John Vergara was born in 1981 in the Bronx, NY to a Puerto Rican father and Italian mother. His profound connection with music was made while living with a Portuguese family at the age of 13, when he picked up a guitar lying around the house. From that day onward, his interest in playing music was born. John spent his early music career studying a variety of guitar styles. He studied jazz with Raymond Cruz of Cruz Control, through whom he received a solid foundation in scales, modes and chords. He subsequently studied classical and flamenco guitar methods under virtuoso guitar player, Juan Gomez. It wasn’t long before John entered the freelance world, playing regularly at several restaurants in the Hudson Valley. When he suffered a hand injury that prevented him from playing the guitar, John was forced to look to his other abilities to satisfy his musical passion.
Luthiery
John’s early talents included woodworking and anything that required him to build with his hands, and it was therefore not surprising for him to marry his passion for music with his agile abilities in the art of making instruments. In 2006, John began studying violin-making and repair with Joe Regh, repairing many violins, violas, cellos, and basses during his apprenticeship.
After visiting Istanbul that same year, John purchased his first oud. This instrument would change the direction of his life. He found that playing the oud didn’t cause him pain and in fact, even felt natural. He decided to search for a teacher and pursue the oud seriously. He found just such a teacher in Najib Shaheen and so began his journey with the Arabic oud. John also studied with Simon Shaheen, Bassam Saba. John moved to Lebanon, where he studied Arabic music with Charbel Rouhana and Ghada Shbeir at the Université Saint-Esprit De Kaslik.
Upon his return to NY, John began work on his first oud. Since then, John has dedicated his life to Arabic music, both through its performance and the making of one of its signature instruments. John also makes and repairs a variety of musical instruments, Western and Eastern.
Today, John's luthiery is focused on Classical and Flamenco guitars and the oud. His main inspiration and motivation is the Spanish classical guitar design which Antonio De Torres established. To further refine on this pattern, John focuses on the balance of acoustics and materials using intuition and years of developed skills so that each instrument contains rich sophisticated tone while enjoying a long life.
The biography of John Vergara in Arabic is now available on Wikipedia:
Luthiery
John’s early talents included woodworking and anything that required him to build with his hands, and it was therefore not surprising for him to marry his passion for music with his agile abilities in the art of making instruments. In 2006, John began studying violin-making and repair with Joe Regh, repairing many violins, violas, cellos, and basses during his apprenticeship.
After visiting Istanbul that same year, John purchased his first oud. This instrument would change the direction of his life. He found that playing the oud didn’t cause him pain and in fact, even felt natural. He decided to search for a teacher and pursue the oud seriously. He found just such a teacher in Najib Shaheen and so began his journey with the Arabic oud. John also studied with Simon Shaheen, Bassam Saba. John moved to Lebanon, where he studied Arabic music with Charbel Rouhana and Ghada Shbeir at the Université Saint-Esprit De Kaslik.
Upon his return to NY, John began work on his first oud. Since then, John has dedicated his life to Arabic music, both through its performance and the making of one of its signature instruments. John also makes and repairs a variety of musical instruments, Western and Eastern.
Today, John's luthiery is focused on Classical and Flamenco guitars and the oud. His main inspiration and motivation is the Spanish classical guitar design which Antonio De Torres established. To further refine on this pattern, John focuses on the balance of acoustics and materials using intuition and years of developed skills so that each instrument contains rich sophisticated tone while enjoying a long life.
The biography of John Vergara in Arabic is now available on Wikipedia:
News Articles on John Vergara in English and Arabic
Philipstown Paper:
"Stringed instrument repair and woodworking cooperative share premises"
"Stringed instrument repair and woodworking cooperative share premises"
Lebanese News Article in Arabic:
"عُود على غيتار.. بورتوريكي"
"عُود على غيتار.. بورتوريكي"