Guy Donis: Banjo Adventurer

Conversations with Musicians, with Leah Roseman

01/27/24

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99m

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Guy Donis grew up in Belgium, where he had fallen in love with the banjo and proceeded to dedicate his life to it. In this episode, he describes how he taught himself 5 string banjo, learned about Bluegrass, and expanded his musical horizons by collaborating with jazz and classical musicians. He immigrated to Canada many years ago, and is well-known in the Montreal music scene. He has toured Canada extensively with Notre Dame de Grass and other bands, and in this episode he talks about his newest project, the Montreal Bluegrass League, and a track from their latest album is included in this podcast. Some tracks from his two trio albums are also included earlier in this episode, in which you can hear Guy’s progressive jazz-influenced original music.

Can you buy me a coffee to support this series? https://ko-fi.com/leahroseman Thanks so much!

Like all my episodes, the YouTube video, Transcript, and show notes are linked on my website: https://www.leahroseman.com/episodes/guy-donis

Guy Donis website: https://www.guydonisbanjo.com/

Sign up for my weekly newsletter to get access to Sneak Peeks for upcoming episodes: https://mailchi.mp/ebed4a237788/podcast-newsletter

Follow the podcast on my socials: https://linktr.ee/leahroseman

Timestamps

(00:00) Intro

(02:03) Guy’s discovery of the banjo in Belgium

(04:35) Tchestou Guy Donis Trio from Paroles d’arbre

(04:40) banjo demo, evolution of bluegrass style

(21:12) Béla Fleck

(25:05) Paroles d’arbre album

(29:16) title track from Paroles d’arbre Guy Donis Trio

(33:51) Roots, Risks and Rêveries album Guy Donis Trio

(35:33) Grenouillages Guy Donis Trio

(36:36) Guy’s youth in Belgium, learning banjo

(45:47) could you buy me a coffee to support this series?

(46:26) the challenge of continuing to improve

(47:29) Sam Bush

(49:39) how Guy learned banjo and found his style

(54:04) decision to leave Belgium

(59:49) Tony Trischka, Béla Fleck, networking challenges, focus in playing

(01:06:36) the Montreal Bluegrass League

(01:14:59) career choices

(01:19:46) teaching banjo

(01:23:59) Guy’s banjo Nechville Phantom

(01:29:49) the Montreal Bluegrass League album, intro to One Way Track

(01:31:51) One Way Track with the Montreal Bluegrass League

(01:34:05) love for winter in Quebec as an immigrant from Belgium

(01:36:04) distractions of the internet

(01:38:05) learning music therapeutic

photo of Guy Donis: David Roseman

Previous Episode

Jeeyoon Kim: Building Beautiful Bridges

January 20, 2024

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96m

Jeeyoon Kim is a very special concert pianist who has opened meaningful connections to new audiences through her innovative concerts, albums, podcast, and now her book “Whenever You’re Ready”. You’ll learn how she sold out her Carnegie Hall debut recital without knowing one person in New York, without an agent or winning a competition. She’s generously shared 3 tracks from some of her albums that punctuate this episode. Her website is linked here: https://www.jeeyoonkim.com/about

I was so honoured when Jeeyoon agreed to be part of this series, because I knew her wisdom, personal story and her music making would resonate strongly with you.

Like all my episodes, you can watch this on my YouTube channel or listen to the podcast, and I’ve also linked the transcript to my website https://www.leahroseman.com/episodes/jeeyoon-kim

Please buy me a coffee to support this podcast? I really do need the help of my listners to keep this going: https://ko-fi.com/leahroseman

Here you can sign up for my weekly newsletter to get access to Sneak Peeks for upcoming episodes. https://mailchi.mp/ebed4a237788/podcast-newsletter

Timestamps

(00:00) Intro

(02:31) book “Whenever You’re Ready”

(04:34) podcast “Journey Through Classical Piano”

(08:26) intro to Brahms’ Intermezzo

(11:28) Brahms Intermezzo op. 118, number 2

(18:04) Jeeyoon’s childhood in Korea

(23:10) burnout challenges

(26:48) decision to pursue Master’s in Pedagogy after Doctorate

(30:28) please support this podcast

(31:07) adapting teaching to each student

(35:00) private teaching versus academic setting, creating your own path

(39:46) Jeeyoon’s innovative concerts, 10 More Minutes crowdfunding and Carnegie Hall debut

(53:07) Kapustin Concert Etude op. 40 number 6 Pastoral from Jeeyoon Kim’s album Sium

(55:59) Sium project, 17 concert tour

(01:02:42) Debussy

(01:05:21) La plus que lente by Debussy from Jeeyoon Kim’s album Sium

(01:09:49) the challenge of adapting to different pianos

(01:15:14) Allen T. Brown, pairing photography and poetry with music

(01:21:51) lifelong learning

(01:25:15) surfing

(01:31:35) great advice from David Bremmer

Next Episode

Frank Horvat: Discovering Meaning and Fellowship Through Challenges

February 3, 2024

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77m

Frank Horvat is an acclaimed Canadian composer and pianist whose music has been featured on over 20 albums. In this episode you’ll hear how he has forged meaningful collaborations with a wide range of musicians internationally, and found and given solace to audiences through his focus on themes of mental health, the climate crisis, and social justice. We start this episode with his Arctic Circle Residency.

Frank Horvat is so prolific and involved in so many diverse projects, with music in many styles, that we could only focus on a few of his works in this podcast episode, including with the SHHH!!! Ensemble, the Odin Quartet, flutist Christopher Lee and soprano Meredith Hall. We talked about his Music for Self-Isolation, and his wonderful initiative, the Piano Therapy Virtual Tour, that pairs his music with his personal mental health challenges and coping strategies. I also asked him about The Green Keys Tour, in which he performed his work Earth Hour in dark halls across North America, travelling in a sustainable way. We also got into some of his current projects, Trees.Listen with Sharlene Wallace inspired by the work of Dr. Diana Beresford-Kroeger , and More Rivers, commissioned by Christina Petrowska Quilico and inspired by the work of Ann Southam.

I need the help of my listeners! https://ko-fi.com/leahroseman

Frank Horvat website: https://frankhorvat.com/

Follow this podcast on social media: https://linktr.ee/leahroseman

You can also watch this podcast on my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/ViolinLessonOnline

Timestamps

(00:00) Intro

(02:22) Arctic Circle Residency

(15:00) SHHH!! Ensemble

Auditory Survey of the Last Days of the Holocene, creative process and excerpts

(24:51) Frank Horvat composing in different styles, finding new inspirations

(28:48) Music for Self-Isolation, music performed by Christopher Lee

(40:50) please support this podcast! Thanks