While touring, I write in the RV, she tells me. 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. She also looks forward to the Congratulations to James Mcdowell and Aynsley Porchak on getting engaged yesterday. Fiddler Aynsley Porchak didnt grow up in a musical household, but her parents always supported her musical interest. Playing via Spotify Playing via YouTube. See Our Schedule. They handed me the record Flatt and Scruggs at Carnegie Hall! and told me to learn every fiddle part on it, she recalls. In the 1960s, with the Hamilton County Bluegrass Band, Colleen Trenwith helped introduce bluegrass to New Zealand. Its power seems inescapable. August 28, 2017 | by John Lawless. More information about bluegrass at ETSU is available online. Colleen Trenwith and the Hamilton County Bluegrass Band became household names in New Zealand. She gave up her job as a teacher to go on the road, introducing bluegrass music to New Zealand. Country Current (above), the premier country and bluegrass group of the U.S. Navy. For example, some textbooks are 2021, the Meadors left the group to start a family. Were still together almost a year and a half later. ETSU student Aynsley Porchak (right) is the only person ever to win both the American and Canadian Grand Masters Fiddle Championships. After all, we've got some of th. I wake up in the morning and write on the trip to the venue. "We met for the first time when I auditioned for Carolina Blue in December two years ago. and touring with a band, she would love to teach both music and English. He earned a degree in Vocal Music Education at ETSU before the university started awarding degrees in Bluegrass, Old-Time, and Country Music Studies. The band has created a partnership, friendship, and family with the other band members; Reese Combs (bass), James McDowell (banjo), and Aynsley Porchak (fiddle). Lots of cool memories, and good prospects for the future. Lessons, links, and essays to help you enjoy playing and practicing even more. I slowed the record down to 16 2/3 speed. 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. Id been looking for. To me, that experience really speaks to one of the things that I find most fascinating about the nature of music, " it is an inclusive way of communicating thoughts and culture across the boundaries of regions, and even nations, she says. Southwest Virginia Museum Historical State Park Accepting Entries for Quilt Show, World-Folk fusion ensemble comes to Big Stone Gap, 'School of Rock' on stage in Jonesborough, Appalachian Music Project announces children's choir, 'Beauty & The Beast Jr.' is at Knoxville Children's Theatre, Southwest Virginia Museum hosts Wise JAMS, Bristol Virginia Historic Preservation Award Program Seeks Nominations, @Southwest Virginia Cultural Center & Marketplace, @University of Virginia's College at Wise. She graduated in 2017 with an additional bachelors degree in English, and completed her masters degree in Appalachian Studies in 2020. She is a connoisseur of tea. Aynsley is also an experienced contest fiddler. Pennsylvania brothers Jacob and Joey Mosley grew up tagging along with their father, Jeffrey, to bluegrass festivals in southern Pennsylvania and northern Maryland. Happy Valentine's Day! Im still in shock, said Porchak, I could have never dreamed I could have been the first [to win both awards].. So, I just won the Grand Master Fiddle contest, she said. ETSU now offers a four-year degree in that field, and it has since 2010. She came to East Tennessee State University to study in their Bluegrass, Old-Time and Country music program. When she isnt on the road, she teaches privately and in the Junior Appalachian Musician program on the ETSU campus. Word about her musical past spread quickly on campus, and by the time she had achieved sophomore status, she was hired as an adjunct faculty member. 2022 SM Living, LLC. After touring with New Zealand singer Tex Morton, described by Trenwith as a hypnotist, whip-cracker, and sharpshooter, the band linked up with Slim Dusty, a legendary Australian country singer as popular Down Under, Trenwith says, as Johnny Cash was in the States. I love the fact that But it was good ear training, listening to what people were singing and trying to match it on guitar.. In addition to playing fiddle professionally Online access to music lessons with our favorite musicians. Practice, play, and perform at the Father's Day Festival. Bluegrass, Old-Time, and Roots Music 304 Brooks Memorial Hall | PO Box 70435 Johnson City, TN 37614 (Get Directions) Phone: 423-439-7072; Department of Appalachian Studies. Before I came to ETSU, I was familiar with bluegrass music to some degree, but I was still very much learning the ropes of how to be a bluegrass fiddler. Aynsley Porchak Fiddle. She earned a double bachelors in both English and bluegrass from ETSU, and has always possessed a genuine love and talent for music. 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. When Carolina Blue co-founder Bobby Powell left the group, he took the name Carolina Blue with him and the remaining members formed a new band. Aynsley Porchak began playing fiddle at the age of 9. In fact, the fiddle player did not even intend to compete in the 2017 Canadian Grand Masters Fiddle Championship due to time constraints. Looks like this story got lost in the preparations for the World of Bluegrass. In this thesis, I demonstrate how analysis through literary criticism can provide a commentary on Appalachian song. ), doctor of public health (Dr.P.H. Fiddle Meet The Band. Madly, crazy in love withBLUEGRASS!! Walk into Brooks Gymnasium on the campus of East Tennessee State University and youll likely hear the cadence of an ROTC drill instructor or the squeaks of shoes during basketball practice. Following an invitation that the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) extended to its members that they share a memory from "75 years of bluegrass," we thought that we would collect a few to share with you. But that wasn't all. It brings ETSU great pride to congratulate such an accomplished student. Contact Us. She speaks highly of the teachers and the program. She was also given the honor of playing the Grand . Aynsley Porchak began playing fiddle at the age of 9. 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! 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. The appointment is for one academic year and is renewable. Roy Andrade, best known for his work with the string band Reeltime Travelers, specializes in old-time music. My Profile I am curious to hear what she and her students come up with together.. Porchaks love of the fiddle really began, though, when she was three. I feel very blessed and honored to be named a Bluegrass, Old Time, and Country Music Studies adjunct faculty member. A true brother of the banjo! I grew up hearing loud preaching and attending homecomings and Saturday night singings, Boner says. Website design and development by Camellia Digital Agency. Two years later, she won the Canadian Grand Masters Fiddling Championship. 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. The thought of their daughter playing the Opry certainly never crossed Aynsleys parents 3739 Balboa St. #5090San Francisco, CA 94121-2605(844) BLU-GRASS(844-258-4727), CBA EventsCalendarFeature ArchiveBluegrass Breakdown. I still have the program, Trenwith says. It signed on at five oclock in the afternoon and signed off at eleven. huge NBA fan. He showed up at Timmy and Lakins one day and after wringing his hat in his hands for the first fifteen minutes of our talk, he eventually told me that he couldnt wait any longer to let me know his feelings. Aynsley began playing fiddle at the age of 9. She also played in 2016 on the Grand Ole Opry. He sent me back a text During that competition, we were fortunate to have lunch with session musician Buddy Spicher at a tiny little seafood place in Nashville, Porchak remembers. 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. As a girl in Wellington, New Zealand, she would gather with her family around the piano while her father, Gordon Bain, played old songs like Its a Long Way to Tipperary. When she was eight, she started taking classical violin lessons. At a banjo pickers convention in New Zealand, Trenwith and her band met American folk singer Mike Seeger. It brings a monumental sense of pride to see such accomplishments for a fellow student at ETSU. competing in the youth division of the Grand Master Championship. Majors & MinorsCost EstimateRequest InfoVisitApplyGive. Formed in 2020 by Aynsley Porchak (fiddle), Lincoln Hensley (banjo), John Meador (guitar), Gracie Meador (bass) and Tim Laughlin (mandolin). All rights reserved. But bluegrass courses and private instruction quickly changed that. In the video below, East Tennessee State University senior bluegrass and English major 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. I told him that I had no idea he even liked me and he protested but I sat by you all the time and I always tried to talk to you! Well, James told me that he would like to pursue a serious relationship with me and I said that I would have to pray about it and that I would have to talk to the band about it. . In 2008, ETSU opened its own recording laboratory. Read Aynsley Porchak's bio and find out more about Aynsley Porchak's songs, albums, and chart history. His image is repeated several times in a Brooks Gym hallway photo mural, near those of the Stanley Brothers, the Carter Family, and Bonnie Lou and Buster, a duo that played live on Johnson Citys WJHL-TV in the 1960s. On each day four back-to-back classes in bluegrass banjo and four back-to-back classes in old-time banjo will be held, and there is a stellar set of instructors, including Greg Cahill and Jeff Scroggins on the bluegrass side. Receive updates about CBA events and news. They'll perform two shows for us on Saturday, March 28th. a little outdated, and I would love to be able to use my English to write more about Aynsley Porchak, from Woodstock, Ontario, This past summer Aynsley Porchak, the super talented fiddler with Carolina Blue, came up with a great idea for a social media promotion. She confesses to having a passion for boots. Her victory allowed her to fulfill another dream, an appearance on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry, where she played the tune Fiddle Patch.. He is proud to see his cousins, Carl and J.P. Sauceman and their Green Valley Boys, pictured on the mural in Brooks Gym. Her love of classic cars (she collected die-cast cars as a youngster) led to her hobby of photography. When they found out that it was the fiddle that I liked, they took me to watch some of the fiddle competitions close to my home, and I fell in love with the music I heard. as well as Bobby Hicks, whom she has long admired. Her parents She was introduced to bluegrass in her early teens, and quickly fell in love with the music. 2023 California Bluegrass Association. She was introduced to bluegrass in her early teens, and quickly fell in love with the music. Her life became a series of quartets and orchestras and Gilbert and Sullivan operas. Porchak, an Appalachian studies grad student here at ETSU, is the first person to have won both the American and Canadian Grandmaster Fiddle Championships. 16 years old, I went to Weiser, Idaho, for the National Old Time Fiddlers Contest, Aynsley Porchak. ETSU musicians meet the late Bill Monroe, backstage (above) at the Paramount Center for the Performing Arts in Bristol, Tennessee, in September of 1995. rolled the radio dial and hit a certain country station, Aynsley would say, Stop, collected die-cast cars as a youngster) led to her hobby of photography. 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