WOSU Public Media in Columbus, OH ran a piece yesterday about the bluegrass ensemble at Denison University in Granville, OH.

Andy Carlson, the chair of the music department at Denison, began the bluegrass ensemble in 2000. Carlson is a classically trained violinist who inherited a love of fiddle music from his grandfather.

Carlson discusses the social aspects of bluegrass music compared to classical. The lack of music stands, and the interaction between musicians generates close friendships among the bluegrass students. One of the students attributes it to the extra, non-class, practice that is required to work the material up. She says they have cookouts and hang out with each other even after the final concerts are over, just because they enjoy playing music together.

The story is online both in text and mp3 formats. The mp3 is only a couple minutes long, but you get a chance to hear the ensemble performing various tunes in the background while the interviews are conducted.

Last week, Brance had a wonderful story about Joel Sidney, a recent University of California at Berkeley graduate, whose honors thesis was entitled Innovation and Tradition in Bay Area Bluegrass: Historical Review and Analysis of Distinctive Regional Features.

Here’s another encouraging story about bluegrass on the college campus, this time at UCLA.

Thomas Stanton is a young banjo player, also looking at a June 2008 graduation. He has put together a group, the Bluegrass & Old-Time String Band Ensemble, as an official student band in the Ethnomusicology department where he is pursuing his degree. Stanton has been directing, arranging material, and teaching the group’s members throughout the year as an unofficial senior project, with the blessing of the department.

“The group was just started this school year, in September 2007. I basically reestablished an ensemble in the department because I really wanted to play bluegrass and effectively make use of my talents and knowledge in my senior year as an undergraduate in the Ethnomusicology department at UCLA.

I’ve been very lucky to find all of the musicians that are currently involved in the group: none of them have really played bluegrass before, and a few of them are particularly extraordinary musicians who naturally fit in the setting and are picking up the music and its feel very quickly. I still can’t believe that I was able to create this opportunity to play bluegrass at the University (I would have never thought it possible in my freshmen year), but it’s thanks to the support of my mentor in the department, Professor Anthony Seeger.”

With graduation looming, Thomas will perform in a free concert with the group on the UCLA campus on Thursday, May 29th at 7 PM in Schoenberg Hall.

More details about the group and the concert, including video clips, can be found on their web site.

Here’s a cool story that demonstrates a bluegrass, can-do attitude.

Joel Sidney graduated yesterday from the University of California at Berkeley. Joel’s story is unique though. His grade-point average was almost perfect, his degree in American Studies, the subject of his honors thesis was bluegrass music in the Bay Area, and he’s done it all while dealing with autism.

The official title of his thesis paper is as follows.

Innovation and Tradition in Bay Area Bluegrass: Historical Review and Analysis of Distinctive Regional Features

Joel went the extra step and actually produced a 20 track CD to accompany the paper, including compositions by Laurie Lewis, David Grisman, Sandy Rothman and Rich Wilbur.

So how did this young man come to have such a fervent interest in bluegrass music? He tells his own story.

My fanatical interest in bluegrass began when I was 9 years old. In 1991, my obsession was initially sparked during a concert at the Freight & Salvage Coffee House in Berkeley. … We sat in the front row and I still recall that the band members appeared immense and seemed to be performing right in front of me for my own benefit.

It didn’t stop there. Joel had been bitten by the bluegrass bug. At age 13, he took his bar mitzvah money, and instead of spending it on video games or any of the normal things a 13 year old might be interested in, he went down to the Freight & Salvage Coffee House and purchased a lifetime membership so he wouldn’t miss a show.

Parents present their graduates with all sorts of various gifts to celebrate the completion of their studies. Joel’s parents are considering rewarding this young man with a vacation trip to the Southeastern US so he can immerse himself in bluegrass music for a while.

If you have a minute, click here to read the complete story. If you should see Joel at a bluegrass festival, be sure to congratulate him and thank him for his scholarly presentation of bluegrass music.

Our friend Dave Hollender gave us a nice report last month after Chris Thile and Punch Brothers offered a clinic at the Berklee College of Music in Boston on April 7. Dave shared some photos and a nice run down of the event.

This morning (5/5), Berklee has posted a brief account of the clinic on the news section of their web site. The story by Danielle Dreilinger (Berklee’s Office of Communications) is entitled Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes and can be read online.

Dreilinger includes a few additional photos from the clinic, plus a number of brief excerpts from the band’s interaction with the students.

Though the songs were sad, the band seemed relaxed, joking about playing so early in the morning. (The clinic started at 2:00 p.m.) Pikelny asked for the Cubs score; Thile snagged a bottle of water from an audience member.

The attitude spilled over. One fan called out, “How do you get your hair so pretty? Is that just bed head?”

As Thile started to explain, Pikelny interrupted: “You just assume that he’s asking you.”

“How do you get your hair so pretty?” Thile countered.

Pikelny folded his hands. “It’s a gift,” he said.

Was the same true of the band’s spectacularly nimble playing? Pikelny’s fingers barely seemed to move. Still, when an audience member asked about picking technique, the band members self-deprecatingly presented themselves as works in progress.

“I can’t get good tone and play fast, which is something I’m working on,” Eldridge said. “Pick angle is important and so is staying loose, but I can only do it at slow speeds for a bluegrass guy.”

Pikelny warned against letting one-upmanship damage technique. When musicians start trying to outdo each other, “you’re just going to be overplaying.”

Read the full article at berklee.edu.

This post is a contribution from David Hollender, Professor at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. Dave has been a member of the ensemble department for several years, and teaching upright bass. He also teaches banjo for students following the Acoustic String Principal, where banjo, mandolin, acoustic guitar or fiddle players can pursue a degree at Berklee.

He writes following up on our earlier post on Spring Break in Nashville.

I just returned home from Nashville on a trip that takes place each year during spring break. Berklee Professors Pat Pattison and Stephen Webber led 125 students for six days and over two dozen sessions and events that featured top names representing every aspect of the music business - performers, studio musicians, songwriters, producers, engineers, record company executives, publishers, managers, song pluggers, you name it. By the end of the week those on the trip had received the benefit of decades of experience that will prepare many of them for a move to Nashville after graduation.

Bluegrass is just one part of the trip, however the presentation of an honorary doctorate to Ricky Skaggs Tuesday night was definitely a highlight of the week for everybody. In previous years Ricky has welcomed Berklee students to his recording studio, and now he joins a list of illustrious musicians who have received an honorary degree. The students attended the Tuesday night Grand Ole Opry where they heard, among other, The Whites and Del McCoury Band.

They were given a backstage tour during the show to watch players warming up in their dressing rooms, see television and radio production facillties, and watch part of the Opry from the wings of the stage. The last band of the evening was Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder, who played four tunes before the ceremony. After a brief video in which President Roger Brown described the Acoustic String Principal at Berklee, the presentation was made by Lawrence J. Simpson, Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, along with Trustee Jeff Davis, Pattison and Webber.

Following the ceremony Ricky, still wearing the robe, grabbed his mandolin and closed out the Opry show by playing Bluegrass Breakdown. After the Opry ended the students were treated to a two hour private session with Ricky and the band in the Opry television studio. There the band played and students got to come to the mic to ask questions of Ricky and the other players. Some of these students are involved in playing bluegrass at Berklee and some who were really hearing the music live for the first time. What was most striking was the pleasure the Ricky and the band took in spending time with everyone and how well they connected with the students. Plans are currently in the works to schedule a visit by the band to Berklee where they will give clinics, work with student players and bands and perform.

Other sessions and excursions of interest to bluegrass enthusiasts took place during the visit too. Everyone headed to the Station Inn on Sunday night for the jam. On Tuesday afternoon Grammy-nominated Berklee graduate Casey Dreissen, Grammy-nominated engineer Jason Lehning (Alison Krauss, Jerry Douglas, Viktor Krauss, Dreissen) and bassist Viktor Krauss spent two hours sharing insights with students in a panel discussion held at Warner Brothers Records. Other sessions were less about bluegrass but still were very interesting, inspiring and educational. (more…)

James Montgomery discovered bluegrass music at age 9 in his native North Carolina. He was suffering from polio and spent a lot of time listening to the radio. Now, 68 years later, and retired in Austin, TX, Montgomery recently donated $500,000 dollars to Mars Hill College in North Carolina.

The school has an Appalachian Studies program that includes the studio of regional music, including bluegrass and old-time music. In addition to the money, Montgomery also plans to donate his collection of 1,500 records and CDs to the school for use as reference material.

I just want to keep this music alive, and if I can do it through academics, so much the better.

The financial donation will be used to fund two annual scholarships for students studying the culture of the Appalachian region.

Statesman.com has the full story.

Students at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC have been learning a lot about bluegrass recently.

In the fall of 2006 the university began offering a concentration in Appalachian Music: Roots and Influences from the College of Arts and Sciences for the Center for Appalachian Studies for those students seeking an M.A. degree in Appalachian Studies. They also made many of the same classes available in the form of an undergraduate minor.

The curriculum includes a three credit hour class entitled Bluegrass Traditions. They describe the class as follows.

The genesis of bluegrass music from its beginnings to its major redefinition in the mid-1970s.

Who better to teach such a class than Dave Haney. Haney is the vice provost for undergraduate education and a professor of English at the university. More importantly though, he is a former guitarist and lead singer with Joe Val and the New England Bluegrass Boys.

Haney says he uses such things as bluegrass recordings, videos, discussion, readings, and live demonstrations to help his students “understand the musical and cultural influences of early bluegrass music and the styles of specific performers.”

When presenting a live demonstration, he often calls on area musicians for help. One of the musicians he’s tapped as a resource is Eric Ellis. Ellis is known as a Scruggs-style banjo player.

He is ideally suited for this. He’s the real thing. He is an incredible banjo player who can demonstrate any bluegrass banjo style there is, and he also has an encyclopedic knowledge of bluegrass history.

Ellis has become such an indispensable part of the class, that the school has recently brought him on board as it’s first artist-in-residence in the Appalachian Studies program. The residency is supported by the Doc Watson Endowment in Appalachian Music.

What a great way for bluegrass music to reach a new generation.

We heard yesterday from David Hollender, banjo player and professor at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. Dave has been teaching bass and leading ensembles there for many years, and now also teaches banjo for students following the Acoustic String Principal. This is a relatively new program - spearheaded by Hollender, string chair Matt Glaser and associate professor (and mandolinist) August Watters - that enables banjo, mandolin, acoustic guitar or fiddle players to pursue a degree at Berklee.

Dave told us about a group from Berklee that traveled to Helsinki, Finland last week to give students at the Pop & Jazz Conservatory a taste of bluegrass music. The Conservatory, which is a participant in the Berklee International Network (BIN) of schools, invited the group as part of their Close Encounters concert series. They had specifically requested a bluegrass band from Berklee this year, and Hollender said that the school was was more than willing to accommodate their request.

The band mixed faculty and students from Berklee, including faculty members Hollender (banjo) and John McGann (guitar, mandolin and vocals), joined by two students, Nate Leath (fiddle and vocals) and Eric Robertson (mandolin, guitar and vocals), plus Finnish bass student Eero Tikkanen.

As we mentioned, Dave teaches banjo and bass at Berklee, while John teaches mandolin and guitar. The two also lead various student ensembles that play everything from bluegrass to Celtic, mainstream jazz and Gypsy jazz.

Hollender shared a few words about the students who were involved.

“Nate Leath comes from North Carolina is about to graduate from Berklee. One of the most adventurous and versatile fiddlers anywhere, Nate is a member of Old School Freight Train, has toured with Dave Grisman, and is a repeat winner at Galax Old Fiddler’s Convention.

Eric Robertson comes from Greensboro, NC and is a first semester mandolin student at Berklee. He has solid roots in bluegrass, great chops and it’s hard to believe that he’s only been playing for four years. Watch out for this guy!” (more…)

Over the next few months, while college choices for rising high school seniors are forefront in the minds of many students and parents, we will present a series of interviews on The Bluegrass Blog with administrators/faculty members at colleges and universities where young bluegrass or acoustic musicians might want to study.

You can read all the posts in this series here.

Today, we visit with Joe Carr, Assistant Professor of Music at South Plains College in Levelland, TX. Before landing at the college, Joe worked professionally as a bluegrass musician, playing mandolin in the band, Roanoke, and then guitar for many years with Country Gazette.

The program in which he is involved at South Plains is Commercial Music, which offers a two year Associate of Art degree, and a one year certificate course. Four areas of concentration are available for students: Commercial Music, Sound Technology, Music Business and Live Sound.

While enrolled in their Commercial Music program, a student must study a primary and secondary instrument, and all bluegrass instruments are included, with experienced, professional instructors on staff. Bluegrass ensembles are available, and all commercial music students will study in a variety areas that will prepare them to pursue a career in music, with country, pop and bluegrass being the primary concentrations.

I asked Joe if most of their students continued into a four year degree program.

Commercial Music students can transfer to 4 year programs. We work with these students closely to insure maximum transferability of coursework. Some students choose to complete academic degrees here and take music classes in addition to those classes. Of course, some just enter the market after completing our degree.

Joe said that most graduates who went into the business worked as sidemen musicians and singers, in the music business, or live and recorded sound. When I prompted him for some South Plains success stories, he had quite an impressive list ready.

The most well known would be country singer Lee Ann Womack and Natalie Maines of Dixie Chicks fame. Brance Gillihan [of The Bluegrass Blog!] is a recording engineer, studio owner and videographer. He took both music and sound tech courses, as did David Carney who is the stage manager with country singer Keith Urban. Dan Bletz with the Biscuit Burners is a former student as is Kym Warner of the Greencards. The Colorado based Spring Creek Band attended here. There are many others in the country and pop music fields as musicians and technicians. (more…)

Over the next few months, while college choices for rising high school seniors are forefront in the minds of many students and parents, we will present a series of interviews on The Bluegrass Blog with administrators/faculty members at colleges and universities where young bluegrass or acoustic musicians might want to study.

You can read all the posts in this series here.

First up is Roger H. Brown, President of the Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA. Brown brings an appreciation for a wide variety of musical styles - including bluegrass and traditional folk music - to his job running one of the most prestigious music schools in the world. He also recently approved the inclusion of both five string banjo and mandolin as principal instruments for study at Berklee.

Like many schools that mix a serious study of music with related disciplines (education, music technology, music business, performance, composition), Berklee requires that every student declare a principal instrument on which they must study for a minimum of two years, regardless of their major.

I asked Roger if the traditional string principal (banjo/mandolin) appealed to him immediately when it was presented.

Absolutely. We already had the foundations of a great string department with Matt Glaser as Chair, himself a highly regarded fiddler and connected to the Mark O’Connor, Bela Fleck axis of hot string players. Cellist Eugene Friesen on the faculty made his mark with the Paul Winter Consort. John McGann is a national flatpicking champion and excellent mandolin player. Dave Hollender had a robust bluegrass ensemble in operation. In addition, we had alumni like Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings writing and performing very successfully, Casey Driessen was touring with Bela Fleck, and Andy Hall and Chris Pandolfi had come together on dobro and banjo with the Infamous Stringdusters. Cellist Rushad Eggleston [Crooked Still] was, to the best of my knowledge, the first at Berklee to be nominated for a Grammy while still a student. The groundwork was absolutely all laid. I just needed to sprinkle some holy water on the initiative. So, what we implemented was an acoustic string principle, adding banjo and mandolin to the existing programs for guitar and violin.

Roger did not study music in college, but entered the business as a self-taught drummer playing blues and funk music. He said that he dropped out of high school band in favor of football.

I wondered how a funk drummer came to be interested in bluegrass.

I love the banjo. My ears always perk up whenever I hear one. I never learned to play, but if I were to live my life over, maybe….

When I visited him in his office earlier this year, Roger spoke of how he became passionate about bluegrass and old time music, and he showed me one of his prized possessions on display.

My great grandfather was a minister and fiddler who lived in the North Carolina mountains near Valle Crucis. I have his fiddle with homemade replacement parts sitting in my office. In high school, we would drive to the Georgia mountains near my hometown and go to dances where bluegrass and traditional Appalachian music was the music of choice.

Roger answered a few more questions about the traditional string principal at Berklee. (more…)