Participation Type
Paper
Session Title
Session 2.01 Appalachian Studies
Presentation #1 Title
Wednesday Night Music: Traditional Music at Clinch Valley College, 1974
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
Helen Lewis and Rich Kirby describe a traditional-music class they taught in Southwest Virginia in 1974. Presenting music in context of the region’s musical, economic, and social history, the course influenced a number of younger artists to incorporate this perspective in their own work. In 1974 Helen Lewis featured traditional music in her Appalachian Seminar at Clinch Valley College. The experiential seminar was one of the first to study mountain music in the context of Appalachian Studies. Rather than read textbooks, students listened to recordings of important traditional artists; rather than lectures, class sessions were performances by tradition bearers themselves, including Ralph Stanley, Janette Carter, Kate Peters Sturgill, I.D. Stamper, Nimrod Workman, Norton VA street singer Bill Denham, and The Home Folks. The course encouraged students to consider music as part of living communities; a number of students recorded families and neighbors in their class projects; some brought family members to class. The class encouraged Clinch Valley College to add traditional music to its curriculum; it encouraged Appalshop’s formation of June Appal Recordings in 1974 and later informed the programming philosophy of Appalshop’s WMMT-FM; and it helped develop the music careers of several younger artists including Tom Bledsoe, John McCutcheon, Jack Wright, Kay Justice, and Rich Kirby. It helped start the performing career of CVC’s Chancellor “Papa Joe” Smiddy, who helped present the course and has become an icon of southwest Virginia music. And it encouraged Janette Carter to think about starting what we now know as the Carter Fold.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Helen Lewis, one of the founders of the Appalachian Studies field, worked at Clinch Valley College, Appalshop, Highlander Center, and Berea College, among other activities. She currently lives in Abingdon, Virginia.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #2
Rich Kirby worked as a musician and writer for many years before joining the staff of Appalshop's radio station WMMT, from which he retired in 2013 after 23 years. He lives in Dungannon, Virginia.
Wednesday Night Music: Traditional Music at Clinch Valley College, 1974
Helen Lewis and Rich Kirby describe a traditional-music class they taught in Southwest Virginia in 1974. Presenting music in context of the region’s musical, economic, and social history, the course influenced a number of younger artists to incorporate this perspective in their own work. In 1974 Helen Lewis featured traditional music in her Appalachian Seminar at Clinch Valley College. The experiential seminar was one of the first to study mountain music in the context of Appalachian Studies. Rather than read textbooks, students listened to recordings of important traditional artists; rather than lectures, class sessions were performances by tradition bearers themselves, including Ralph Stanley, Janette Carter, Kate Peters Sturgill, I.D. Stamper, Nimrod Workman, Norton VA street singer Bill Denham, and The Home Folks. The course encouraged students to consider music as part of living communities; a number of students recorded families and neighbors in their class projects; some brought family members to class. The class encouraged Clinch Valley College to add traditional music to its curriculum; it encouraged Appalshop’s formation of June Appal Recordings in 1974 and later informed the programming philosophy of Appalshop’s WMMT-FM; and it helped develop the music careers of several younger artists including Tom Bledsoe, John McCutcheon, Jack Wright, Kay Justice, and Rich Kirby. It helped start the performing career of CVC’s Chancellor “Papa Joe” Smiddy, who helped present the course and has become an icon of southwest Virginia music. And it encouraged Janette Carter to think about starting what we now know as the Carter Fold.
