We received a note from Joe Carr, Associate Professor of Music at South Plains College in Levelland, TX, with notification that they are again looking for an instructor to serve as five string banjo instructor, the position held for many years by Alan Munde.

Here is the official notice from the college:

South Plains College is accepting applications for the position of 5 String Banjo instructor/bluegrass specialist. The position involves directing bluegrass music ensembles, producing the televised monthly music program "Picking on the Plains," teaching a bluegrass history overview course and private lessons on 5 string banjo and guitar. The successful candidate should have a national profile in bluegrass music, familiarity with all the bluegrass instruments and professional skills on one instrument in addition to banjo.  College degree preferred. Contact: Office of Human Relations, South Plains College 1401 College Ave. Levelland, TX 79336, (806) 894-9611 extension 2177.

South Plains offers a two year Associate of Art degree, and a one year certificate course focusing on bluegrass music within their Commercial Music program. Concentrations available within this program are Commercial Music, Sound Technology, Music Business and Live Sound.

Rebel Records has announced the signing of Colorado’s Spring Creek, which they note marks the first time the Virginia label has contracted with a band based west of the Mississippi.

It may also mark the first time a new band hits the national scene composed entirely of players who studied bluegrass music at South Plains College under the tutelage of Alan Munde and Joe Carr.

Spring Creek is made up of Jessica Smith on bass, Chris Elliott on banjo, Alex Johnstone on mandolin and fiddle, and Tyalor Sims on guitar. All four members contribute vocally, trading off on lead and harmony. They write much of the material they record and perform, and feature a good bit of duet singing.

The band will be at IBMA at the end of this month performing on a variety of showcase stages, and will be in the studio later this fall getting started on their debut CD for Rebel. A Spring 2009 release is anticipated.

You can hear hear audio samples from current releases on the band’s web site or MySpace page.

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…)

The Lubbock Avalanche Journal ran a nice feature last week about Camp Bluegrass, the annual week-long bluegrass immersion workshop hosted by nearby South Plains College in Levelland, TX. The camp ran from July 22-27, and the piece in the Avalanche Journal was published last Thursday.

The paper’s web site, Lubbockonline.com, has also put together a nice multimedia slide show, featuring audio from the workshops along with still images. It runs for about a minute and a half.

New this year was a special focus on bringing young students into Camp Bluegrass, and judging from some of the images, it looks like the move was successful.