Jack Dwyer

Mandolin

jdwyer@lclark.edu
www.jackdwyer.com

  Jack Dwyer is a multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, writer and teacher based in Portland. 

    Before he entered his teens, Jack Dwyer was working professionally in various bands at venues in New York City and the Hudson River Valley, which proved an ideal location for Jack to study and occasionally perform with many renowned bluegrass and jazz musicians.  He began attending college at fourteen when he was offered a scholarship to study at Bard College, where he undertook the fundamentals of classical and jazz music theory and was exposed to many different forms of music making by international folk and avant-garde jazz artists alike. 

Jack’s education continued, in the classroom and on the bandstand, as he attended college courses and performed weekly throughout his teens.  In addition to his other projects, he led members of his family in The Dwyer Family Band, which performed over a thousand shows together across an eight-year period.  Gradually, his academic focus shifted from music to English and film studies, and later to poetry and songwriting.  In December ‘08 he earned a B.A. from the University of Washington’s Creative Writing program. 

In 2009 Jack relocated to the Portland area, drawn by tales of the city’s large community of musicians, artists, and writers—and indeed, Jack has enjoyed many opportunities to perform new music with new friends.  Here he has focused on developing his skills as a composer and songwriter, and on renewing his commitment to the mandolin.  He is currently making preparations to begin graduate study in music.