The first class isn’t expected to be enrolled until the fall of 2007, but planning, curriculum development and staff and faculty hiring are already underway for a new two year bluegrass music program to be offered at the Hazard Community and Technical College in Hyden KY. It is not an accident that this particular campus was chosen to house the new Bluegrass and Traditional Music Program, as Hyden is known to the founders of this program as the home of bluegrass legends, The Osborne Brothers.

The Mission Statement for the new program states their vision and their purpose:

We are dedicated to the study, performance, preservation, promotion and advancement of heritage music based in the cultural traditions of Kentucky and the Appalachian mountains.

Completion of this two year course will culminate in an AAS Professional Studio Artist degree, and is designed to prepare students for transfer to a four year Fine Arts or Liberal Arts major, or to show employment qualifications in music performance, recording, technology or business with a specialization in traditional music forms.

The HCTC web site doesn’t seem to have much information up at this time, but you can contact Tim Glotzbach, Dean of Heritage/Humanities at 606-487-3407, or reach Evelyn Wood, Public Relations Director at HCTC by email for more details.