John Kovac is a harpist and harpmaker in Front Royal, VA. He was captivated by the Paraguayan style harp while serving in the Peace Corps in Colombia. I found him after inquiries with other harpers, specifically from Sue Richards.

I learned from John how to construct simple harps. His design is based on Paraguayan features, but expressed in his own unique way. Based on his designs, I built several small harp kits and carried them to El Salvador in 1994.

John is a very devoted performer. He has made a practice of playing several times a week at local restaurants and other venues in the vicinity of Front Royal, VA. Since the mid-90’s, John and I have co-sponsored countless performance events with Latin American harpists. He traveled with me to Venezuela in 2006.

Among John’s well-established routines are annual trips to Guatemala, and regular attendance at Clifftop, the Appalachian String Band Music Festival, in late summer, in Clifftop, WV.

John shares my devotion to the Baquiano mission unlike any other “gringo” harpist that I know.