by MEGAN NORTHCOTE
Intern Lifestyles Reporter

From flatfoot dancing to fiddle stick drumming, the Appalachian community will jam to traditional tunes of Appalachian mountain music at the first-ever Old Time Fiddlers’ Convention hosted by Appalachian Popular Programming Society.

When Connie E. Carringer, Appalachian Heritage Council chairperson, first began brainstorming event ideas for the spring semester, she knew she wanted to focus on something that epitomized Appalachian culture, but that most Appalachian students may not be familiar with.

Bruce Molsky is playing a concert and leading a fiddle workshop in the Old Time Fiddlers’ Convention Saturday. Special to The Appalachian.

That’s when she thought of old-time mountain music.

“The event is a combination of fiddles, dance, banjo, singing, storytelling and workshops,” Carringer said.  “This convention is the biggest thing [the Appalachian Heritage committee has] done in several years.”

The event takes place Friday and Saturday in Plemmons Student Union. A schedule of events can be found at fiddle.apps.appstate.edu.

Admission is free for students and $5 for the public.

Donations are appreciated and will benefit Junior Appalachian Musicians (JAM), a non-profit organization offering instructions and lessons to students who want to learn mountain music.  

JAM musicians from Watauga and surrounding counties will perform at the convention.

Instrument and dance workshops taught by musicians and performers are scheduled throughout the day Saturday and are open to all skill levels.    

“If you’ve never picked up a guitar, fiddle or banjo, it doesn’t matter.  Just show up,” Carringer said. “The beauty of old time music is that it’s the kind of music that anyone can play.”

Other performers at the convention have been honing their skills for years.  

Internationally known as one of the most talented Southern Appalachian flatfoot dancers in the world, Ira Bernstein and his long-time friend and gifted musician Riley Baugus will kick off the festivities Friday night at 8 p.m. when the duet known as Appalachian Roots performs an old-time music and variety show in the Blue Ridge Ballroom.

“The focus of Appalachian Roots is to actually be a survey of Appalachian traditions,” Bernstein said.  

Bernstein’s first exposure to traditional Appalachian music began when he attended his first square dance while attending college in Philadelphia, Pa.  

His career took off from there as he traveled the world performing percussive step dancing, a combination of clog, tap and step; but his real passion has always been flatfooting.

“Flatfooting is not what contemporary teenage dancers do,” Bernstein said. “In general, flatfooters think in terms of rhythm. And in general, cloggers think in terms of the steps.  As a flatfooter, I’m part of the music.”

Bernstein will offer flatfooting lessons Saturday at noon in the student union.

Another musical pastime of Bernstein’s is playing the fiddle sticks. Using chop sticks, knitting needles or twigs that have been whittled down, Bernstein drums on the strings of the fiddle at the same time Riley plays the fiddle, creating a distinct harmony.

Saturday night, fiddle, banjo, and guitar musician Bruce Molsky will perform at 8 p.m. in the Blue Ridge Ballroom.  

From the time he was a teenager growing up in New York, Molsky has been playing traditional folk music. In the last 10 to 15 years, Molsky has traveled the globe, collaborating with folk musicians from other countries.  

“What’s most exciting to me is how we can communicate in the same language through music,” Molsky said.  

In his spare time, Molsky also teaches kids across the United States how to play the fiddle and banjo. Molsky will give free fiddle lessons Saturday at 1 p.m. in the student union.

“For me, the instrument is the tool, but the experience comes from the player,” Molsky said. “If [my lessons and performances] inspire young people to want to play, that’s even bigger to me.”

TrackBack URI for this entry

Comments (0)

Show/Hide comments