The IBMA Foundation recently awarded $25,600 in project grants to 14 bluegrass programs in nine states plus the Czech Republic, Great Britain, and Ireland. This year’s total for the long-running, flagship program of the IBMA Foundation is up from $24,000 in 2023; $21,334 in 2022; and $14,000 in 2021.
“A diverse list of recipients for 2024 will support bluegrass education for both young people and adults,” said board chair Fred Bartenstein. “We are grateful to donors who continue to support the Foundation. Their generosity has helped to support very deserving programs.” Some of this year’s grants are also sponsored by a kind bequest from Dick Barnhart, a lover of bluegrass music. Barnhart’s legacy gift in 2007 led to the creation of the IBMA Foundation.
2024 project grants will be awarded to the following recipients:
Arts & Enrichment Academy, Lakewood, California – A songwriting workshop with a bluegrass emphasis for special needs high school students. Participants will learn about bluegrass music, write a song, and perform it for an audience of family and friends.
Ashokan Center, Olivebridge, New York – Tiered pricing to full scholarships for the 7th annual Bluegrass Camp, directed by Kimber Ludiker, July 29-August 2. Instruction and jamming will be offered on bluegrass instruments, as well as songwriting and harmony singing for 85-100 participants of all ages.
Bluegrass Ambassadors, Chicago, Illinois – The Celebrating Czech Bluegrass program will provide three days of English language instruction with bluegrass music at two Czech schools taught by the Henhouse Prowlers, a Chicago-based band. They will also perform and host a symposium in Prague celebrating Czech bluegrass and capture content for a future video about the Czech bluegrass story.
Chamber Dance Project: Ramblin’ Suite and Book of Stones, with the Red Clay Ramblers; Washington, D.C. – This project will bring together contemporary ballet, old-time string band, and bluegrass music. The Red Clay Ramblers’ revived Ramblin’ Suite (2002) and recent Book of Stones will reach new audiences for bluegrass in D.C. in 2024, as well as during a 2025 tour of North Carolina and performances at dance festivals.
Kentucky Museum at Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, Kentucky – A new exhibit at the Kentucky Museum on the WKU campus will include bluegrass songs and artists influenced by the Bowling Green region. “Bowling Green in Song” is part of a larger “Sonic Landscape” exhibit, which emphasizes the region’s bluegrass tradition, with spotlights on artists including Arnold Shultz, Bill Monroe, Sam Bush, and the New Grass Revival.
Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, Tennessee – The String Band Summit 2024, previously held at East Tennessee State University, is an academic conference focused on string band music of various types, including bluegrass and old-time music. Included are academic research presentations, panel discussions, live music, and a focus in 2024 on collaboration among bluegrass, old-time, and Asian music.
Reeves Downtown School of Music, Elkin, North Carolina – The Tunes and Trails Camp Bluegrass Day and Community Concert is a camp hosted by the local JAM (Junior Appalachian Musicians) program. Bluegrass Day of camp week will include workshops led by professional musicians for campers, and a free community concert.
Savannah Music Festival, Savannah, Georgia – Two public performances will honor the 100th birthday year of Bluegrass Hall of Famers Earl Scruggs and Doc Watson with stories and songs. “Doc at 100” and “Tony Trischka’s Earl Jam,” will include a virtual discussion on February 26, a pre-concert talk on April 5, and public performances on April 5-6 in Savannah.
Earl Scruggs Center, Shelby, North Carolina – “Born of the Broad River: The Life and Career of Earl Scruggs in his own words, 1924-1945” is a new exhibit that celebrates the 100th birthday of Earl Scruggs. Co-curated by Tony Trischka, it will include memoirs handwritten by Earl Scruggs from his family and a rotating display of banjos owned by artists inspired and influenced by Scruggs (Bela Fleck, John Hartford, Trischka, Alison Brown, Tray Wellington, Tabitha Agnew Benedict). More than 1,000 local students will visit the exhibit.
Stecoah Valley Cultural Arts Center, Robbinsville, North Carolina – The Stecoah JAM (Junior Appalachian Musicians) program will host a weekend of workshops for students in western North Carolina and beyond, led by professional musicians at the 10-acre art center campus in Robbinsville. Included are instruction in songwriting, clogging, how to jam, and harmony singing.
Tellico Plains JAM, Tellico Plains and Madisonville, Tennessee – The afterschool Junior Appalachian Musicians (JAM) programs in Tellico Plains and Madisonville, TN, teach traditional Appalachian and bluegrass music to 4th – 12th graders. The programs are 100% free for students.
Peter Ward, Palace Green Durham, United Kingdom – A project grant will help with Dr. Ward’s travel expenses from the U.K. to Murfreesboro, Tennessee, where he will host a “Bluegrass in Britain and Ireland” workshop for U.S.-based academics and researchers at the String Band Summit to be hosted at Middle Tennessee State University, April 5-7, 2024. Ward (Durham University – U.K.) will collaborate with Dr. Mat Ord (Newcastle University – U.K.) and Dr. Lee Bidgood (East Tennessee State University) on a larger project to research and document the history of bluegrass in the U.K.
Westport Folk & Bluegrass Festival Universities, Westport, County Mayo, Ireland) – A partnership and collaboration of three academic institutions (two from the U.S. and one from Ireland) to research, explore, and promote the deep-rooted cultural connections between bluegrass, old-time, and Irish traditional music, will take place during the weekend of the Westport Folk and Bluegrass Festival, June 7-9, 2024.
Wintergrass Music Festival, Bellevue, Washington – The youth education “Pay what you can” program will help with participation expenses for JAMz 1 (pre-school), JAMz 2 (elementary and middle school), JAMz3 (high school and college), and Youth Orchestra (high school) programs for young musicians at Wintergrass, February 22-25, 2024.
The IBMA Foundation supports programs and initiatives that foster the growth of bluegrass music. For information on how to sponsor one or more IBMA Foundation project grants, contact executive director Nancy Cardwell at (615) 260-4807 or info@bluegrassfoundation.org.
Return to the February 2024 issue of The Cornerstone.
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