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SPOTLIGHT
ON THE ARTS - March 2004 by Deanna Mascle Sound Preservation
The Kentucky Center for Traditional Music (KCTM) was established in June 2000 to support the cultural, educational and economic development missions of Morehead State University. Its purposes include the preservation of traditional music through collection and display of artifacts, sponsorship of public programs of education and performance and the nurturing of music artists and instrument makers, also known as luthiers. KCTM sponsors two traditional music bands, the White Horse String Band and the Licking River Ramblers, for performances at schools and community events. “Our working definition of traditional music embraces Bluegrass, historical folk, old-timey, mountain, gospel, blues, and other music forms spanning the full range of acoustic instrumentation and vocal presentation,” he continues. “Our focus is on the musical traditions of East Kentucky, Kentucky and Appalachia. The mandolin is featured in our logo because our brand of traditional music does not include the slick, pop-oriented ‘Nashville sound’ of today’s mainstream country music.” KCTM’s staff includes Rigsby, an internationally-recognized Bluegrass musician and singer with more than 19 years of experience in the music industry; Sandy Knipp, a songwriter, teacher and performer of traditional music for more than 30 years; and Jesse R. Wells, who is KCTM’s education coordinator, an adjunct professor of traditional music at MSU, and host of “Bluegrass Sunday” on Morehead State Public Radio. Friends of the Kentucky Center for Traditional Music, a non-profit corporation, has been formed to help KCTM with outside financial support and to encourage personal involvement of the traditional music community. Several notable Bluegrass musicians, including Ronnie Reno, Melvin Goins and Larry Cordle, are serving as directors. Operating funds for KCTM come from MSU, the Morehead Tourism Commission, private gifts and grants and income from sponsored events and activities. KCTM is academically affiliated with MSU’s Department of Music and offers a variety of courses designed to preserve and promote traditional Appalachian music. MSU also offers a minor in traditional music with courses that include Traditional Vocal Harmony, Practical Theory in Traditional Music, Traditional Music Ensemble, Folk & Country Music Listening, and private lessons in Banjo, Mandolin, Fiddle, Acoustic Guitar, and Bass. KCTM uses performance venues on the MSU campus for programs such as the “Sounds of our Heritage” series, which introduces high school and college students to the various forms of traditional music. Middle and elementary school students are targeted with the “Bluegrass in the Schools” series, which brings professional musicians into schools for performances throughout East Kentucky. KCTM’s programs and services include a three-hour professional development workshop, “Traditional Music in the Classroom,” which features the White Horse String Band. The White Horse String Band is also available for performances at elementary and middle schools. KCTM also sponsors a monthly concert series called “Americana Crossroads Live” that is held the last Friday of every month in the Duncan Recital hall on the campus of Morehead State University. Rigsby’s dream for the future is to eventually build a KCTM facility that will house operations and include a performance venue, a recording studio, archival facilities, museum of traditional music from our area, office space and a gift shop focused on the music of Appalachia. Tentative plans for the KCTM facility include a 1,200-seat music theatre, recording studio, and a museum of traditional music. “Perhaps this is a lofty dream, but I know we can make it happen with hard work and dedication,” he says.
Deanna Mascle is a
staff writer for The Lane Report. |
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Copyright 1996-2004, by Kentucky Business Online. All rights reserved. Editorial content is copyright 2004,
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“Our motto is ‘Educating! Preserving! Entertaining!’ We try to always remember that if we don’t educate the younger generation of listeners about traditional music, there won’t be a next generation of listeners,” says Don Rigsby, director of the Kentucky Center for Traditional Music. “In other words, education and preservation are actually interwoven. And if the first two objectives are accomplished, the third one (Entertaining) can’t help but be achieved also.”