John Doan (born May 16, 1951) is an American guitarist and composer.

Background

Doan grew up in

Venice, California Venice is a neighborhood of the City of Los Angeles within the Westside region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. Venice was founded by Abbot Kinney in 1905 as a seaside resort town. It was an independent city until 1926, whe ...

, and at the age of eleven began playing the guitar, first a 12-string, and later a double-neck electric in a rock band. Later, while studying music at

California State University, Northridge California State University, Northridge (CSUN or Cal State Northridge), is a public university in the Northridge neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. With a total enrollment of 36,848 students (as of Fall 2024), it has the ...

he was introduced to classical guitar. He really enjoyed the music for the lute and was amazed at the sound of its many strings. Later when he found a century-old harp-guitar on the back wall of a music store, it called to him with its beautiful shape and unusual collection of extra strings. He relates: "I was achingly curious and wanted to transform its silence and neglect into something alive and vibrant. It was and continues to be an adventure to play music on the harp-guitar." After moving to Oregon, Doan earned his master's in musical education from

Western Oregon University Western Oregon University (WOU) is a public university in Monmouth, Oregon, United States. It was originally established in 1856 by Disciples of Christ pioneers as Monmouth University. Subsequent names included Oregon State Normal School, Oreg ...

and served on the faculty there. He studied the renaissance and baroque lute in the Netherlands. Doan's music has a strong classical influence and he also finds inspiration in folk traditions, Irish musical traditions in particular. He is a Professor Emeritus of Music at

Willamette University Willamette University is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college with locations in Salem, Oregon, Salem and Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1842, it is the oldest college in the Western United ...

Salem, Oregon Salem ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County, Oregon, Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, w ...

, a historian, and a multi-instrumentalist specializing in unusual vintage instruments. Over the years Doan has played with many folk and country artists, including

Donovan Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter and record producer. He emerged from the British folk scene in early 1965 and subsequently scored multiple international hit singles ...

Burl Ives Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives (June 14, 1909 – April 14, 1995) was an American Folk music, folk singer and actor with a career that spanned more than six decades. Ives began his career as an itinerant singer and guitarist, eventually launching his o ...

Larry Carlton Larry Eugene Carlton (born March 2, 1948) is an American guitarist who built his career as a studio musician in the 1970s and 1980s for acts including Steely Dan and Joni Mitchell. One of the most sought after guitarists of his era, Carlton has ...

Chet Atkins Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), also known as "Mister Guitar" and "the Country Gentleman", was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson (musician), Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nash ...

and

Mason Williams Mason Douglas Williams (born August 24, 1938) is an American classical guitarist, composer, singer, writer, comedian, and poet, best known for his 1968 instrumental " Classical Gas" and for his work as a comedy writer on ''The Smothers Brothers ...

.Bio: All Music
/ref>

Recordings

Doan created his own brand of folk-fusion on his first album on

Narada Narada (, ), or Narada Muni, is a sage-divinity, famous in Hinduism, Hindu traditions as a travelling musician and storyteller, who carries news and enlightening wisdom. He is one of the Manasputra, mind-created children of Brahma, the creator ...

, titled ''Departures'' (1988). He followed that up with ''Remembrance: Melodies from a Forgotten Era'' (1993) on the

Tapestry Tapestry is a form of Textile arts, textile art which was traditionally Weaving, woven by hand on a loom. Normally it is used to create images rather than patterns. Tapestry is relatively fragile, and difficult to make, so most historical piece ...

label which was inspired by his own musical traditions in folk tunes of the American West. In the 1990s two television specials were produced by

Oregon Public Broadcasting Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) is the primary public broadcasting, public media organization for the U.S. state of Oregon as well as southern Washington (state), Washington. It provides news, information, and programming via television stati ...

: ''A Christmas to Remember With John Doan'' (seen on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

) and his Emmy nominated ''A Victorian Christmas With John Doan''. The live version of his ''Victorian Christmas,'' in which he re-enacts what it might have been like to celebrate Christmas a century ago, has been a holiday tradition for over 30 years. His recording on

Hearts of Space ''Hearts of Space'' is an American weekly syndicated public radio show featuring music of a contemplative nature"When you listen to space and ambient music you are connecting with a tradition of contemplative sound experience whose roots are an ...

, ''Eire – Isle of the Saints,'' won "Best Celtic Album of the Year." ''The Lost Music of Fernando Sor'' (2008) features the music of

Fernando Sor Fernando Sor (baptised 14 February 1778 – 10 July 1839) was a Spanish classical guitarist and composer of the Classical period (music), late Classical era and Romantic music, early Romantic era. Best known for writing solo classical guitar mu ...

(1778–1839), beloved as the "Father of the Classical Guitar", who composed ten works for the harpolyre, a three-necked, 21 string guitar. Doan discovered and restored a playable instrument from c. 1830 which he used for this recording. Doan's latest video project is a 90-minute documentary that he wrote and starred in titled ''In Search of the Harp Guitar.'' John hosted an International Harp Guitar Festival at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon.primaltwang.com
/ref> Doan was recently awarded "World's Leading Harp Guitarist" by the Brand Laureate Awards.

Discography

* ''Into the Quiet'' (2016) * ''Homage to Fernando Sor'' (2012) * ''Harp Guitars Under the Stars'' (2010) (with Muriel Anderson) * ''A Celtic Pilgrimage'' (2010) * ''The Lost Music of Fernando Sor'' (2008) * ''Wayfarer: Ancient Paths to Sacred Places'' (1999) * ''Eire: Isle of the Saints (A Celtic Odyssey)'' (1997) * ''Wrapped in White: Visions of Christmas Past'' (1994) * ''Remembrance: Melodies from a Forgotten Era'' (1993) * ''Departures'' (1988) Compilations * ''Brad Hoyt , Together Alone, Duets featuring Piano and Harp Guitar'' (2009) * ''Harp Guitar Dreams'' (2008) * ''Christmas Past: Holiday Harp Guitar Classics'' (2006) * ''Beyond Six Strings'' (2006) *Windham Hill: The Renaissance Album (1998) * ''Renaissance: A Midsummer Night's Dream'' * ''Celtic Twilight I–V''

DVD

* ''Primal Twang – The Legacy of the Guitar'' (2010) * ''In Search of the Harp Guitar'' (2006) * ''A Celtic Pilgrimage with John Doan'' (2010) * ''John Doan Live in Concert'' * ''John Doan's Two Christmas TV specials'' * ''A Victorian Christmas with John Doan'' * ''A Christmas to Remember with John Doan''

TV

* ''A Christmas to Remember with John Doan'' * ''A Victorian Christmas with John Doan''

References

External links

The official John Doan site

Oregon Art Beat: Harp Guitarist John Doan

{{DEFAULTSORT:Doan, John 1951 births Living people American classical guitarists American male guitarists American folk guitarists Windham Hill Records artists American fingerstyle guitarists Guitarists from California Musicians from Salem, Oregon Willamette University faculty Western Oregon University alumni Western Oregon University faculty Guitarists from Oregon 20th-century American guitarists Classical musicians from California 20th-century American male musicians Classical musicians from Oregon