John Bullard

The banjo has never ventured as far into the classical sphere as it does with John Bullard. He sought out banjo instruction in high school and tried to copy the pathbreaking recordings of bluegrass banjoist Earl Scruggs. He studied guitar with John Patykula at Virginia Commonwealth University, and Patykula suggested the idea of playing classical works on the instrument. Bullard shelved the idea after finding it too difficult to locate arrangements, but eventually took lessons from another banjoist whom he had heard playing Bach. Bullard embarked on a unique freelance career: arranging works by Bach and others, recording a pair of classical banjo albums, teaching at the Tennessee Banjo Institute and Cairn University, and publishing a pair of instructional books for classical banjo. ~ James Manheim