When the Bluegrass Certificate Program at Glenville State College accepted its very first students in the fall of 2002 it was the first of its kind anywhere in the nation. On August 3, 2007, the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission approved a four-year Bachelor of Arts Degree in Bluegrass Music for GSC, again the first in the nation.
Originally under the leadership of GSC Instructor of Music Buddy Griffin, a GSC alum, a regular performer on the Grand Ole Opry Stage in Nashville, Tennessee, and the 2011 Vandalia Award recipient, the program offers classes in audio and video production, band organization and marketing, plus instruction in vocals and the various Bluegrass instruments.
The bluegrass program is now under the direction of Megan Darby, a 2011 graduate of the program, and includes on its board of advisors such bluegrass music luminaries as Jesse McReynolds, Mac Wiseman, Katie Laur, Little Roy Lewis, Lance Leroy, Edgar & Eunice Kitchen, Mack Samples, and Dr. Ralph Stanley.
In 2003, the first official Glenville State College Bluegrass Band, a natural outgrowth of the GSC Bluegrass Program, formed consisting of GSC students Rachel Singleton-Burge on mandolin, Elizabeth Long on banjo and fiddle, Eileen Marsh on guitar, and Aaron Miller on bass. Singleton-Burge went on to be a founding member of the bluegrass band ‘Mountain Fury,’ the first professional bluegrass band to come out of the GSC Bluegrass Certificate Program. Elizabeth Long now headlines with her father with the very popular ‘Little Roy & Lizzy Show’.
The GSC Bluegrass Band consists of a core group of students who are enrolled in the certificate and/or degree programs as well as other students who just wish to participate in the group. Performance with the Glenville State College Bluegrass Band satisfies the students’ ensemble requirements for the degree and certification. Both the bluegrass curriculum and the bluegrass band require auditions for admission.
Notable performances by the Glenville State Bluegrass Band include the Ernest Tubb Midnight Jamboree, one of the longest running live radio broadcasts on WSM Radio in Nashville. The Jamboree immediately follows the Grand Ole Opry every Saturday night. The program is simulcast on XM Satellite Radio Channel 11. The band has also performed on the world-famous WWVA Wheeling Jamboree USA, another long running live radio program. The group performs at fairs and festivals throughout the state of West Virginia and has done many concerts and demonstrations for area school children.
“Part of the history of our Bluegrass Program has been to perform and learn from some of the legendary people in the industry,” said Darby.
The ever expanding list of accomplishments by the members of the Glenville State College Bluegrass Band now includes recording their first CD. Around twenty current and former members of the band traveled to Tennessee to record their first CD at the studios of Blue Circle Records owned by the legendary song writer and singer Tom. T. Hall and his wife Dixie. The band spent the three days recording at Blue Circle Records in Franklin, Tennessee, just outside of Nashville.
The Halls provided studio time and engineering service at no cost to the GSC Bluegrass Band. GSC Alum Rebekha Long, the first graduate of the GSC Bluegrass Music Degree Program, works for Blue Circle Records as a studio engineer and graphic designer worked on the project.
GSC freshman Laiken Boyd of Cameron (Marshall County), West Virginia came to Glenville State College because of the bluegrass music program. She plays fiddle, guitar, bass, and sings for the GSC Bluegrass Band. “I have really enjoyed my first year at GSC. Our recording sessions posed new challenges and experiences that have expanded our knowledge of the industry,” she said.
The CD includes two original Tom T. and Dixie Hall songs as well as traditional bluegrass from Lester Flatt, the late Earl Scruggs, the Carter Family, Jimmy Martin, and others. CDs should be available for purchase at the annual GSC Bluegrass Band Concert on October 23, 2012.
The GSC Bluegrass Band performs at many fairs and festivals throughout West Virginia and several other states.
For more information about the GSC Bluegrass Program, contact Darby at Megan.Darby@glenville.edu or call (304) 462-6347.
