Douglas Bishop was born on March 24th, 1970 in Heidelberg, Germany, the only child of Lydia Gnädinger, his German mother, and Curtis Bishop, his American father. 
Douglas's father, an American soldier, was later stationed in Vietnam, where he was killed in action, leaving Douglas, at three months old, to be raised by his mother and grandfather in Germany. Douglas' paternal grandmother was of the Lakota tribe (Teton Sioux), of the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, and his father's father was a German immigrant to the USA during the Depression era, working in dam construction and oil fields (Click here to read the wisdom that Douglas uses for guidance in his own life). Douglas displays curious traits from this union. Top-notch engineering and applied logic skills are in his guts, aided by the discipline and exactness of his German upbringing. At the same time, there is something very earthy and elemental about him: he has a deep spiritual connection to Mother Earth and a fierce love of independence derived from his Native American heritage. From earliest childhood, Douglas Bishop possessed three qualities which contributed to his becoming a student of the archaic pan flute; an insatiable interest in music, a talent for focus and concentration, and the desire to explore himself spiritually. These attributes have brought Douglas through numerous physical, musical and spiritual journeys in his 28+ years with the pan flute (View the photo gallery of our trip to Brazil in 2005). Douglas began his studies with the pan flute at the age of ten, and he has honed his skills by learning the techniques of performers he encountered during his journeys of self-discovery. Douglas's interests in the pan flute, history, and ethnomusicology have taken him to many countries, and this extensive period of travel and study has fostered the development of his diverse repertoire. Douglas Bishop has performed in numerous musical appearances, from shopping malls and open-air markets worldwide to religious institutions, weddings, funerals, concert halls, art galleries, and festivals of every description. Douglas has also demonstrated his artistic flexibility by performing on such varied albums as "Dragon Dreams", a collection of traditional Mexican songs and original music by double platinum guitarist / singer / songwriter David Salazar, and "Didgeridoo Dreamings: A Shamanic Journey", an album of original New Age-style compositions by Australian didgeridoo master Phil Jones (of "Quintessence" fame). Douglas Bishop has appeared with the Andean band Imbaya at the 1994 Fiesta de Santa Fe, and with David Salazar & Gerard Moreno in Santa Fe's renowned Dragon Room Bar of the Pink Adobe Restaraunt. Douglas has also appeared on the German documentary, "Bilder Aus Deutschland", the Vermont Public Access TV program, "The Artful World", and the University of Vermont's documentary, "Operation: Street Performer".
"My initial pan flute studies centered upon the Romanian pan flute (the Nai), Romanian folk music, and classical music. All of this changed when I was 17 years old, when one particular experience altered my perception of the pan flute forever. One day, I was walking in the pedestrian zone in Heidelberg, Germany when I came upon a touring Andean music group. It was my first encounter with the Andean pan flute forms and its players. I watched in amazement as these musicians executed intricate playing techniques with their pan flutes. One of the pan flutes was so large the musician had to stand on a short stool, since the instrument was taller than the man playing it! When I told my teacher what I had seen and heard, he dismissed these men as players of “primitive” flutes, lacking the greater subtlety of the Romanian Nai and its players. I was stunned by the naked arrogance of this reaction. In my mind, doubts began to grow. I began to ask myself, 'What else am I not being told and taught in Europe'? After more than 20 years of further study spanning over 30 countries, I can answer this question: 'Much more than I ever imagined'. Thus began my quest to learn the methods of other pan flute forms and apply them to my own musical development. Unfortunately, the pompous arrogance I first experienced in my teacher's pronouncement would rear its head often in the years that followed.
I remained isolated from the European panflutists for many years, and this allowed me to develop in my own way. Finally, after many journeys, I settled in the U.S., and I began constructing my presence on the Internet (the greatest equalizer ever created, as I refer to it.). To re-establish contact with the European community of panflutists, I joined the chat group Panflute World in 2001. Never did I make a bigger mistake. By no wish of my own, I immediately found myself in the center of a hurricane of controversy due to my "unorthodox" ways - my sound, my style, my methods, my instruments, and my refusal to be "domesticated" - to become more politically correct with regard to the sentiments of the moderators and leading members. During the years of my isolation, the pan flute had moved into cyberspace, and this began to cause tensions and hair-splitting among panflutists. Sadly, the “prove your pedigree” mentality had taken hold online. Newcomers are welcomed to such chat groups as Panflute World, Panflute Page, and Panflute Forum, so long as they “toe the line” set out for them by the people moderating the chat groups (some of whom have a financial stake in the "giving of advice" to beginners). The line was not (and is not) determined by fairness and even-handed treatment of all members, but by favoritism towards various members. The creator of Panflute World, for example, who has long wished to gain influence with the "important people" (translation = big-name European players), is in fact a skilled political spin doctor, who uses the chat group he created in an effort to enhance his own stature. Of course, presiding over a group of (mostly) weak-minded and easily influenced sheep greatly aids this endeavor, as well as having followers with whom to prop himself up when he is called out by someone demanding actual fairness and justice".
"When I confronted the individuals who run these chat groups concerning these matters, they donned a mask of wounded innocence, while lamenting (in full view of the group) the "atmosphere of negativity" thus created by my confrontational comments. The result of this political spin is an environment within which anyone who stands up to the arrogant presumptions or fanaticism of any chat group-favored individual is attacked, goes unheard, and is treated as a "disturber of the peace". The same applies to anyone who presents and defends anything contrary to the "accepted" viewpoint. Such individuals are pounced upon immediately, and afterwards made the object of smear campaigns to discredit them. All this and more has happened to me on the online chat groups. Why? "Because I would not endure their intolerance and discriminatory behavior". The passage of time has not improved the situation. In light of this glaring fact, I decided not to get involved in any more of the egotism, hierarchy, or other troublesome messes generated by an online group or organization (which must invariably have a favored faction and a leader), and resume my pursuit as a "pan flute hermit", with the exceptions of those who specifically seek me out, or newcomers to the instrument that ask for or seek guidance.
"Little better can be said of the purists. According to pan flute purists, you are considered a professional pan flutist only when you have completed a specialized education for the instrument in one of several schools scattered throughout Europe. The modern renaissance of the pan flute (in Europe) can be largely credited to one man - Fanica Luca. That name has taken on almost mythic proportions among pan flute purists in Europe, who display a curious tendency to conveniently overlook a certain ironic fact: Fanica Luca was not a formally educated panflutist.
"At the center of the purist school of thought sits the Romanian Nai, which is the pan flute form used in Romanian folk music, and it is also the form usually taught in the various pan flute schools in Europe. Among the purists, there is a mindset that borders on the medieval, which proclaims that the Romanian method of playing is the only “correct” method, and the Romanian Nai is the only “correct” flute for the professional panflutist (read about an amusing encounter I had several years ago). The "true professional", contend the purists, must be able to perform Romanian folk music and classical music with absolute adherence to the established traditional standards of form and tone. Any deviation from this doctrine is heresy, and will result in a panflutist’s being looked down upon and ridiculed as a charlatan and a pretender. Essentially, the turnkey rule among the purists is conformity. Anything else will result in an offending individual's being burned at the proverbial stake. Evidently, artistic liberty is an unwelcome concept to the purist establishment. I find it interesting that the overwhelming majority of old-guard Romanian naists (the core of the purist school of thought) also share another common denominator - they grew up under Communism. When one considers this fact, it's not surprising they have this "one correct method, one correct sound, one correct pan flute" mentality, is it? (examine this further)"
"Most people are unfamiliar with the pan flute (in any form). Among the purists, this has often led to the argument that the average person therefore cannot reliably judge who is or isn't a skilled pan flutist, and must therefore be "educated". In this decidedly arrogant approach to the perceptions of the general populace, forgotten is the fact that everyone knows what sounds good to them, no matter what their experience. So, it can be accepted that one pan flutist will be perceived approximately as appealing to the general public as another. Anyway, exactly how does one go about proving one pan flutist is worthier than another? Public exposure? Fame? Ancestry? Nationality? Educational background? Income? One word can sum up all these considerations in terms of determining a pan flutist's worthiness - superficial. Strip away all these superficialities, and we are left with the secret of acquiring status in the pan flute communities - politics. This (among the various pan flute communities and the purists alike) becomes the only clear means to present a particular pan flutist as worthy to be exalted above others. However, in their race to engage in an "alpha panflutist smackdown", they fail to see an important fact - their comparative ranking or opinion of themselves and other panflutists means nothing outside their own circles. The general public only wants to enjoy the music, whoever performs it."
"Many of my colleagues (particularly in Europe) have convinced themselves they are at the pinnacle of artistic expression with the pan flute. In reality, they are woefully limited by their own preconceptions. They strive to present themselves as a "virtuoso" or a "maestro" in an effort to convince people of their greatness. Such as these are quick to label someone else, but glacially slow to attempt to learn about the people or thing they have labelled. Instead of labelling others based on nothing more than one's own arbitrary standards and/or elitist outlook, I prefer to ask, "Do you have the ability to create crystal, enchanted moments for people, that they will remember for the rest of their lives?" Consider this: At one of my recent performances in New Hampshire, a woman in a wheelchair approached me, and told me, "I was a concert pianist with The Boston Pops (Orchestra) for 15 years. I have never heard such a thing played in such a memorable way before." She then adds, "I am 101 years old." That's what I call a crystal moment, folks. Compared to that, it's a foregone conclusion to say that some arrogant snob's elitist ideas, not to mention the labels of "maestro" or "virtuoso", are less than dust in the wind.
"The elitist-minded among my colleagues have also exhibited a dismal inability to comprehend another fact: the age of titles is over. Titles have always been used by those in power to over-awe the fearful, downtrodden populace of the past, who were previously kept in a state of ignorance and denied knowledge of the world by those in power. This is not true of the public today. People are better informed and educated now than ever before, and the methods of presentation must adapt accordingly. No amount of self-proclaimed "kings of the pan flute", "princes of the pan flute", "princesses of the pan flute", "masters", or other assorted over-the-top "great ones" will have any effect on this very basic fact."
"It is easy and comforting for many of my colleagues to retreat into the solace of the familiar. In this way, they lock themselves in an ivory tower by painting a picture of themselves as possessing discriminating and exquisite stylistic taste. In effect, they make a virtue of practicing elitism, holding that any panflutist that adheres to the stylistic idiosyncracies of the Romanian pan flute (nai) is automatically superior to any panflutist that does not, or that demonstrates another type of stylistic approach. However, in reality they have simply limited themselves. If one locks oneself up (in an ivory tower or otherwise), they will obviously become prisoners, however beautiful the prison may appear. And who is their jailor? Their own arrogance. Being locked in the ivory tower simply means that it is the only place you can (or will) go."
"My stance on these matters is simple: if an individual is skilled enough with the pan flute to earn a living with it and simultaneously bring enjoyment to their audiences, that person is a professional panflutist. Period. For me and my audiences, that is enough, and it should be enough for others. If your audiences enjoy what you are doing with the instrument, do they care where you studied, who your teacher was, what school you attended, whether or not you have a certificate proving all of these things, or how your pan flute is designed? Of course not. When you are happy with your music, and your performances are enjoyed by your audiences, all these other things become pointless. Besides, I enjoy my maverick status, the freedom of being a "lone wolf", having the liberty of blazing my own trail to my own artistic destiny, rather than tread the well-worn road of my more convention-minded colleagues. Besides, it is only by remaining a free agent, unaligned with any group or association, that I can accomplish my goal - to bring the pan flute full circle, out of the hands of a self-serving few, and return it to the hands of all the peoples of the earth, free of any "requirements", except those decided by the individual. It is a significant fact that both Panflute World and Panflute Forum banned me. The official explanation from these groups' administrators cited my abrasive online manner and "ranting" as the causes of my ejection. The reality is somewhat different - I refused to accept the role that the group founders scripted for me, that of a meek and unquestioning follower of their smugly held conventions of correctness. I feared not at all to question their presumptions and challenge their convictions from time to time. In their minds (they will never admit the truth of this, of course), this necessitated my banishment. Though I was initially angry over their obtuse pomposity, that they felt they were justified in silencing me under the guise of "maintaining the peace" on the chat groups, I now consider it an honor, to be seen by my colleagues as too unfettered in my elemental individuality to suit their taste, or to remain in their online company. It's just as well that things turned out this way. I don't want to waste any more time on prissy, political, insecure fops who are afraid of their own shadow, who smile to your face and then bash you the moment your back is turned, and who seek to diminish an honest individual in order to make themselves seem loftier by comparison. In the end, it's all good - the fact that I am beholden to no group or association will only help me to accomplish my goals."
"I don't have the purpose to attract anyone to me, like-minded or otherwise. I only want to tell it like it is, in my own way, with my own feelings, and with my own methods. If my colleagues are alienated by this, then so be it. Let others worry about building a group of admirers to fawn over them. In any case, I would wager I am far more accustomed to standing alone than any of my colleagues. To most, isolation is a fearful thing - to me, it's an ally. My ways are different - not better, not worse, only different. It's one thing to play like generations of people before you; it's another matter to develop and possess your own methodology. When I think about my experiences with my colleagues, it doesn't surprise me that the pan flute continues to be a obscure (and sometimes maligned) instrument. In the absence of any institutionalized requirements, of deferring to a big-name player, or adhering exclusively to hidebound traditions of "correctness", the pan flute will be truly free to blossom in the modern musical consciousness. This is my dream". -Douglas Bishop
Douglas Bishop now lives with his wife Veranice in Concord, New Hampshire. In his former residence in South Burlington, Vermont, Douglas is best known for his past work as a performer on the historic Church Street Marketplace (read a letter of appreciation from Burlington's mayor). In the autumn of 1996, Douglas collaborated with hammered dulcimer specialist Arlen Oleson on "Further Beyond the Pale", a compilation of Celtic and Renaissance music. Douglas Bishop and Arlen Oleson subsequently performed with guitarist Suzy Hurd and bodhran player Anthony Santoro at the celebration of First Night 1997 in Burlington. Douglas's first CD, "Origins of a Minstrel", was released on November 9th, 2000, and he has also released "A Panflute Christmas", a compilation of Christmas songs performed as pan flute solos. Employing his keen mind, sharp investigative skills, and wide knowledge of many academic disciplines, Douglas has also distinguished himself in the world of the pan flute as a tireless and dedicated researcher and educator. Douglas is the author of "A Worldwide History of the Pan Flute", the Internet's most extensively researched and complete work concerning the pan flute's history. In 2003, with the introduction of his series of free online video lessons for the pan flute, Douglas became the first panflutist in history to make possible the learning of the pan flute by anyone in the world, regardless of financial status or geographical location. Douglas is also the creator of "The Hall of Panflutists", the most complete pan flute portal to be found online. As a professional performing panflutist (with 450 performances in 2007 alone), Douglas' prolific performance schedule is the busiest of any professional panflutist in the world. Predictably, Douglas' current primary focus is his hectic schedule as an entertainer for eldercare facilities, weddings, and upscale retirement communities. Douglas uses much of his earnings to help poverty-stricken children in his sister-in-law's school in Brazil, as well as putting his nephews and nieces through private school and providing for their basic needs.
Read some press material and see some awards won by this website.
Contact Douglas for more information on his work with the pan flute.