This presentation is the premiere performance of a new musical composition for solo oboe, bluegrass band, and narrator. This new work combines the diverse musical traditions of Western classical music and Bluegrass with storytelling to reflect the unique cultural heritage of Appalachia. Appalachia is home to a rich and diverse cultural heritage that reflects its history of immigration. The modern oboe is a double reed instrument of French lineage that has served an important role in the development of the modern symphony orchestra. Bluegrass music also has European roots, but is a uniquely American genre reflecting the region’s rich history of immigration and integration of cultures. Bluegrass and Western classical music each have respective traditions in the method of music performance, composition, and dissemination. This performance is the premiere of a new musical composition commissioned for oboe soloist, bluegrass band and narrator. Incorporating a newly written narrative that reflects Appalachian storytelling and literary traditions, the piece incorporates the instruments, methods of performance, and musical style of the two musical genres. Re-imagining Faust’s tragic tale for this unique instrumental ensemble, this innovative work incorporates the dramatic tale of a desperate man who makes a deal with the devil to win the heart of an enchanting oboist.

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Songs performed: "Dixie Breakdown" "Country Boy Rock 'n Roll" Blue Moon Of Kentucky" "Hallelujah We Shall Rise".

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Review of ‘Exploring American Folk Music, Ethnic, Grassroots, and Regional Traditions in the U.S.’ by Kip Lornell

This NCA Public Program addressed health, health care, and understandings about health in the Appalachian region, an area where residents face a disproportionately high incidence of poor health and unique barriers to health. The program took place in the East Tennessee Room of the D.P. Culp Center on the campus of East Tennessee State University. The moderated panel included scholars in Communication, Community Health, Nursing, and Appalachian Studies, as well as community practitioners.

Review of Caleb Beissert: Federico Garcia Lorca & Pablo Neruda: Beautiful, Translations from the Spanish

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Book Summary: Folk Music in Overdrive is a reader of music scholar Ivan Tribe’s more significant published articles, revised and updated from their original publication in magazines such as Bluegrass Unlimited, Precious Memories: Journal of Gospel Music, Old Time Music, and Goldenseal: West Virginia Traditional Life, as well as two never-before published essays. Tribe delivers essays on well-known solo artists such as Charlie Monroe and Mac Odell; country music duos like husband and wife team Joe and Stacy Isaacs or the brotherly duos of The Bailes, Callahan, and Goins brothers; famous and lesser-known sidemen such as fiddlers Tater Tate and Natchee the Indian, or dobro player Speedy Krise; and musical groups such as the enigmatic Coon Creek Girls. This collection represents an important contribution to music studies and spans bluegrass as a genre from its beginnings to the present. Originally built around interviews with these figures and their close associates, these thirty-nine revised articles yield new information from a variety of sources, much from Bear Family boxed sets as well as counsel, advice, and knowledge shared by other music scholars. Tribe's profiles cover musicians and bands that were bluegrass pickers and singers themselves, as well as some musicians who are often characterized as traditional country musicians. Some led bands for all or part of their careers, while others ranked as noted sidemen or band members. Others composed songs that have become popular, indeed often standard, fare in the bluegrass field. As part of the Charles K. Wolfe Music Series, formed in honor of the late music scholar, Folk Music in Overdrive succinctly advances traditional music scholarship and Wolfe’s own love of early country and bluegrass.

Excerpt: African Americans have lived in Southwest Virginia since the early eighteenth century, and their traditions—their verbal folklore, customary folklife, and material culture—have long influenced cultural life in Southwest Virginia. African American music has been particularly impactful in the region, yet many people today are unaware of the extent of that influence.