Biography
Although bluegrass has at times incorporated elements of classical repertoire, and the mandolin and guitar—along with the banjo in its milder forms—have found occasional use in semi-classical contexts, the banjo’s exploration of classical territory reaches an unprecedented depth in the work of John Bullard. Growing up in rural Virginia during the early 1970s, Bullard first encountered the instrument while riding in his father’s pickup truck, when Dueling Banjos—originally composed by Arthur “Guitar Boogie” Smith and later popularized through the film Deliverance—came over the radio. Captivated at once, he pursued formal lessons during high school and attempted to replicate the groundbreaking style of bluegrass banjoist Earl Scruggs. While enrolled at Virginia’s Hampden-Sydney College, however, a music-theory instructor dismissed the banjo outright, remarking, “Oh, no, that just won’t do.”
Bullard moved to Virginia Commonwealth University, where he trained on guitar under John Patykula, himself a pupil of a pupil of Andrés Segovia. Patykula proved receptive to the banjo and proposed adapting classical pieces for it. Bullard set the notion aside after struggling to locate suitable transcriptions, until an encounter at the Old Time Fiddlers’ Convention in Galax, Virginia, where he overheard a parking-lot musician performing Bach on the instrument. Tracking down the player, Fred Boyce, proved difficult, yet Boyce eventually consented to provide instruction. When VCU chose not to establish a plucked-instruments curriculum that would have permitted Bullard to continue his studies, he launched an independent career. He created his own arrangements of Bach and other classical composers for the banjo, released two classical banjo recordings (Bach on the Banjo issued by the academically oriented Albany label), instructed students at the Tennessee Banjo Institute and Cairn University, and authored two method books, Bach for the Banjo and Arpeggios for Classical Banjo. In 2005 he finally earned his degree from VCU, graduating with honors. His 2016 album Classical Banjo: The Perfect Southern Art surveyed a broad swath of the classical canon and was produced by progressive bluegrass musician Jayme Stone.
Bullard moved to Virginia Commonwealth University, where he trained on guitar under John Patykula, himself a pupil of a pupil of Andrés Segovia. Patykula proved receptive to the banjo and proposed adapting classical pieces for it. Bullard set the notion aside after struggling to locate suitable transcriptions, until an encounter at the Old Time Fiddlers’ Convention in Galax, Virginia, where he overheard a parking-lot musician performing Bach on the instrument. Tracking down the player, Fred Boyce, proved difficult, yet Boyce eventually consented to provide instruction. When VCU chose not to establish a plucked-instruments curriculum that would have permitted Bullard to continue his studies, he launched an independent career. He created his own arrangements of Bach and other classical composers for the banjo, released two classical banjo recordings (Bach on the Banjo issued by the academically oriented Albany label), instructed students at the Tennessee Banjo Institute and Cairn University, and authored two method books, Bach for the Banjo and Arpeggios for Classical Banjo. In 2005 he finally earned his degree from VCU, graduating with honors. His 2016 album Classical Banjo: The Perfect Southern Art surveyed a broad swath of the classical canon and was produced by progressive bluegrass musician Jayme Stone.
Albums
