in an irreverent sports talk radio format.
A recipient of the 2022 Best Music Video Award at the Aladerri International Film Festival, as well as two American Prizes in Directing, George’s production of Silent Night was chosen as a winner of Opera America’s 2013 Director-Designer competition. One of ten Americans to receive the 2011 German Chancellor Fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, George served as a Regieassistent at the Staatstheater Darmstadt.
George’s training includes residencies with Pittsburgh Opera, the Merola Opera Program, and Wolf Trap Opera, and two improvisation intensives at the Annoyance Theatre. He holds an MFA in Directing from Northwestern University and a BA in Theatre Studies and English from Yale University. 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 four chickens. To learn more about George, visit gjcederquist.com. He proudly uses zero social media platforms.