Classical guitar virtuoso John Johnstone teaches the instrument to kids in third through eighth grade at Cape Elizabeth Community Services. He also offers private lessons and teaches guitar at both the Portland Conservatory of Music and Bowdoin College.

He performs the full spectrum of classical music from the Renaissance to baroque to romantic, along with 20th- and 21st-century music. Johnstone also composes his own music and enjoys playing jazz, flamenco and Celtic pieces, as well.

He’s been teaching guitar since 1978 and works with both beginners and more advanced students. He is also available to coach ensembles.

Johnstone has lived in Cape the past two years, moving to Maine in 1975. He first lived in the Camden-Rockport area, bought a sailboat and earned a captain’s license, intending to make a career on the sea, but his love of music was too strong, he said.

He earned an associate’s degree in jazz from the University of Maine Augusta and a bachelor’s in classical guitar performance from the University of Southern Maine.

This week he spoke with the Current about his love of music and what makes the classical guitar such a special instrument.

Q: What drew you to the classical guitar genre?

A: I began playing guitar in earnest at 13, after starting with piano lessons at age 9. Acoustic blues, folk and some rock were the first styles I learned on guitar. I added classical and jazz guitar shortly before attending college. Classical guitar seemed like an extension of the finger-picking styles I already played but with a much larger repertoire and more demanding technique. Julian Bream, John Williams and Andres Segovia were my early classical guitar inspirations.

Q: What do you most enjoy about teaching guitar?

A: Seeing the excitement of a student when they finally master a song or get a new technique is very rewarding. I’ve had many students study with me for long periods of time, some more than a decade, and I get to watch them grow musically, as well as grow into young adults. Some of the these students have become lifelong friends and I’m able to follow their careers in music both as professionals and amateurs.

Q: Who are some of the musicians that you look up to or whose music you enjoy playing?

A: The list of musicians I enjoy playing is endless. Some of my favorites over the years have been Bach, the Brazilian composer Heitor Villa Lobos and the Cuban composer Leo Brouwer. I currently play all styles of music but the compositions I write are most often for the classical guitar.

Q: What do you hope your students get out of learning the guitar?

A: Each student is different in what they hope to achieve. Some want to learn a few tunes and others want to become professional musicians. The most important thing is for students to keep their initial inspiration for playing the guitar and try to keep it as enjoyable as possible, despite the hard work.

Q: What makes the guitar a special instrument?

A: The guitar can play every style of music and in many cases it has become synonymous with certain styles such as rock and flamenco. It is a very expressive instrument that has the ability to play melody, chords and solos.

Q: Do you still perform? If so, where, when and with whom?

A: I performed a concert at the library in Cape this past July. It included music from the Renaissance to contemporary classical music, as well as one of my own original compositions. I also performed for several private functions this past summer.

John Johnstone of Cape Elizabeth teaches guitar to area youth through Community Services.