John Paul was born and bred on the Boogie and Blues. Hearing Jerry Lee Lewis for the first time was all it took for him to know his life would be dedicated to music. His influences have since expanded to include greats such as Oscar Peterson, Pete Johnson, James P. Johnson and other Boogie and Stride pianists. He is a one man band who can hold his own singing and playing harmonica to complement his energetic and soulful style.
He has hosted concerts at Schmitt Music Bloomington, performed for the Lake Superior Ragtime Society, and was a performer in the Weekly Performance Series at the MSP airport.
You will find him now teaching 30 students a week, (several of whom are active performers themselves) accompanying the Waconia Middle School
choir, singing in his Church choir, and perfecting and recording his own renditions of Ragtime and Blues.
No stranger to adversity, John Paul battled career threatening injuries involving carpal tunnel and tendonitis from 2015-2020. He has grown stronger and wiser from these struggles and is mounting his performing comeback as one more durable and determined than ever.
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I have had the privilege of knowing John Paul Donahue II for 7+ years. We first met when I encountered him playing piano in the Main Concourse of Terminal 1 at MSP. I was mesmerized by his talent and the quality of his playing, enough to take his contact information and make contact regarding taking me on as a student.
He is conscientious and professional. He currently teaches piano in multiple venues and juggles schedules between schools, individual pupils and commercial music teaching such as Schmidt Music. He has advanced music training and is competent playing classical piano, jazz, boogie, easy listening and ragtime. His repertory is essentially inexhaustible since he can improvise between the genres of music.
I would recommend him highly, as I have seen him perform in multiple other venues, including recitals, commercial retail establishments, KJ’s Hideaway and larger regional music performance gatherings such as the Duluth Ragtime Society.
I have to say, his boogie and blues improvisation talents are beyond anyone I know,
David W. Whiting, MD
