Me Musing . . . July 21, 2010 . . .

This isn't one of my usual 'Musings', but an Announcement to let you know what I have been working on today.

About 3 years ago we saw an intriguing Oregon Artbeat segment featuring Salem, Oregon musician John Doan and his harpolyre and harp guitar. We had never seen the instruments let alone heard their wondrous sounds.

And you know me . . . when something intrigues me, I just have to know more! So I checked out John's website and found that he was doing a 'house concert' the very weekend I would be in the Eugene - Salem, Oregon area! I bought a ticket and found my way to their home atop an extinct volcano overlooking the Willamette Valley!

John and his artist wife, Deirdra are soooo welcoming.

There is am in the front row in turquoise jacket!!!!!!!

There were 30 to 40 of us sitting outside their home and gardens, under the early evening setting sun that gave way to the moonlit sky. We were totally entranced and transported by John's storytelling, the music (which he had composed on site at each of the holy places he had visited) and the scenes he presented of the Isles.

John is a Master harp guitarist, storyteller, and historian. He takes his audiences on a Celtic pilgrimage to the sites made famous by St. Patrick and others during the Golden Age of Ireland.

A millennium ago these sites were imaginatively called "Thin Places" where it was believed the space between heaven and earth, and past and future, were thinly divided.

John, an Associate Professor of Music at Willamette University, recently returned from a European tour and is about to begin another tour, which (lucky for us) will bring him close enough to Etna that we have been able to convince him to come and do a concert for us here!

The version of the harp guitar that John plays is a rare, 20-string instrument made in Portland, Oregon with history going back to the nineteenth century in Europe and America. He is one of the few masters of this twenty-string harp guitar. It supplements the standard guitar's six fretted strings with six unfretted sub-bass strings, but its most distinctive sound is the crystalline harp tones of 8 treble strings, which ring with bell-like clarity. John explains, "it has almost the range of the piano but it is a lot easier to carry with you!"

John Doan, has performed with a diverse range of artists including pop star Donovan, folk legend Burl Ives, jazz ace Larry Carlton, Mason Williams (of "Classical Gas" fame), as a member of the New Christy Minstrels with Randy Sparks, among others and his virtuoso playing and arranging has attracted praise from no less a guitar luminary than Chet Atkins.

He recently contributed a chapter to "Between the Strings - the Secret Lives of Guitars" a veritable compendium of the world's greatest guitarists with introduction by B.B. King. He has appeared in numerous publications including the Washington Post and Billboard Magazine as well as staring in two much-loved television specials produced by Oregon Public Broadcasting: "A Christmas to Remember With John Doan" (seen on PBS) and his Emmy nominated "A Victorian Christmas With John Doan."

His latest recordings on Hearts O' Space Records have been nominated for "Best Celtic Album of the Year" with Eire - Isle of the Saints winning that title.

His music has also been featured on numerous prime-time television and movie productions including Walt Disney, among others. His latest video project is a 90 minute documentary that he wrote and starred in titled "In Search of the Harp Guitar."

John has hosted the International Harp Guitar Festival at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon and Harp Guitar Workshops at his home.

If all that isn't enough to make you run out and buy a ticket, then I don't know what would!!!!!!!!

'A Celtic Pilgrimage' with John Doan
at the historic Avery Theatre in Etna, CA.
Saturday, August 21, 2010 at 7:30 pm
(doors will open at 7:00 pm)

Advanced Ticket sales for $10 begin August 2nd

at the Yreka, Etna and Ft. Jones branches of Scott Valley Bank;
at Beaver Valley Trading Co. in Etna
or
by contacting me at (530) 467-5815.
(Checks payable to: Scott Valley Theatre Co.)

At the door admission is $12

Until soon,

Che'usa

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