Douglas Back-classical guitarist

Douglas Back’s- career as a guitarist has encompassed a broad range of styles and venues. From performing internationally as a classical guitar soloist to performing with Blues bands to Bluegrass bands (and even a noted performance as a guest performer hired to entertain the 1983 Miss Universe Contestants before that year’s pageant), Doug’s versatility as a musician has earned him many accolades.

Doug received his Master of Music in Classical Guitar Performance from Florida State University in 1988 as a student of Bruce Holzman. He completed his Bachelor of Music in Classical Guitar Performance from the University of Missouri/St. Louis. As an undergraduate student, he was the first prize winner in the George C. Krick Memorial Guitar Competition. After graduating from FSU, Doug taught classical guitar full-time for over thirty years in the Montgomery Public Schools Arts Magnet Programs and as an adjunct instructor of guitar at Faulkner University, Troy State University, Alabama State University, and Georgia Southwestern College. He was recognized as the Teacher of the Year by the International NETWORK of Performing Arts Schools in 2003 (a network of over 150 international schools) and the Montgomery County Middle School Teacher of the Year in 2009. Doug has authored four anthology books and recordings of guitar music for Mel Bay Publications and more than 50 articles on fretted string instruments for a variety of publications. He has performed internationally throughout the United States, Australia, Great Britain, and the Philippines. In addition to guitar, Doug performs on a wide assortment of fretted instruments including classic five-string and jazz plectrum banjo, mandolin, and renaissance lute. He is considered one of the leading masters of the 19th-century classic banjo, a master of the jazz plectrum banjo, and in 2006 he also took First Prize in the Classical Mandolin Society of America’s Classical Mandolin Championship. Doug retired from teaching classical guitar in the Montgomery Public School system in 2020 and then opened up his teaching studio, Doug’s Music Academy

"King of the Strings!" -Montgomery Advertiser.