The East Tennessean, the student paper for East Tennessee State University, is reporting that the Bluegrass, Old Time & Country Music program at the school is hoping to expand from a minor in the Appalachian Studies department to a four year Bachelor of Arts degree.

There are still a few more steps in the accreditation process before the Bachelors Degree can begin, but a Spring 2010 announcement is their current goal. The school has offered a minor in Bluegrass, Old Time & Country Music since 2006, with a total of 72 students declared since that time.

I spoke earlier today with Raymond McLain, Director of the BOTCM at ETSU, and he was understandably excited about this possibility.

“Last week we presented our proposal to the ETSU Academic Council – which includes the Deans of the various schools, the Provost, Vice Presidents, and members of the curriculum committee – and received their unanimous approval. We feel tremendous support for our program here at the University, from the President down to the students themselves.”

McLain tells us that the proposal for a 4 year bluegrass program must pass muster with the Tennessee Board of Regents at their next meeting, and then be presented to the Tennessee Higher Education Commission for their approval before the Bachelors degree can be offered.

If approved, it will be offered within the ETSU Center For Appalachian Studies & Services, and will be known as a Bachelor Of Arts in Bluegrass, Old Time & Country Music.

The course requirements would jump from the current 21 hours to 45 for the four year degree, which will include the core didactic, skills and ensemble music credits plus general education courses in the sciences, humanities and language. Students take 4 semesters of music theory as they might in a conservatory setting, but McLain says that the lessons are geared towards the musical styles the program covers.

“Traditional music schools study European music – and maybe some jazz and band music – and you study theory and harmony in a particular way that relates to that type of music. Our students learn theory and technique as it applies to bluegrass, old time and country music. We study some standard notation, but also the Nashville number system. They study songwriting, harmony singing and instrumental technique as they apply to these musical styles.

I believe it is an effective program. When I first got here there were about 100 students enrolled – now we have between 400-500. For the past 3 years now, one of Ed Snodderly’s students has won the Merlefest songwriting competition.” (more…)

Back in the fall of 2007 we told you about the Appalachian Music: Roots and Influences concentration being offered at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC. At the time we reported that former Joe Val and the New England Bluegrass Boys’ guitarist/lead singer, Dave Haney, was heading up the program. We also reported that he had tapped Scruggs style banjoist Eric Ellis as the program’s first Artist in residence.

Now, we’re pleased to bring you the news that the Haney has received a $7,250 grant from the North Carolina Arts Council, for the purpose of recording a CD to preserve the contributions Eric Ellis has made to bluegrass music.

The university’s new service is reporting:

In addition to Ellis’ banjo playing and baritone vocal harmony, participating musicians on the CD will include David Johnson (fiddle), David Haney (guitar), Nick Chandler (mandolin), Billy Gee (bass), Bobby Hicks (fiddle), and possibly Tony Rice (guitar).

This sounds like a project we’ll want to hear!

The Berklee College of Music in Boston holds intensive crash courses each summer, both for incoming or potential students to get a taste of the Berklee experience, and to allow non-matriculated students to benefit from the school’s storied faculty.

For several years they have held a String Fling each year for students of violin, viola and cello, primarily focused on developing improvisational skills in multiple stylistic disciplines.

The program will be held again this year (July 18-21,2009), but renamed as the Acoustic String Festival in recognition of Berklee’s recent inclusion of an Acoustic String principal for mandolin and banjo.

From the Berklee web site…

The program will build on the core curriculum of past String Fling programs, teaching improvisation to violin, viola, and cello players, but expanding that teaching to admit other instruments traditionally found in a bluegrass band such as acoustic mandolin and guitar. Players will have the opportunity to study with and be coached by world-renowned mandolinist John McGann, and be trained in musical elements necessary to perform at a high level in a wide range of roots music styles.

The faculty will include:

• Eugene Friesen – cellist with the Paul Winter Consort and one of the world’s greatest improvising cellists.
• Matt Glaser – chair of Berklee’s String Department, author of four books on contemporary string styles, and well-known teacher and performer.
• Chris Howes – versatile violinist/composer who has performed and/or recorded with Randy Brecker, Jack DeJohnette, Les Paul, Lenny White, and others.
• John McGann – mandolinist and member of the Wayfaring Strangers, Rust Farm, and Boston Edge. He has performed with Darol Anger, Yoshihiro Arita, John Blake, the Boston Pops, Celtic Fiddle Festival, Seamus Connolly, Paddy Cronin, S?ɬ©amus Egan, Bill Evans, Bruce Gertz, David Grisman, Martin Hayes, the Time Jumpers, Utah Symphony, and Stefan Wrembel.
• Rob Thomas – fantastic modern jazz violinist and bassist who has performed with the String Trio of New York and the Mahavishnu Project, among others.

The program is open to students high school age and above, and limited space in Berklee’s residence hall is available during this session. Tuition runs $760 for the four day event, with housing costs another $420 if needed.

More information and application details can be found on the Berklee web site.

Young mandolinist Joe Walsh has found himself mentioned several times of late on The Bluegrass Blog.

We posted a report in May 2006 when Joe was still a student at the Berklee College Of Music, and performed with other Berklee bluegrassers at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. When he joined up as a member of The Gibson Brothers this past November, we covered that as well.

In the meantime, Walsh has released his debut solo CD, Saturday Night Waltz, which showcases his mandolin playing and his skills as a composer and arranger. Joe has been a prominent picker in the Boston area, and throughout New England since he moved there from Minnesota to study, and it is from this pool of musicians that he draws his accompanists.

Not all of the names will be immediately familiar, but these are very talented young musicians who stand leave a mark on bluegrass and progressive string music before they are finished with them.

Joe shared some thoughts with us recently about Saturday Night Waltz, the songs and tunes included, and the people who performed on it with him.

“When I set out to make the record, I of course wanted to try and find material that wasn’t all worn out and overly familiar.  Obviously original tunes take care of that, and I tried to tried to write as many tunes as possible prior to starting that project.  A lot of them just didn’t seem to fit the scope of the project when it came together: as a whole it’s not a strictly bluegrass’ record, but it didn’t seem right to be tossing in tunes that at weren’t at least peripherally related to bluegrass.

Filling in the gaps with some of the other tunes was one of the funnest things about the whole project. Boston (and New England in general) is home to an amazing collection of acoustic musicians and singers, and in choosing tunes and songs like The Good Part, I’ll Go On Downtown, and Fall and I’m Not Falling, I got to share what I liked most about some of my friends writing, playing and singing. These were the folks that I worked with on any number of gigs, and these tunes were the ones I’d always try to get on the set list.  It’s a pleasure getting to share them. (more…)