Ronald Ott,From Baghdad to Coastal Carolina

Common Chords By Randall Hill

Robert Ott

In the grand and quiet surroundings of a banquet room at Coastal Carolina University’s Wheelwright Auditorium, classical guitar student Ronald Ott opens up a humidicase to reveal his newly acquired Jose Ramirez guitar.

Tungsten colored light fills the room, which is illuminated by a large gold plated chandelier overhead.

Clad casually with black suede tennis shoes, Ott perches one foot on a folding guitar footrest. The angle allows for a perfect resting spot for his beloved guitar as he plays “Gavotta Choro” by renowned Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos.

The backdrop and instrument are in direct contrast to the surroundings that led the 27-year-old Surfside Beach resident to pursue his scholarly path.

“I was in Iraq and the guitar was what helped me to fall asleep,” says the senior music major as his hand, with its sharply trimmed nails, rests lightly against the strings of his instrument.

From March 2004 to March of 2005, Ott was in the Army, stationed in Baghdad. His unit was responsible for escorting supplies to troops in and around the turbulent capital. “At night when I was off-duty the guys would pick on me about the guitar.” He would often be found in his barracks, asleep in a gray folding chair with his unit’s donated guitar resting across his lap.

Ott attributes many things to his love of music. “When I was Young? Ozzy Osbourne,” he says with a laugh. “I loved the guitar solo from ‘I Just Want You’ from his ‘Ozzmosis’ album.”

“Then I got into blues guitar learning off of CD-ROMs. Later I learned rock. I always wanted to play ‘Freebird’ by Lynyrd Skynyrd. Jazz was next and then I found the classical guitar and I was hooked.”

But his time in Iraq was the final reason he decided to pursue music professionally. “While there I gave music lessons to some of my friends,” he says. “It gave me a sense of why I wanted to do something different with my life. It was fun.”

Listen to audio clips of Ronald Ott performing on his classical guitar:

Gavotta Choro by Heitor Villa-Lobos


The Warrior's Harp by Leo Brouwer


4th Lute Suite by J.S. Bach


posted by 
Randall Hill