It鈥檚 been five years since Damian Goggans first picked up a guitar during a lesson with the at .
After less than a year of playing, Goggans became one of only two students accepted into the at .
The organization provides free instruction through senior year of high school for talented young Black and Latinx students.
鈥淲hen I first walked into the class, I didn't think I was going to even enjoy playing the guitar, let alone continue to play it and play it in high school and end up going to college for it,鈥� Goggans said. 鈥淚t's already been five years of playing and graduating from high school and from the Musical Pathways Fellowship, so a lot has happened.鈥�
Goggins graduated from high school at this past spring.
Now, he鈥檚 enrolled at the on a full scholarship.
He will also tour New York and Spain in summer 2022 with the .
Gaining new opportunities as a guitar player
Goggans鈥� journey from classical guitar novice to virtuoso began as a participant in an after-school program for inner-city students and has led to multiple opportunities to advance his music career.
Goggans and cellist Evan Rowland-Seymore were chosen as the first recipients of the Cleveland Institute of Music鈥檚 in 2017.
The program provided opportunities for young musicians to perform and participate in mentorships, private instructions, workshops and masterclasses.
Three years later, while Goggans was still in high school, he was among 14 students chosen from seven countries for the 2020 mentorship program.
He participated in virtual lessons with French guitarist and U.S. guitarist
On Nov. 13 of this year, Gifted Guitars, a new non-profit from California, flew to Cleveland to present Goggans with a free guitar.
The organization gifts professional-level instruments to young, talented players, and Goggans was chosen as their first recipient.
Goggans said he fell in love with the guitar the first time he played it in 2016, but it took some convincing for him to even get started.
鈥淪o, first off, I didn't even know what a classical guitar was,鈥� Goggans said. 鈥淎nd I definitely didn't want to play it. The Guitar Society had brought the program to my old middle school, and my arts director was like, 鈥榊ou know, you should do the program. It's after school, and it's classical guitar.鈥� And I said, 鈥榥o.鈥欌��
Worried that he would receive a lower grade in his middle-school arts class if he didn't sign up, Goggans decided to enroll in the after-school program.
He met with other students each week at the , where many picked up instruments for the very first time.
Erik Mann, director of the Classical Guitar Society, said during a that these opportunities to play instruments can be life-changing for young people.
"One-on-one lessons are expensive. Their schools don鈥檛 have any opportunities to teach them any instruments. It鈥檚 even unsafe or expensive for them to travel somewhere to take lessons," Mann said.
Cleveland Classical Guitar Society started the outreach program in 2016 after receiving a grant to provide lessons for students in the Clark Fulton neighborhood.
Mann said he had been working with kids in Cleveland-area schools since 2012 to help them create something special and make a difference in their lives.
Working with Goggans exceeded his expectations.
鈥淭his was sort of beyond our wildest dreams,鈥� Mann said. 鈥淲hen we started the program back in 2012, we would have never guessed that we'd have someone just as brilliant as Damian is.鈥�
Goggans quickly excelled beyond basic guitar lessons and began performing around Cleveland.
"It's like there's a connection between me and the audience, and I really like that aspect of performing."Damian Goggans
From the first lesson to composing his own music
Cleveland-area composer Rob Thorndike instructed Goggans and other children enrolled in the after-school guitar program.
The first lessons taught the young players the basics of guitar.
They learned rhythm by tapping the instrument, counting together while plucking notes, then eventually putting a song together at the end of an hour-long lesson.
Goggans picked it up quickly and started staying up all night playing his guitar.
鈥淓ver since the first class, I just kind of fell in love with guitar. I would go home and, like, be up like in the middle of the night learning pieces,鈥� Goggans said.
Since his early days learning the instrument, Goggans said one of his biggest moments was performing the first piece he composed,
His mother was in the audience for the performance and had an emotional response to the song when she first heard it.
鈥�It was amazing,鈥� Goggans said. 鈥淟ike, I was probably the second year of playing, I think second or third year of playing. It was almost like I was connected into the universe, which was like a weird experience that I've only had a couple of times afterwards.鈥�
Goggans said the performance was particularly special to him because his mother had been in and out of jail and wasn鈥檛 able to attend most of his concerts.
鈥淪o for her to be able to make it to that one and be able to play the piece and be like, I wrote this for her, like, it was amazing,鈥� he said.
Goggans said one aspect of performing he loves most is connecting with the audience.
鈥淚f it's a good day and I've practiced good enough and I'm really prepared and I go out there and I perform, it's like there's a connection between me and the audience, and I really like that aspect of performing,鈥� Goggans said.
Getting a full ride to college
Goggans enrolled at Oberlin this fall to major in classical guitar on a full scholarship.
After auditioning with the college, he met with Mann and applied to several other schools.
鈥�I applied to like four other schools, and they all accepted me,鈥� Goggans said,
He said he told the other colleges that Oberlin offered him a full ride, and they offered him the same.
鈥淲e sat down and we went through the college applications, and we met on Zoom, many a late night trying to figure out financial aid and how to pay for this and how much things cost,鈥� Mann said. 鈥淎nd sweating over these decisions of, which of these five great schools that he got into that are fighting over him should he choose?鈥�
Goggans said his mom told him to choose between one and 100 to decide which school he wanted to enroll in.
鈥淚 don't recommend this for any high school student looking for college,鈥� Goggans said. 鈥淚t was like the day before we were supposed to pick the college. I had a lot of great choices."
Oberlin鈥檚 Classical Guitar area of study offers students coaching and mentorship from professional musicians to help them hone their skills and find their voice as artists.
Goggans continues his relationship with Mann, who was one of his first mentors in the world of music.
鈥�I see him more as like a father figure who just so happens to teach guitar,鈥� Goggans said. 鈥淗e's been there for me for so many different moments in my life.鈥�
Goggans said Mann has been there for him through family struggles and calls him 鈥渢he greatest person I know.鈥�
鈥淒amian is just such a special, humble and inspiring person,鈥� Mann said. 鈥淚 think some of my proudest moments have been when Damian's come in for a lesson and something really awful has happened. And the first thing he says is, 鈥楬ow are you today?鈥欌��
Mann said Goggan鈥檚 concern is always for someone else, even when he is facing his own personal challenges.
鈥淪o as much as he's achieved on the guitar and inspiring others, I think it's those moments that just speak to who he is as a person that makes me the proudest,鈥� Mann said.
Becoming an advocate as a Black musician in the classical field
Goggans said he wants to use his music skills and experiences to give back to others.
鈥�Going back to the idea of me being able to use music to help others鈥攕o whether it be teaching, or whether it be playing a piece of writing, a piece about some type of injustice in the world,鈥� Goggans said.
He played the piece 鈥淏eyond Ferguson鈥� by as part of a quartet with the Cleveland Classical Guitar Society.
They filmed a , which premiered for the Guitar Foundation for America.
鈥淚t was right after George Floyd had been murdered. So it was a very profound piece, to say the least,鈥� he said.
Goggans said another important piece he performed was called about a Black soldier returning home from war and moving his family into a white neighborhood.
鈥淏ut they didn't want him,鈥� Goggans said. 鈥淎nd so we had to do that piece, and it allowed me, and the other students that was in the guitar quartet, to use our music as like a weapon against injustice.鈥�
He said music serves as a way for him to express himself when he鈥檚 upset鈥攊t鈥檚 a language everyone understands.
鈥淲hen I'm upset, I'm not good at [expressing myself]. When it comes to music, I can use that language instead,鈥� Goggans said.
When Goggans first learned guitar at the after-school program in Cleveland, he didn鈥檛 think much about diversity being a concern in classical music.
He has had a few experiences since where he recognized the perception of Black artists in the classical space.
One example is another musician asking Goggans if he knew how to play his instrument.
He was offended and wanted to tell the person they all had to audition to get where they were.
鈥淪o instead of like saying all of that to him, because that's what I was thinking in my head, I just played the piece that I wrote and left him shocked,鈥� Goggans said. 鈥淎nd I was like, 鈥榶es, so I do know how to play. Thank you.鈥� But I have had a couple of experiences where I realized that like, there isn't too many people that look like me in this field.鈥�
Goggans said he only knows of three or four professional Black classical guitarists, including Mallet, Flippin and Justin Holland.
鈥淸Holland] is from the 19th century. Do you see where that鈥檚 a problem? So I kind of feel like it's almost part of my job鈥攍ike once I get out of college鈥攊s to kind of help give more people that look like me the opportunities that I have,鈥� he said.
Mann said Goggans is one of the 鈥渕ost extraordinary people鈥� he鈥檚 ever met.
鈥淵ou know, if I had to choose a young person that I wanted to see as president someday, I think I'd probably pick him,鈥� Mann said.
What鈥檚 next for the young guitarist
Goggans started a to help get him to Spain with the in 2022.
He surpassed his initial goal of $3,500 and is now able to pay for his trip in full.
鈥淚 like to think that it was kind of chosen for me. Once I found a guitar, or once guitar found me, I should say, I knew it was what I was supposed to do.鈥�Damian Goggans
鈥淚 didn't expect the guitar to take me to even bring me to graduation, like I didn't expect to still be playing guitar during graduation. I didn't expect to be going to go to college for guitar in general, and I definitely did not see guitar taking me outside of the country,鈥� he said.
Goggans said while driving around recently, he saw several abandoned buildings and felt inspired to someday open a classical guitar college on that street.
鈥淚 think I would want to do something like that. In the case that that is like a stretch and I don't get it, then I would like to just teach and perform,鈥� Goggans said.
Classical guitar has opened new doors for Goggans since he first picked up the instrument at age 14, and he plans to stick with it.
鈥淚 like to think that it was kind of chosen for me,鈥� Goggans said. 鈥淥nce I found a guitar, or once guitar found me, I should say, I knew it was what I was supposed to do.鈥�
