Hailed as “one of a kind, a banjoist who specializes in classical music and regularly knocks socks off left and right doing so,” John Bullard has released a new recording, 24 Preludes for Solo Banjo, Volume One, Books 1 & 2 Nos. I-XII produced by multiple Juno Award and Grammy-winning David Travers-Smith. Bullard commissioned composer Adam Larrabee to write 24 Preludes which Larrabee says he wrote in a style that is “predominantly early 20th-century, at times almost neo-classical and inspired by works of J.S. Bach, Chopin and Shostakovich that follow the long-standing tradition of writing pieces in all the major and minor keys to showcase an instrument’s versatility.” He continues, “I have tried make each prelude feature a different form, performance technique, timbre, or rhythmic style. There is an all-pizzicato or muted piece, one featuring natural harmonics or “chimes,” a Bulgarian ratchenitsa, a Basque zortico, a passacaglia, a jazz “stride piano” style cakewalk, a theme and variations, a Brazilian choro in the style of the great Villa-Lobos, and Russian march ala Prokofiev. It has been a wonderful experience to feature the banjo in these diverse styles and create new repertoire for this beautifully unique and versatile instrument.” Available through iTunes, Spotify, Apple Music, Bandcamp, Amazon and other major streaming services, the recording can also be purchased at JohnBullard.com. 

John Bullard is internationally acclaimed for his flawless technique, musicality and his groundbreaking performances ushering the banjo into new territory as a fresh voice in the chamber music arena. Comparing Bullard to Segovia, who was a pioneer in turning the guitar into a classical instrument, Wireless raved “what Segovia did for the guitar, John Bullard may well do for the five-string banjo!” Dedicated to developing and transcribing­ classical repertoire for the five-string banjo, his discography includes the critically acclaimed Classical Banjo: The Perfect Southern Art, featuring works by Baroque and Romantic composers that present a variety of tone colors, beautifully executed ornamentation and sensitive interpretations produced by Jayme Stone, The Classical Banjo (Dargason), which includes works by Bach, Handel and Scarlatti, and Bach on the Banjo (Albany Records), which introduce many of Bullard’s own arrangements and transcriptions of classical works for banjo. Music from Bullard’s recordings have been included in several feature films such as the DreamWorks animated film The Rise of the Guardians and the award winning The Edge of Heaven. This project is his first recording of commissioned music for banjo as he seeks to expand the banjo’s classical reach. Next season will see the recording of Larrabee’s Volume Two of the 24 Preludes.

Bullard has toured and performed throughout the United States including the Brevard Music Center’s Bela Fleck and Friends Concert. His concert repertoire includes works from Bach, Vivaldi, Handel and others of the Baroque Period, along with later-period pieces by Schumann and others. Championing works of contemporary American composers, his touring programs include Frank Mullen’s Caprice in D Minor, Larrabee’s Preludes and next season will see the world premiere of a new work by Steve Snowden. Bullard’s latest collaboration is with the genre-fusing composer Joshua Stamper.

Click on arrow for a video performance of Adam Larrabee's Prelude No. 6 in C Sharp Minor

Raised in rural Virginia, Bullard was inspired to play the banjo after hearing Dueling Banjos on his father’s pickup truck radio, and throughout his early years he took banjo lessons and listened enthusiastically to Earl Scruggs. After attending a small men’s liberal arts college in Virginia where the music theory professor told him “banjo just won’t do,” Bullard launched a performance career performing Blue Grass.  He later enrolled at Virginia Commonwealth University as a guitar major, where he met, collaborated and toured with John Patykula, a student of the renowned Mexican guitarist, Jesùs Silva and Andrès Segovia. Patykula encouraged him to explore classical music on the banjo, but found that repertoire was virtually non-existent. At his first Old-Time Fiddlers’ Convention, Bullard met a lone banjo player named Fred Boyce who played Bach and was instantly captivated by the sound of baroque music on the banjo. After leaving school when his request to study classical banjo was denied, he began performing classical banjo, frequently as a duo with Patykula with whom he made his first two recordings. In 2005, Bullard returned to VCU to finish his degree, and became the first, and only, classical banjoist to graduate from VCU with a Bachelor of Music degree with honors in Performance.

In addition to his performing and recording career, Bullard has published two books for Mel Bay Publications — Bach for the Banjo and Scales and Arpeggios for Classical Banjo. As an educator, he has been on the faculty of the Tennessee Banjo Institute alongside Tony Trischka, Pete Seeger, and Béla Fleck, and at Cairn University’s School of Music.

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Recent Recordings by John Bullard: