Donald James Ross (born November 19, 1960) is a Canadian fingerstyle guitarist. He was the first person to win the National Fingerstyle Guitar Championship twice (1988 and 1996). His album Huron Street reached the top ten on the Billboard New-age chart.
Biography
Ross was born in Montreal, Quebec to a Scottish immigrant father and a Mi'kmaq mother. He is a member of the Millbrook First Nation. He studied composition at the music department of York University in Toronto with David Mott, James Tenney and Phil Werren. After receiving his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Music in 1983, he studied philosophy at St. Hyacinth College and Seminary in Granby, Massachusetts while living at San Damiano Friary in Holyoke, Massachusetts and then started his novitiate for the Canadian custody of the Conventual Franciscans of Immaculate Conception Province at St. Francis Friary in Staten Island, NY. He decided to leave that pursuit and become a musician.
In 1986 Ross produced and published his first album, Kehewin, on cassette, and became a full-time musician. He performed as a duo with his late wife, singer Kelly McGowan, in 1986 and 1987, and then in a trio called Harbord Trio with her and violinist the late Oliver Schroer. At the same time he was member of a New Age jazz quartet called Eye Music. He composed music for several theatre productions in Toronto dealing with First Nations life in Canada, such as The Ecstasy of Rita Joe (York University, 1989), Dreaming Beauty (Inner Stage Theatre, 1990) and Big Buck City (Cahoots Theatre, 1991). He has also composed music for the CBC radio serial Dead Dog Café. In 1987 some of his compositions were played by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra.
His first place win, after two previous attempts, in the 1988 American Walnut Valley Festival The label's roster has included Andy McKee, Nicholas Barron, Antoine Dufour, The Reign of Kindo, and Brooke Miller.
Ross has done three tours with the Men of Steel guitar group, the last of which was mounted in 2006. The band is a mix of international members including bluegrass maestro Dan Crary, acoustic guitarist Beppe Gambetta, and Celtic folk guitarist Tony McManus.
Ross performs most of his concerts solo, but has also regularly performed with Andy McKee, Brooke Miller, bassist Jordan O'Connor and guitarist/songwriter Julie Malia (AKA Jule Malischke). He also has a quartet that performs his more jazz and funk based material, Called Don Ross Louder Than Usual, featuring Andrew Craig on keyboards, Marito Marques on drums and Jordan O'Connor on bass.
In 2010–2011 Ross was a Dalhousie University professor teaching history of guitar and techniques, while still travelling extensively for music. He did not renew his contract for the following year due to high demand for concert appearances around the world.
In 2012, Ross moved back to his hometown of Montreal, Quebec. He and Brooke also lived for several years in Toronto, Ontario and Halifax, Nova Scotia and Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. He currently lives in Windsor, Nova Scotia.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Don studied for a Master of Arts degree online in Orchestration through the University of Chichester and ThinkSpace Education, graduating in 2021. He has spent much of the time since composing original orchestrations for video games, film, and television. Also in 2021, Don won the Walter Carsen Prize for Excellence in the Performing Arts, administered by the Canada Council for the Arts. In 2023 Don released his first solo album in six years, a mixture of solo and collaborative music entitled WATER. The album features collaborations with Bruce Cockburn, Brooke Miller, Michael Manring, The Atlantic String Machine, Sean Hall and the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra.
Ross's daughter is writer Tara McGowan-Ross.
Style and technique
Ross's music borrows from blues, jazz, folk and classical music creating a style that he describes as "heavy wood".
Ross names Bruce Cockburn, John Renbourn, Pierre Bensusan, Keith Jarrett, Egberto Gismonti and Pat Metheny as his main sources of inspiration. One of his songs, "Michael, Michael, Michael", is dedicated to Michael Hedges, and Ross has performed straight covers of his compositions. One obvious but unattributed influence is the psychedelic 1967 track 'Embryonic Journey' by Jefferson Airplane. Ross's advanced technique and his sure feeling for rhythm combine with uncommon ideas to make his style instantly recognizable. He often uses percussive techniques and plays intricate down and upstroke patterns with his thumb. These techniques have found their way into the toolboxes of many competitive fingerstyle guitarists. His use of acrylic nails allows him to get a consistent, clean tone without the hassle of broken fingernails.
Don Ross played a Lowden S-10 in the beginning of his career, and in 1997 started playing a Lowden O-10.