In addition to being one of the world’s foremost expert and performer of the harp guitar and multiple string instruments, John Doan has been a popular speaker and keynote for businesses and conferences.
Recent lectures and demonstrations include:
- “Fernando Sor and the Evolution of the Guitar” – Museu de la Música, Barcelona Spain
- “A Career in Music Starts with Recognizing your Uniqueness” – Corban University, Willamette University
- “Fernando Sor Revisited” – Marylhurst University, Portland, Oregon
- “Beyond Six Strings – From Sor to Hendrix”- Willamette University
- “From Harp Guitars to the New Hawaiian Family” with Tom Noe and Dan Kerlee Seattle Folklife Festival
- “Harp Guitar Through the Ages” – Harp Guitar Gathering, Marylhurst University
- “The First Modern Harp Guitar: Creating the Sullivan/Elliott 20- String Harp Guitar” with Jeffrey Elliott – Harp Guitar Gathering, Marylhurst University
- “Something New From Something Old – Serious Creativity Connects The Future With The Past,” Keynote address – The American Association for Creativity at Duke University, Durham, NC
- “A New Style For An Old Instrument- Composing And Performing On The Harp Guitar,” Portland Guitar Festival, Portland, Oregon
- “What We Did Before Radio And TV- American Parlor Music,” (sponsored by the Oregon Council for the Humanities “Chautauqua” Program)
- “Recording and Performing on the Harp Guitar – Entrepreneurism in the Arts” – West Salem Business Association, Salem, Oregon
- Guest speaker – Leadership Oregon Conference presented by the Dept. of Administrative Services for the State of Oregon – Salem, Oregon
- Conducted tours and lectured at Sacred Sites of Ireland that included Dublin Museums, Newgrange, Slane, Hill of Tara, Glendalough, Kildare, Cashel, Skellig Michael, Aran Islands, Clonfert, and Clonmacnois
- “Nehemiah Doane: Early Missionary to the Oregon Territory”- an account of the life of one of Willamette University’s earliest Presidents, in Cone Chapel, Waller Hall, Willamette University – Salem, Oregon
- “Music as a Business, Non-Traditional Entrepreneurship, Oregon How Does A Person Pay Their Bills When They Don’t Have A Regular Job?” Corban University, Salem, Oregon, Salem Schools Young Entrepreneurs Workshop
- “Oregon’s Cultural Exchange with The Fugian Provence, People’s Republic of China,” Western Oregon University and Willamette University – Monmouth and Salem, Oregon
Frequently requested speaker presentations include:
- An Adventure in Music Composing
- Breaking Tradition: Finding Your True Voice in the Music
- Breaking the Trends and Fads: Writing Your Own Path in History
- Competing in a Flooded Music Market
- Fernando Sor: An Examination of the Father of the Modern Guitar
- History Repeats: Using the Wisdom of the Past to Challenge the Future
- How to Create Work that Survives You
- How to Survive in an Evolutionary Market and Industry
- Inspiration from History for Composition
- Managing Your Creative Time and Energies
- Mastering the Conceptual Sale: Selling Beyond Products and Services
- Mastering the Life of an Aging Musician
- Meaning Through Musing: Art Forms Unleashed
- Music as Amusement versus Music as Art
- Music Makes Team Leaders, Scientists, Engineers, World Leaders: Bring the Music Back to School
- Non-Traditional Entrepreneurship: How to Make Money Without a Real Job
- Problem-solving Through Music
- Redefining the Guitar
- Rediscovering the Roots of the Classical Guitar
- The Historic Pilgrimage of Music
- To Infinity and Beyond: The Art of Timeless Composing
- Uncovering a Broad History of the Six String Guitar