Aldona Bird at the Monongalia Arts Center in Morgantown, West Virginia, recently checked in with a report on their IBMA Foundation project grant. They used Foundation funds to supplement instructor pay for a youth Appalachian music program in the spring, summer, and fall of 2025. Partnering with Arthurdale Heritage and JAM (Junior Appalachian Musicians), they launched the program a year ago in the winter of 2025, offering youth classes in banjo, guitar, and fiddle.
“In June we offered a summer camp,” Ms. Bird said, “and we changed our format to include additional instruments, offering more of a jam atmosphere. The students thrived in this format, and they learned even more tunes in the summer camp than in the spring semester.” Instruction in a full range of bluegrass instruments continued in the fall of 2025, and teachers organized students into mini-string bands based on skill level. “At the end of each semester and the summer camp the students performed for family and friends,” Aldona said. “We gave instruction to about 30 students this year and awarded scholarships to 5 students. With funding from the IBMA Foundation we were able to pay our four instructors a competitive wage. We are already looking forward to our next year of bringing our community together through teaching traditional music to youth in North Central West Virginia.”
RETURN to the January 2026 issue of The Cornerstone.
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