The Kentucky Center for Traditional Music at Morehead State University is hard at work preparing their students for the Sounds of our Heritage Semester Finale Concert. It will be held May 1 on campus at the Morehead Conference Center at 7:00 p.m., and admission is free.
The Center offers a degree that allows students to focus on various types of traditional folk music, including bluegrass, old time, Celtic, country, blues, western swing, and more. The program is directed by Raymond McLain, and offers students the opportunity to hone their performances skills, both vocal and instrumental, in a number of ensembles.
A degree in Traditional Music is offered, or students can choose to minor in the subject combined with some other course of study. The department is housed within the Morehead school of Music, Theatre and Dance. Graduates will have taken four sections of Traditional Music History, four of Music Theory as it applies to traditional music, plus courses in recording arts, private lessons, and ensembles.
At the concert, these student bands will perform the material they have been working on this semester. On stage that evening will be several bluegrass and country ensembles, an introductory band, and old time band, and two sections of the Mountain Music Ambassadors, the school’s top performance group.
If you are in northern Kentucky, or can make a drive to Morehead, why not stop in, support these student grassers, and enjoy a free concert on May 1.
When Sarah Wood stepped up to the microphone in Qingdao, China and sang, In A Far Away Place, the resounding carol of the audience was reminiscent of the response she receives from a poignant love ballad back home in Kentucky – in part because of the lilting virtuosity in Wood’s voice, but also because she was singing it in Chinese. She was traveling as part of the Mountain Music Ambassadors from The Kentucky Center for Traditional Music at Morehead State University on a concert tour – one of five tours to The Peoples Republic of China the Center has carried out over the past 7 years, with appearances in cities including Beijing, Tainjin, Guilin, Nanning, Yangshuo, Guangxi, Hangzhou, Lubang, and Qingdao.
The exhilarant and engaging program was thoughtfully crafted to employ the talents of this assembly of musicians with selections of bluegrass, old time, country and Americana music. The Mountain Music Ambassadors for this tour was comprised of current and former students from the Kentucky Center for Traditional Music, Andrew Preston, Austin Tackett, Melissa Caskey, and Matt Holleran, who tour regularly as The Woodsheep, instructor, Sarah Wood, and director of the Center, Raymond McLain.
In addition to representing an American Traditional Music repertoire, the group performed original compositions and six songs in Mandarin. Andrew Preston, who earned his Bachelor of Arts in Traditional Music from Morehead State University in 2016 remarked, “It was essential for us to represent the traditional music of our southern mountain region in the presence of an audience that may be unfamiliar with it, particularly with popular numbers like Rocky Top; and, we also wanted to represent the thriving growth of folk-inspired contemporary music in Appalachia by including original tunes, like those from our recent Woodsheep recording, Watching Mars. Perhaps most importantly to our goal, it was imperative for us to engage our audience and sing the material that was going to communicate and entertain – for example, singing familiar songs in the native languages of the audience. We’ve learned in our time at The Kentucky Center for Traditional Music and on the road that the enjoyment of our audience is the aim of our music.”
Pictured below are some performances the band gave in Jimo City, a cultural hotbed for over 2,400 years, situated in the countryside city of Qingdao, population 9,000,000. The group was honored to bring traditional music from their southern mountain home in the United States to such an incredible center of Chinese heritage and international culture.
Across from the stage, situated adjacent to an ornate Chinese temple, the immense crowds each night gathered, attentive and enthusiastic. In addition to quality sound engineering and stage lighting, the Chinese technicians provided impressive, elaborate graphics on an LED screen behind the band, often syncing perfectly with the music and the ambiance of the night. A Chinese host communicated the set list and song descriptions to the eager audience in Mandarin. An adept singer in his own right, he sweetly serenaded members of the band, and after quickly befriending them, joined McLain for a duet of John Denver’s Country Roads during the final two nights of the tour. With audience interaction a key aspect of the band’s performances, a translator on site was quick to deftly interpret McLain’s English between songs. Moreover, Wood, Caskey, and Holleran led dances with children and members of the audience in a dance area by the stage to encourage audience participation. The Chinese are gracious hosts. Each day, the band felt more welcomed by the warmth of the crowd, the presenters and the sound crew.
A particularly memorable moment is caught in this photo, as a rain shower briefly stopped the show. Presenters quickly handed out a multitude of ponchos, and the band resumed with the entire crowd in raincoats.
The educational focus of The Kentucky Center for Traditional Music at Morehead State University is the traditional music of the southern mountain region of the United States. As Bill Monroe once said, “The sun never sets on Bluegrass Music.” The national and international reach of its influence through the touring, songwriting and recording of Morehead State Traditional Music students, graduates, and instructors provides a testament to the global appeal of music. The relationships forged and the songs sung on these international tours provide just some examples of the educational and interpersonal value in studying traditional music at the collegiate and professional level.
At the end of the tour, The Mountain Music Ambassadors found themselves in “a far away place,” and learned that a love of music reverberates as deeply in China as it does in the hills of Appalachia.
This story by Christina Hobert and Anna Nichols was originally published March 17, 2016 in The Trailblazer, the official student newspaper of Morehead State University in Kentucky. They have graciously consented to having it reprinted here. Thanks to Raymond McLain, Director of the Kentucky Center for Traditional Music for suggesting that our readers would enjoy this inspirational account.
Samantha Cunningham brought the house down and the audience to their feet Wednesday night with her scorching rendition of Fiddle Patch, though few knew of the emotional struggle and motivation it took to even learn the song.
The Kentucky Center for Traditional Music’s mid-semester concert should have been a casual affair. But Samantha made her performance a surprise tribute to her late mother, who had been her strongest supporter.
For Samantha, learning a fiddle tune had been fairly simple: listen to the song a couple of times, give it a couple of rehearsals and then play it. She would often go secretly off to learn the songs she knew her mother wanted to hear, then give a surprise recital with a tune such as Bluegrass in the Backwoods.
After her mother went in for a heart checkup last year, Samantha approached Raymond McLain about learning Fiddle Patch for her mother. McLain had never played the song before, but agreed to work with her. It would prove to be an emotional journey for both of them. They started a week before school ended in December 2015.
“I’ve done things like this before, but this time is a little more special,” Samantha said.
Lisa Cunningham passed away January 7, 2016, at the age of 53 while awaiting a heart transplant, before Samantha had the song down.
Samantha’s love for music and the fiddle started when Lisa enrolled her in music classes at 5 years old. Lisa wasn’t even sure Samantha would stick with it at an early age, but Samantha did and worked her way up to place in the top 20 at the Grandmaster’s Fiddle Competition in Nashville. She now hones her technique at the Morehead State’s Kentucky Center for Traditional Music under McLain.
“I’ve seen Samantha take on several challenges and always come through,” McLain said. “She’s able to make music even when it’s difficult for her to do it.”
One song her mother loved was Fiddle Patch by Dale Potter after having heard it played at a hot fiddle competition. Samantha never attempted to learn the song because of its difficult rhythmic values, fast movements and triple stops.
“Thirty minutes after she passed away I looked at my boyfriend, Gabe, and I told him ‘Now I have to finish this song,’” said Samantha. “So, if I got fed up after that, there wasn’t really a time where I said, you know, ‘I’m just going to quit it.’ I had to finish this song for my mom cause this one she wanted me to do and I never got to play it for her.”
Samantha already knew the main melody of Fiddle Patch because her mother had played it so many times. She needed McLain’s help to decipher the rest of the notes. To learn the song, McLain and Samantha would listen to the best recording they could find of Fiddle Patch on YouTube.
She said for every 20 seconds of the song, it took an average of 20 minutes to learn it. There was a lot of frustration while learning, but they both pushed through.
“I think this process, learning to play the tune, has been wonderful for Samantha because it is a way she can be close to her mother,” said McLain. “It meant a lot to her mother for her to play, and to play well.”
McLain spoke of Samantha’s drive. He has always recognized her technical ability, but said it takes more than just that. He said she has the mindset to keep working to perfection.
“You have to challenge yourself. If you don’t challenge yourself in life, or in anything that you do, it’ll get pretty boring,” said Samantha. “You could absolutely fail or you could sit there and say ‘Hey, I’m going to do something that no one else is really doing right now. I’m going to make myself something.’”
Samantha felt she had the song down by February 24 and the next step was a lot of “wood-shedding” to perfection. She rehearsed the song with the Mountain Music Ambassadors, her KCTM ensemble, in time to play it live as a tribute to her mother at the mid-semester show. She had kept the idea from her father, Mark, to surprise him.
Almost two months to the day of her mother’s passing, Samantha and the band took to the Rowan County Arts Center stage as the final performers and with no hesitation ripped into one of the most difficult tunes a fiddle player can attempt.
As her father in the front row realized what she was doing, she kept her eyes on her fingers as they danced though the first part. Where any fiddle player could have faltered, McLain stood close to encourage her with a smile and rhythm guitar.
As she neared the end of the tune, where a quick trill demanded her full attention, the crowd pitched in with their own encouragement with hoots and yells, then rose to their feet as the ensemble helped her bring it to a loud and sudden close. Samantha stood and absorbed the applause before her father came to the edge of the stage to hug her. McLain reflected on the months of emotional frustration to satisfy a daughter’s promise to her mother. “Going through this process has been inspiring to me to watch her do this for her momma,” he said.
The world of a professional musician is all too often not the glamorous and luxurious lifestyle one might expect. This is especially true for bluegrass musicians—traveling long hours from gig to gig with a less than minimal salary. Some performers literally go bust, but hard-working, dedicated folks like Scott Napier find a way to succeed. Bluegrass lovers should recognize him from his time spent playing mandolin alongside Larry Sparks in the ’90s, and for the past decade or so, with Allen Mills in the Lost and Found. He now finds himself in another role: teacher.
As of this week, Scott is the newest faculty member within the Kentucky School of Bluegrass and Traditional Music at Hazard Community and Technical College in southeastern Kentucky. In this new role, he will provide instrumental instruction on mandolin and guitar as well as classes in music composition. Napier says that he may even teach a few banjo students as well, but says he can make no promises at this time.
Program Director Dean Osborne is excited to have Napier on board. “I am extremely pleased that Scott Napier is joining our faculty,” he said. “He is a true professional and has extensive experience on stage, in the studio, as well as the respect of his industry peers. That will give our students a tremendous resource toward being successful in the bluegrass industry.”
Napier says he views his new position as offering something back to this music. “After nearly 20 years of touring and recording and teaching along the way, I feel that it’s time to give back to the music industry, and further develop and advance bluegrass and traditional music in every way possible,” he says. Even though he’s glad to be back working near his hometown of Hazard, he won’t be leaving the road completely. He says that the Lost and Found will be playing more select dates this year, giving him time to balance teaching and playing.
Individuals interested in studying the mandolin under Napier who are unable to attend HCTC and the KSBTM will soon have a great opportunity to learn from him from their own home. We have learned that sometime within the early Fall, he plans to release an instructional DVD chock full of his mandolin originals. This will certainly be a treat for fans of Napier’s energetic playing.
The facilities and equipment at KSBTM are truly superb and the tool set that Napier brings to the table will surely create an even richer learning environment. For more information on the KSBTM and the learning opportunities they provide please visit them online at http://ksbtm.hazard.kctcs.edu or contact them by phone at (800) 246-7521, ext. 73630.
Musicians in the Kentucky Center for Traditional Music at Morehead State University performed for the school’s President’s Concert on the Lawn last week.
Their fifty minute set was recorded, and thanks to the folks at MoreheadMusic.com, here it is for you to watch and enjoy.
The band is led by Raymond McLain, who directs the program.
MSU offers a Bachelor’s of Arts degree in Traditional Music. You can find more details about their program online.
