Seven-String Classical Virtuoso Douglas Lora Explores His South American Roots
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 “a master of multiple styles, a composer and an improviser” and the “ideal person to carry on the LAGQ tradition of exploring music from around the globe and across the centuries.”
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—while also delving into the pop and jazz canons. Having performed with celebrated classical and traditional ensembles, Lora is uniquely equipped to step into Tennant’s role. His influences span classical, rock, and jazz, with Brazilian traditional forms remaining a cornerstone of his artistry.
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.
Wide Horizons 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 São Paulo, where his two younger siblings were born. “My sister, Jessica, and brother, Alexandre, still live in the area,” Lora says. “It’s a beautiful and magical place—rural, but metro, too. The road from the city crosses a chain of mountains and then you’re in Atibaia. We had all the conveniences of a big city and a bucolic setting.”
Lora’s parents passed their love of music onto their children. Their mother played piano and guitar by ear and was Douglas’s 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. “It’s the traditional instrument found in many homes, like the piano is elsewhere,” Lora observes.
During his teen years, Lora’s 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’s playing. “My mom could play a couple of samba tunes on guitar and taught me the samba pattern,” Lora recalls. “Little by little, American and British rock gave way to popular Brazilian styles—bossa nova, samba, choro—and I started studying classical guitar.”
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 São Paulo, where Henrique Pinto—a mentor to many of Brazil’s top guitarists—taught. Still, Lora embraced a broad perspective. “From the beginning, I’ve maintained parallel interests in classical and popular music styles,” he explains.
New CollaborationsAfter graduating from FMU, Lora began a master’s 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—a launchpad for many successful concert careers. Seizing the opportunity, Lora teamed up with longtime friend and fellow guitarist João Luiz, whom he had known since their teen years in São 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.
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’s 75th birthday. For the occasion, Brouwer composed El Arco y La Lira, a 23-minute work for two guitars and two cellos, which Lora and Luiz premiered alongside Yo-Yo Ma and Carlos Prieto in Havana. “Rehearsing with Yo-Yo and Carlos for a week in Havana and performing for Brouwer was a career high point for us as a duo,” Lora recalls.
Lora with LAGQ members (standing, left to right) Matt Greif, John Dearman, and William Kanengiser, Photo: Adam AlmeidaThe Brasil Guitar Duo continued to expand their reach, premiering guitar concertos by Brazilian composer Paulo Bellinati and Brouwer, as well as the latter’s Sonata de Los Viajeros. The duo recorded the sonata as part of their 2016 Naxos album featuring Brouwer’s complete works for two guitars, earning Brouwer a Latin Grammy nomination that same year for Best New Composition.
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 (Portuguese mandolin). That ensemble focuses on Brazil’s popular choro music. “Choro sprang from European dances, such as polka, waltz, and Scottish, which were brought to Brazil,” says Lora. “Locals 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.”
Trio Brasileiro has featured Israeli jazz clarinetist Anat Cohen as a guest musician on their albums and tours. Their 2017 recording, Rosa dos Ventos, 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’s discography lists more than 20 albums with various artists plus a solo recording.
Connecting with LAGQIn 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. “I was studying with Scott around the time he decided to retire from LAGQ,” Lora recalls. “I was honored that they felt I was a good candidate for the group. I joined and we started rehearsing and playing concerts.”
Lora’s presence in the group has prompted them to revisit Brazilian repertoire from previous years. “LAGQ has long had an interest in Brazilian music, and albums they did featuring Luciana Souza and the Sèrgio Assad concerto,” Lora says. “They 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 Sèrgio Assad and Bill, and a piece I originally wrote for the Quaternaglia Guitar Quartet.”
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. “Most Brazilian players tune it to a C, a third below the low E string,” he says. “But 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.”
In the latest incarnation of LAGQ, Lora adds a second seven-string to complement John Dearman, who has been using the instrument with the group for years. “We’re exploring switching back and forth on the bass parts and thinking about writing things that emphasize the low register of the two seven-strings,” Lora says.
Reinterpreting Villa-LobosLora completed his doctoral studies at USC in 2023 with his capstone project and recital focused on both Brazilian classical and traditional music. His lecture-dissertation was a deep dive into Cinq Préludes (Five Preludes) for guitar by Heitor Villa-Lobos. The beloved and extensively recorded pieces constitute the final collection of solo guitar pieces the prolific composer wrote in 1940. Lora’s paper details the musical influences that shaped the preludes, ranging from Baroque to French Impressionism to urban music Villa-Lobos played on guitar in the streets of Rio de Janeiro during his youth. “You hear these preludes performed all the time,” Lora states. “I wanted to take a different look at them and bring something new to them.”
Douglas Lora, Photo: Filipe RafaeliHis dissertation examines the dedications and subtitles Villa-Lobos gave each prelude for clues about the composer’s intent to inform his musical interpretation. Lora suggests that all five preludes need not necessarily be performed together and that there were originally six preludes. “Villa Lobos, his wife, and others spoke of there being a sixth prelude that was lost,” he says. “Villa Lobos said the sixth was the best one. We have to take his word on that.”
Lora’s research led him to believe the sixth was the finale to the set, something that’s absent when ‘Prelude No. 5’ is played last. “I reordered them according to the variety of keys and alternation of fast and slow tempos. Guided by the dedications, I organized them into a chronological history of Brazil from its origins to modernity. My starting point was ‘Prelude No. 4,’ which is dedicated to Brazil’s indigenous people. Then I go to No. 5, which reflects the arrival of European people in Brazil. It’s a waltz in homage to the social life of Rio de Janeiro. Next is No. 3, which is dedicated to J.S. Bach but also shows French Impressionist influences.”
Fourth in Lora’s sequence is “Prelude No. 2,” which is dedicated to malandro carioca or the “Rascal of Rio de Janeiro.” “He is a figure romanticized by authors and adored by the public, but he has no morals and cannot be trusted,” says Lora. “A series of secondary dominants at the end of the A section makes you think they will resolve, but they keep going.”
Lora contends the music of “Prelude No. 1” portrays the reaction to continual social injustice of the wealthy and poor living side by side in the city since Brazil’s colonial era. In his paper, he suggests that this piece—an homage to those dwelling in Brazil’s harsh Sertão or northeastern backwoods region—be played last for a strong close. Lora also composed brief transitions to modulate between preludes enabling all five to be played without pause. (Hear them on YouTube under the title “A New Interconnected Order on Villa-Lobos Preludes.”)
Working on Villa Lobos’ solo guitar music was a departure from Lora’s customary role as an ensemble player. A second project that completed his doctoral studies focused on solo playing of choros on seven-string guitar. “I wrote all the arrangements for my themed recital and later recorded them on an album and published editions of the arrangements,” he says. “I did everything for the album, from the cover design to editing videos that I posted online.”
Choro!, released in 2024, is Lora’s first solo recording and features seven tracks juxtaposing energetic and introspective choros written by popular Brazilian composers Jacob do Bandolim, Ernesto Nazareth, Dilermando Reis, and Garoto (Aníbal Augusto Sardinha). Throughout, Lora’s playing shines, brimming alternately with bravura or sensitivity as the music demands.
Lora’s future plans include working with LAGQ, Lora Brothers, Trio Brasileiro, and Caraivana, plus giving solo concerts. He’s also a faculty member at California State University, Fullerton, and continues to compose a range of instrumental music, aspiring to score films. “My goal is to always expand the horizons of the artistic fronts I’m dedicated to,” he says. “The musical path is endless, and there’s always a deeper level to reach for.”
What He Plays Douglas Lora has two seven-string guitars: a 2009 Sergio Abreu spruce top with Brazilian rosewood back and sides and a 2019 Lineu Bravo spruce top with maple back and sides. He uses Augustine Paragon hard-tension strings plus a low B from Hannabach’s ten-string sets for the seventh string.
—MS
This article originally appeared in the July/August 2025 issue of Acoustic Guitar magazine.
