{"id":147843,"date":"2025-06-29T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-29T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/?p=147843"},"modified":"2025-06-26T14:44:30","modified_gmt":"2025-06-26T21:44:30","slug":"seven-string-classical-virtuoso-douglas-lora-explores-his-south-american-roots","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/seven-string-classical-virtuoso-douglas-lora-explores-his-south-american-roots\/","title":{"rendered":"Seven-String Classical Virtuoso Douglas Lora Explores His South American Roots"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When Scott Tennant, a charter member of the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet (LAGQ) for 42 years, announced his retirement at the end of 2022, Brazilian-American Douglas Lora was named as his successor. In a YouTube announcement, the Grammy-winning group described Lora as \u201ca master of multiple styles, a composer and an improviser\u201d and the \u201cideal person to carry on the LAGQ tradition of exploring music from around the globe and across the centuries.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a lifetime immersed in Brazilian music, Lora brings a wealth of experience to the ensemble, which has performed and recorded works by Brazilian composers and explored repertoire from Europe, the Americas, Africa, Australia, and beyond\u2014while also delving into the pop and jazz canons. Having performed with celebrated classical and traditional ensembles, Lora is uniquely equipped to step into Tennant\u2019s role. His influences span classical, rock, and jazz, with Brazilian traditional forms remaining a cornerstone of his artistry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a Zoom call from Brazil, Lora reflected on his musical training, his deep connection to classical and Brazilian music, his career as a seven-string guitarist, and his distinctive interpretations of the iconic guitar preludes of Heitor Villa-Lobos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wide Horizons <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Lora, 46, was born in Washington, D.C., before his parents relocated to Brazil while he was an infant. He grew up in Atibaia, Brazil, a small town an hour outside of S\u00e3o Paulo, where his two younger siblings were born. \u201cMy sister, Jessica, and brother, Alexandre, still live in the area,\u201d Lora says. \u201cIt\u2019s a beautiful and magical place\u2014rural, but metro, too. The road from the city crosses a chain of mountains and then you\u2019re in Atibaia. We had all the conveniences of a big city and a bucolic setting.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lora\u2019s parents passed their love of music onto their children. Their mother played piano and guitar by ear and was Douglas\u2019s first teacher when he started on guitar at age seven. In Brazil, as in other South American countries, nylon-string guitar abounds as the dominant form of the instrument. \u201cIt\u2019s the traditional instrument found in many homes, like the piano is elsewhere,\u201d Lora observes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

During his teen years, Lora\u2019s father bought him an electric guitar, and he and his drum-playing brother formed a rock band. How-ever, bossa nova and other Brazilian styles soon became more prominent in the guitarist\u2019s playing. \u201cMy mom could play a couple of samba tunes on guitar and taught me the samba pattern,\u201d Lora recalls. \u201cLittle by little, American and British rock gave way to popular Brazilian styles\u2014bossa nova, samba, choro\u2014and I started studying classical guitar.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When preparing for college, Lora faced a pivotal decision: classical or jazz guitar. He chose classical, drawn to its rich repertoire and the opportunity to expand his technique at Faculdades Metropolitanas Unidas (FMU) in S\u00e3o Paulo, where Henrique Pinto\u2014a mentor to many of Brazil\u2019s top guitarists\u2014taught. Still, Lora embraced a broad perspective. \u201cFrom the beginning, I\u2019ve maintained parallel interests in classical and popular music styles,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New Collaborations<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

After graduating from FMU, Lora began a master\u2019s program at the University of Miami in 2004, studying under renowned guitar professor Rene Gonzalez. While there, Lora also explored music writing in the jazz department and learned about the prestigious Concert Artists Guild Competition\u2014a launchpad for many successful concert careers. Seizing the opportunity, Lora teamed up with longtime friend and fellow guitarist Jo\u00e3o Luiz, whom he had known since their teen years in S\u00e3o Paulo. Together, as the Brasil Guitar Duo, they entered and won the competition in 2006. The New York victory brought them to the attention of concert presenters, and many chances to play their repertoire of European classical works, their original compositions, and arrangements of traditional Brazilian music. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Various contemporary composers began writing works for Lora and Luiz, and new opportunities began flowing their way. One of their most notable invitations came in 2014, when they were asked to perform at a concert celebrating Cuban composer Leo Brouwer\u2019s 75th birthday. For the occasion, Brouwer composed El Arco y La Lira<\/em>, a 23-minute work for two guitars and two cellos, which Lora and Luiz premiered alongside Yo-Yo Ma and Carlos Prieto in Havana. \u201cRehearsing with Yo-Yo and Carlos for a week in Havana and performing for Brouwer was a career high point for us as a duo,\u201d Lora recalls. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Lora
Lora with LAGQ members (standing, left to right) Matt Greif, John Dearman, and William Kanengiser, Photo: Adam Almeida<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Brasil Guitar Duo continued to expand their reach, premiering guitar concertos by Brazilian composer Paulo Bellinati and Brouwer, as well as the latter\u2019s Sonata de Los Viajeros<\/em>. The duo recorded the sonata as part of their 2016 Naxos album featuring Brouwer\u2019s complete works for two guitars, earning Brouwer a Latin Grammy nomination that same year for Best New Composition. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to the Brasil Guitar Duo, Lora has worked with ensembles such as the Lora Brothers duo with his sibling Alexandre on handpan percussion. Their repertoire consists of arrangements of music by Brazilian popular music composers Baden Powell, Gilberto Gil, and others, plus originals by both Douglas and Alexandre. The brothers formed Trio Brasileiro with their countryman Dudu Maia, a virtuoso player of the bandolim<\/em> (Portuguese mandolin). That ensemble focuses on Brazil\u2019s popular choro music. \u201cChoro sprang from European dances, such as polka, waltz, and Scottish, which were brought to Brazil,\u201d says Lora. \u201cLocals added the influences of African rhythm and syncopation plus a more improvisatory style of playing. The harmonic basis is European blended with the other influences.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trio Brasileiro has featured Israeli jazz clarinetist Anat Cohen as a guest musician on their albums and tours. Their 2017 recording, Rosa dos Ventos<\/em>, received a Grammy nomination for Best World Music Album. Another ensemble with which Lora works, Caraivana, is a sextet specializing in samba and choro music. To date, Lora\u2019s discography lists more than 20 albums with various artists plus a solo recording. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Connecting with LAGQ<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In 2020, Lora decided to pursue a doctorate at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, drawn by the opportunity to work with faculty members such as Scott Tennant, Bill Kanengiser, and Brian Head. \u201cI was studying with Scott around the time he decided to retire from LAGQ,\u201d Lora recalls. \u201cI was honored that they felt I was a good candidate for the group. I joined and we started rehearsing and playing concerts.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lora\u2019s presence in the group has prompted them to revisit Brazilian repertoire from previous years. \u201cLAGQ has long had an interest in Brazilian music, and albums they did featuring Luciana Souza and the S\u00e8rgio Assad concerto,\u201d Lora says. \u201cThey are such amazing players and now friends. Brazilian music is starting to come back into their programs. We finish the concerts with Brazilian music: some arrangements by S\u00e8rgio Assad and Bill, and a piece I originally wrote for the Quaternaglia Guitar Quartet.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Brazil there is a long tradition of using seven-string classical guitars to play accompaniment in samba and choro and other popular forms. Since 2005, Lora has performed and recorded almost exclusively on the seven-string. He varies the tuning of the lowest string. \u201cMost Brazilian players tune it to a C, a third below the low E string,\u201d he says. \u201cBut I tune it to C, B, Bb, and sometimes A, depending on the key of the piece. This school of playing has similarities to Baroque music in a way. We improvise bass lines and counterpoint to the melody being sung or played above.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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