BLACK BANJO: THEN AND NOW GATHERING April 7-10, 2005, Boone NC
Ulf Jägfors
From: <Writ...@aol.com>
To: <ban...@list.mail.virginia.edu>
Sent: Monday, October 04, 2004 5:34 PM
Subject: Black Banjo Conference Schedule April 7-10 at Appalachian State
Boone NC
> Press Release
> For more information write :
> Post Office Box 24593, Tempe, AZ 85285-4593
> E-mail: _blackbanj...@hotmail.com_
> (mailto:blackbanj...@hotmail.com) .
>
> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 9 am Oct. 10, 2004
>
> BLACK BANJO: THEN AND NOW GATHERING
> April 7-10, 2005
> Appalachian State University, Boone NC
>
> BLACK BANJOISTS TO PICK WITH SOUL
> Banjo Lovers and Scholars Bring the Banjo Back Home to Black America
>
> African American banjo players, scholars, lovers of the banjo and of
> traditional and contemporary African American music and culture will come
together
> from all over the U.S. and beyond at the first Black Banjo Then and Now
> Gathering at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC, April 7th through
10th,
> 2005. It will feature lectures, jams, workshops, down home frolics, and
> performances--four days to meet, mix, and mingle.
>
> The Gathering is sponsored by Black Banjo: Then and Now (BBT&N)
> <_http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BlackBanjo/_
> (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BlackBanjo/) >, an online group founded in
March 2004. BBT&N's four-fold
> mission is to create awareness that banjo playing today is an outgrowth
of the
> African experience, to bring attention to contemporary Black banjo
players who
> are carrying the tradition into the Twenty-First Century, to celebrate
the
> Banjo's place in African American music and culture, and to highlight the
banjo'
> s role in cultural exchange.
>
> Presenters at this historic event include Swedish ethnographer Ulf Jagfors
on
> West African relatives of the banjo, instrument maker Pete Ross on how
> Minstrel banjo playing technique may have influenced folk styles, musician
and
> educator Sule Gregg Wilson on rhythm and banjo playing, and Dr. Cecelia
Conway on
> her research on African American banjo players. African American elder
> musicians and players are expected to attend as well as many other well
known
> players, collectors, preservers, and teachers of the banjo, fiddle,
guitar, old
> time music, and blues.
>
> Africans brought the funky, plunky instrument to the Americas. Only in
the
> mid 19th century did the banjo become popular among European Americans.
> African American banjo playing has continued to this day in traditional,
Classic,
> Jazz, Blues, and folk styles.
>
> This Gathering will play an important role in asserting the African
American
> presence in the world of the banjo and the banjo's central place in Black
> Musical Culture.
>
> All are welcome.
>
> Black Banjo: Then and Now is grateful for Appalachian State University's
> generous support for this event.
>
> To arrange interviews and features on the Gathering, for information on
> Black Banjo Then and Now, or to give support or request information about
> attending the Gathering, contact us at _blackbanj...@hotmail.com_
> (mailto:blackbanj...@hotmail.com) .
>