Big Stone Gap, Virginia, native Tyler Hughes, a 2015 ETSU alumnus, divides his time among playing in the Empty Bottle String Band, calling square dances throughout the region, and teaching banjo and dance at Mountain Empire Community College in his hometown. ), doctor of audiology (Au.D. This is Aynsleys second year teaching at the Monroe Mandolin Camp, and she is excited to share her love of old-school bluegrass fiddling with her students! competing in the youth division of the Grand Master Championship. For example, some textbooks are level. Music program at East Tennessee State University. My jaw dropped, because Id already Aynsley Porchak. Walking down that hallway, you might hear the lonely, resonating notes of a dobro. Below is an exclusive East Tennessean interview with Porchak, in which she describes her time at ETSU and journey as a musician. 24 / 7 Technical Support . jazz program, and (there were) lots of classical programs, but nothing like bluegrass She gave up her job as a teacher to go on the road, introducing bluegrass music to New Zealand. Aynsley Porchak wins Canadian Grand Masters. Lots of cool memories, and good prospects for the future. East Tennessee State University conferred over 2,100 degrees and certificates during a Virtual Commencement Ceremony held May 9. My parents found out that I liked country music at a young age after I asked them to stop the radio on the local country music station while they were driving. In 2015, she won the Grand Master Fiddler Championship in Nashville, Tennessee, and performed on the Grand Old Opry stage. As I argue, one particular duo of Appalachian musicians, the . Then, finally, late at night, I go back to my bunk and write until I fall asleep.. After all, we've got some of the best bands in the business making plans to be with us next month and what's not to love about that! She frequently makes obscure literary references, and even enjoys literary criticism. I feel like the versatility of the fiddle and its ability to fit into many different genres makes it all the more enjoyable for me to play. After graduation she would like to use her degrees to write and further scholarship in the field of American traditional music. Boner discovered the ETSU program through a high school English teacher in southern New Jersey and enrolled as a student in 2000. He continues in that capacity here, managing a strong team of columnists and correspondents. This week's (and last weekend's) adventures were one for the books!! In 2012, after years of lessons, Porchak traveled with her family to Nashville to participate in the Grand Masters Fiddle Championship. High-res versions are in Flickr. Find an instrument for your child or donate one of yours. She earned a double bachelor's in both English . Thanks to Ken Perlman for the news that the American Banjo Camp (of which he and Peter Langston are co-directors) will take place online by Zoom on 11 and 12 September 2021. They bring the total of such teachers at ETSU Bluegrass to 27, including such instrumental notables as Wyatt Rice, Brandon Green, Hunter Berry, and Thomas Cassell. Aynsley Porchak readily admits to being a quirky individual. She confesses to having My number one goal is to teach music, especially higher education, said Porchak. ETSU student Aynsley Porchak (right) is the only person ever to win both the American and Canadian Grand Masters Fiddle Championships. Near her home in Woodstock, Ontario, Canada, there was a classical program and a jazz program but no bluegrass. minds when she was a toddler in Canada. L-R: Jack Tottle, Raymond McLain, and Dan Boner. Takes the music extremely traditional Bluegrass . Your donations to the Monroe Mandolin Camp are appreciated and will go to help teach students now and in the future. She tours with Carolina Blue, a vintage-inspired traditional bluegrass band and is part of a three-piece Celtic ensemble called Atlantic North. But when severe weather led to the festivals Her parents In 2018, Aynsley joined the SPBGMA award-winning band Carolina Blue, and performed with them for four years before becoming one of the founding members of The Tennessee Bluegrass Band in 2021. Dan Eubanks, bassist with Special Consensus, and Aynsley Porchak. When she moved to Hamilton, in the middle of the North Island of New Zealand, she made friends with musicians who had just discovered the music of The Beverly Hillbillies television show. Well you get all sorts of creative solutions, as we. This eventually led to the Grand Master Championship and the Tennessee State Fiddle Some have built on those projects by adding more songs and putting out records., According to Blue Highways Tim Stafford, This program is helping ETSU take the worldwide lead in educational leadership in the field of contemporary music studies.. Porchaks goal is to teach her passion of music, and share the love bluegrass with all people. Those interested may apply at jobs.etsu.edu.. In order to further hone her craft, Aynsley enrolled in East Tennessee State University's Bluegrass, Old Time, and Country Music Studies degree program in 2013. ), doctor of nursing practice (DNP) and doctor of philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees on successful . It gives us a venue to showcase our students to the public. Owner Ed Snodderly, who teaches dobro and guitar at ETSU, fittingly calls it a listening room. In 2018, Porchak won the International Bluegrass Music Associations Momentum Instrumentalist of the Year award, for up-and-coming artists. She earned a double bachelors in both English and bluegrass from ETSU, and has always possessed a genuine love and talent for music. The thought of their daughter playing the Opry certainly never crossed Aynsleys parents . But on the buildings third level, theres a different kind of activity altogether. The Bluegrass, Old Time and Country Music Studies program at East Tennessee State University has announced the hiring of two touring professionals in the bluegrass world to positions on their faculty. at the Grand Ole Opry that weekend. They are here to take part in an academic program like no other: Bluegrass, Old-Time, and Country Music Studies. She also played in 2016 on the Grand Ole Opry. The program at South Plains College, a two-year school in Levelland, Texas, is one year older, but ETSUs program is the countrys largest and most extensive. She was Blessed to win the Grand Master Fiddler Championship in 2015 in Nashville, Tennessee, and in 2017, she also became the Canadian Grand Master Fiddle Champion, making her the first person to win both competitions. of Jerry Douglas, Shawn Camp, ETSU alumnus Barry Bales, Charlie Cushman and Johnny Porchak, an Appalachian studies grad student here at ETSU, is the first person to have won both the American and Canadian Grandmaster Fiddle Championships. Then between first and second sets of music, I write again. The Meadors are married. So, I just won the Grand Master Fiddle contest, she said. Shortly after winning, she learned that she was the first person ever to win both Canadian and American Grand Masters fiddle championships. New Zealand had one channel in the late 1960s, Trenwith says. I get a great deal of satisfaction when I see the light go on in students eyes, when they first understand something and accomplish a tune that they didnt think they could play before.. Most importantly, I put God above all, In memory of NC banjo player Hoyt Herbert who passed on this day in 2019. Lessons, links, and essays to help you enjoy playing and practicing even more. Program Director Dan Boner is happy to have both of these folks on staff. Were still together almost a year and a half later. 24 / 7 Professional Support Contact Us. Magazine every week in your inbox. She also played in 2016 on the Grand Ole Opry. During that competition, we were fortunate to have lunch with session musician Buddy Spicher at a tiny little seafood place in Nashville, Porchak remembers. concert later this month when the Bluegrass Pride Band will open for The Earls of He earned a degree in Vocal Music Education at ETSU before the university started awarding degrees in Bluegrass, Old-Time, and Country Music Studies. Powell (guitar and vocals) said he and the Carolina Blue band members, which includes Jones (mandolin and vocals), McDowell (banjo and vocals), Reese Combs (upright bass and vocals) and Aynsley Porchak (fiddle, recipient of the 2018 IBMA Momentum Instrumentalist Award), "are on the same page when it comes to music and lifestyle. The skilled fiddler hopes to even possibly teach at ETSU in the future. appreciate the care that ETSU has put into its music programs. She frequently makes obscure literary references, and even enjoys literary criticism. My Profile with internationally known, award-winning musicians like Ricky Skaggs and Sam Bush, There have been as many as 42, says program director Dan Boner, himself an accomplished guitarist and fiddle player. the epicenter of all this music.. Aynsley Porchak began playing fiddle at the age of 9. Music is such a beautiful way to bring people together, and if I can make someone forget about whatever sadness they have going on in their life just for a little while through my playing, I feel like my job is done, she says. Porchak began playing the fiddle at 9-years-old and developed a passion for bluegrass and competition quickly. One of those is Aynsley Porchak. in my area. Aynsley is also an experienced contest fiddler. a university, Aynsley said. Now she teaches fiddle at ETSU. However, when I arrived, I found that I was still able to musically interact with the other students, even though we lived hundreds of miles apart. The three musicians who have directed the Bluegrass, Old-Time, and Country Music Studies Program at ETSU. Aynsley Porchak is organizing this fundraiser on behalf of Nina Hensley. as well as Bobby Hicks, whom she has long admired. Tennessee Bluegrass Band looking for new members, Save Me All the Heartaches first single from Tone Tuesday, ETSU welcomes Aynsley Porchak and Dan Eubanks to bluegrass faculty, Moments in Bluegrass: BG75 #12 Kenny Baker Plays Bill Monroe, Aynsley Plays Kenny on social media in July, Aynsley Porchak wins Canadian Grand Masters, Bobby Osborne & The Rocky Top X-Press at Bluegrass Wednesday Nights, Open Bluegrass Jam // Cinderlands Warehouse (Pittsburgh), Wernick Method Bluegrass Jam Class with Joel Denman Durango, CO, Open Bluegrass Jam // Cork Harbour Pub (Pittsburgh), Bluegrass Beyond Borders: Dave Wright & the Midnight Ramblers from Down Under, Bluegrass Beyond Borders: Bononia Grass plays with an Italian flavor, Russ Hooper: 74 years in bluegrass music and still gigging, Jason Fraley returns to Deeper Shade of Blue for one last show. She accepted Paul Trenwiths invitation to join the Hamilton County Bluegrass Band as well as his marriage proposal. Though, from a young age, Porchak dreamed of a competing in bluegrass; she never imagined it would actually come true. Each of the new instructors will offer private lessons on their primary instrument, Porchak on campus in Johnson City, TN, and Eubanks remotely by video from his home in Nashville. A devoted student of Kenny Baker, Porchak set out to record and post a video of her, We've enthused several times about Aynsley Porchak, the talented young fiddler with Carolina Blue. Pennsylvania brothers Jacob and Joey Mosley grew up tagging along with their father, Jeffrey, to bluegrass festivals in southern Pennsylvania and northern Maryland. My Profile Aynsley began playing fiddle at the age of 9. When she couldnt fall asleep, her mom would It could take me a while, I said, before I knew - it could be days, could be weekscould be monthscould be years! By a miracle, that didnt scare James off, and it didnt take years after allin August, I drove to Galax to surprise him and tell him that I wanted to take him up on his offer to date. Practice, play, and perform at the Father's Day Festival. Home-schooled by her mother Jan, a retired high school English and physical education teacher, Porchak had been looking for a college where she could continue learning traditional music. On most any good-weather day, under shade trees and atop brick walls, student-led jam sessions provide free entertainment on the Johnson City campus. They select their own material, arrange it, and record it. Her friends joke that she pays rent at the library. Porchak, who has bachelors degrees in both Bluegrass, Old-Time, and Country Music Studies and English from ETSU, plus a masters in Appalachian Studies, feels humbled to join the faculty at her alma mater. . Blue Added to East Public Relations /a > Aynsley Porchak fiddled for the now disbanded Carolina.. Aynsley managed to secure a couple of lessons with legendary session fiddler Buddy It gives me a chance to be where the music is happening. In order to further hone her craft, Aynsley enrolled in East Tennessee State Universitys Bluegrass, Old Time, and Country Music Studies degree program in 2013. This is a labor of love,but every dollar = a cup of coffee whileI work at keeping this resource up to date.Thanks for whatever you send my way! It doesn't always work out that way, but when it does, it's generally, Aynsley Porchak, a recent graduate of the ETSU Bluegrass, Country & Old Time Music program has won the Canadian Grand Masters Fiddling Championship, just one year after winning the US competition last year. said, My name is Dan Boner, and Im director of the Bluegrass, Old Time and Country Left to right: Henry Johns, Danny Stewart, and Haley Stiltner. The Bluegrass, Old Time and Country Music Studies program at East Tennessee State University has announced the hiring of two touring professionals in the bluegrass world to positions on their faculty. They handed me the record Flatt and Scruggs at Carnegie Hall! and told me to learn every fiddle part on it, she recalls. with a double major in bluegrass and English, was actually scheduled to perform with All rights reserved. Championship. Submit stories for publication/editorial guidelines. Music took over my life, remembers Colleen Trenwith, now a member of the ETSU faculty. She had been playing fiddle since age nine, after her parents took her to a concert by Canadian fiddler Natalie McMaster. Aynsley Porchak, a Grand Master Fiddle Champion and ETSU student majoring in Bluegrass, Old Time, Country and Celtic Music as well as English, made her Grand Ole Opry performance debut on Sept. 3, 2016. Her love of classic cars (she Aynsley Porchak Fiddle. Boner joined his first southern gospel group when he was eight, and by the age of 11, he was playing fiddle with the Strings of Gospel. Aynsley Porchak and Lincoln Hensley went to school together through the East Tennessee State University Bluegrass, Old Time, and Country Music Studies program. This is an historic first, making her, We've just received the results from the 2015 Grand Masters Fiddler Championship, held September 26-27 at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville. I wake up in the morning and write on the trip to the venue. In case you haven't noticed, we're in love around here. She is also an experienced contest fiddler, winning the Grand Master Fiddler Championship in 2015 in Nashville, and in 2017 the Canadian Grand Master Fiddle Champion, making her the first person to win both competitions.Visit https://neomha.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/CarryOn_ResourceGuide_Episode-6_AynsleyPorchak.pdf for a resource guide to accompany this program. 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