Denison University in Granville, Ohio (30 miles East of Columbus) is a private, residential liberal arts and sciences college, which has consistently ranked within the top 60 Best Colleges ranking by U.S. News and World Report for the last several years. Denison University has now become the newest college to offer a bluegrass program.
The music department just approved a new “music major concentration in bluegrass” at a meeting last week. Currently the program consists only of a bluegrass ensemble class, but current students are hopeful the school will offer more classes in the next academic year, including classes that “might pertain to traditional American music including bluegrass, folk and country, as well as the culture of bluegrass.”
“Music indigenous to the country is being recognized by academia, and I’m excited that Denison will be at the forefront of this,” said Andy Carlson, co-director of the bluegrass program, at Friday night’s Infamous Stringsdusters concert in Swasey. Denison will be one of only three schools in the nation to offer a certified bluegrass program. “I foresee this being a trend across the board like jazz in the 1970s,” Carlson said.
The two professors co-directing the program, Andy Carlson and Casey Cook, have also spearheaded the university’s bluegrass festival for the last 6 years.
This is more good news for bluegrass on the academic front.
