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At a concert hall in Portland, Oregon, the first clue that there might be more to John Doan than pleasant melodies was the quote from Jeremiah 6:16 in his "Celtic Pilgrimage" concert program: "Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls." Jeremiah (prophet before the destruction of Jerusalem, 586 B.C.)

Doan appeared on stage in black pants and a loose hand-woven smock. He opened the concert by contrasting the technological world with the serenity he had experienced on his pilgrimage to the Celtic Isles. Our lives are so full of noise—television, radio, cd players, video games—that we rarely stop to think about matters of the spirit.

Introducing his first few pieces, Doan told engaging stories (gleaned from his travels) about Saint Patrick, the lost tribes of Israel, and the stone on which Jacob laid his head. The themes were enchanting, decidedly spiritual, even Christian, but not explicitly so. Leading up to his fourth piece, "Wake—Waiting for the Dawn," Doan spoke of the wisdom of Ireland's druid priests.

But Doan went on to explain that in the fifth century, two druid priests had predicted the coming of a teaching, a kingdom, that would overthrow their way of life, destroy the people's gods, and endure forever. Soon after, Saint Patrick began his Christian mission to the Irish, ushering in the golden age of Ireland's history—a time of relative peace, when the arts, scholarship, and especially Christian faith provided a light in a dark age.

Doan wondered aloud what the druids would have done if they had known that the end of their era was at hand. His conclusion: They would have done what the Irish do today when someone comes to the end of life. They have a wake, a celebration—because something better is coming. Now that was something different. There had to be something more than hodgepodge spirituality here.

Several months later Doan welcomed me into his long, narrow office at Willamette University, in Salem, Oregon. Antique instruments hung from the walls, and old books and record albums all but overflowed the shelves beneath. Doan has been artist in residence and associate professor of music at Willamette for the past 23 years. His music appears on albums distributed by Windham Hill, Narada, and Hearts O'Space and are available through his website (www.johndoan.com). His main instrument is the rare 20-string harp-guitar, which was popular in Europe and America a century ago and is experiencing something of a revival. It features a standard set of six guitar strings between six longer sub-bass strings and eight shorter treble strings.

After opening pleasantries, Doan launched into two and a half hours of the stories that are his signature. It is hard to say whether Doan is primarily a musician, teacher, historian, or storyteller. History and personal musings ("soul stirrings," he calls them) provide much of the inspiration for Doan's instrumental pieces. But the teacher in him wants his listeners to grasp the meaning behind the music. Doan says most of us are oriented toward language because we use it all the time, but instrumental music is harder to enjoy and understand. He bridges the gap with stories similar to those he tells in concert.

"I'd like to tell the story and help people enter into the heart of the music," Doan says. Through these parables, Doan conveys spiritual truths that audiences might not accept from a more direct delivery. "Those that have ears to hear it will hear."

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December 9 2002, Vol. 46, No. 13