Canadian fingerstyle guitarist James Donald Ross was born on November 9th, 1960 in Montreal, Quebec. Don grew up in a musical family where he started off with the piano then changed to the guitar. Don discovered the fingerstyle guitar as a teenager and continued to experiment with altered tunings. He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in music at Toronto’s York University. The fingerstyle technique is playing the guitar or bass guitar by plucking the strings directly with the fingertips, fingernails or picks attached to fingers, as opposed to flatpicking, (plucking individual notes with a single plectrum, commonly called a “pick”). Sound recording, music composition and electronic music were the areas of study for Mr. Ross while attending university. After finishing his bachelor in 1983, Don studied philosophy at St. Hyacinth College and Seminary in Massacheuset. He seemed well on the way to becoming a Franciscan monk, or something along those lines; At some point during this journey however, he decided to leave that pursuit and become a musician. The first recording was produced on cassette in 1986 and he performed as a duo with his first wife singer Kelly McGowan in 1986 and 1987. He was also a member of new age jazz quartet Eye Music. In 1988, Don took first place in the National Fingerstyle Guitar Championship. This lead to his first record deal and national recognition. He often uses advanced techniques and plays intricate down and up stroke patterns with his thumb. His style is described as a blend of blues, jazz, folk and classical music. In 1996 Mr. Ross returned to competition in fine form and was able to take the top spot in the fingerstyle contest again. To this day Don Ross is the only guitarist to win this competition two times. Wow! Don remarried after the passing of his first wife in 2001. His second wife is singer-songwriter Brooke Miller from Prince Edward Island whom he married in 2005. Don originally played a Lowden s-10 guitar at the beginning of his career. In 1997 he switched to a Lowden 0-10. He now plays custom made guitars by Marc Beneteau, a Canadian luthier from St. Thomas, Ontario. These guitars are equipped with microphones and k and k pickup. On certain occasions he plays a baritone guitar or a harp guitar. He also uses a custom 7 string by another Canadian manufacturer Oskar Graf in Clarendon, Ontario. Bruce Cockburn once said, ” Nobody does what Don does with an acoustic guitar. He takes the corners so fast you think he’s going to roll, but he never loses control”. In 2012 Mr. Ross returned to his hometown of Montreal, Quebec. His most recent album is entitled, “A Million Brazillion Civilians”. Don Ross currently resides in Nova Scotia, Canada.