In 2012, after years of lessons, Porchak traveled with her family to Nashville to participate in the Grand Masters Fiddle Championship. Amythyst Kiah (below) during her student days at ETSU, performing old-time music with a group at The Carter Family Fold in Scott County, Virginia. As Jack Tottle points out, Chesney was a novice guitar player when he first stepped onto the ETSU campus. Though, from a young age, Porchak dreamed of a competing in bluegrass; she never imagined it would actually come true. ETSU now offers a four-year degree in that field, and it has since 2010. The band has created a partnership, friendship, and family with the other band members; Reese Combs (bass), James McDowell (banjo), and Aynsley Porchak (fiddle). Country Current (above), the premier country and bluegrass group of the U.S. Navy. Aynsley began playing fiddle at the age of 9. Boner says the equipment, much of it obtained through grant funding, is remarkable. Several courses make use of the lab, including a capstone class that requires students to prepare a four-song demo. 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. ETSU musicians meet the late Bill Monroe, backstage (above) at the Paramount Center for the Performing Arts in Bristol, Tennessee, in September of 1995. placing seventh.. East Tennessee State University All Rights Reserved. ), doctor of nursing practice (DNP) and doctor of philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees on successful . 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. Magazine every week in your inbox. Well you get all sorts of creative solutions, as we. 2023 California Bluegrass Association. 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. The thought of their daughter playing the Opry certainly never crossed Aynsleys parents Click here if youre interested in buying an ad. He was like a one-man bluegrass band. Opening Act-The Mosley Brothers. Music really does mean a lot to me. Leicester, a Grammy Award-winning, all-star Flatt and Scruggs cover band comprised 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. In 2016, she earned a bachelor of science degree in General Studies with a minor in Bluegrass, Old-Time, and Country Music Studies and is now a full-time member of the faculty. He earned a degree in Vocal Music Education at ETSU before the university started awarding degrees in Bluegrass, Old-Time, and Country Music Studies. My Profile Porchak had found the program she was longing for and enrolled at ETSU in the fall of 2013. But when severe weather led to the festivals His great uncle, Larry Boner, was a guitar-strumming preacher. She also played in 2016 on the Grand Ole Opry. But bluegrass courses and private instruction quickly changed that. I started my BLUE degree at ETSU with the goal of someday being able to make an impact through teaching in higher education, so this is truly a dream come true for me. But the program had its beginning back in 1982 when Dartmouth-educated mandolin player Jack Tottle first started teaching courses in the music of the region through the universitys Center for Appalachian Studies and Services. Basically, my goals are to be a blessing to others, to get as good as I possibly Two years later, she won the Canadian Grand Masters Fiddling Championship. competing in the youth division of the Grand Master Championship. The rest is history. they took such an interest in this style of music as to start a degree program for she recalled, noting that they invited the stranger to pull up a chair. Takes the music extremely traditional Bluegrass . Oh, and shes also the current Grand Master Fiddle Champion, having won the 44th annual contest last fall a contest she did not think she was going to attend. Oklahoma Stomp, the song was adapted for the fiddle and renamed by Dale Potter, one Through Bill Monroe, Seeger arranged to have the Hamilton County Bluegrass Band play on the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville in 1971. She was introduced to bluegrass through the music of Kenny Baker and Bobby Hicks, and quickly fell in love with the music. cancellation, she headed to Nashville to surprise one of her own students, who was ", 2023 East Public Relations | www.EastPublicRelations.com. Old Time and Country Music Studies in ETSUs Department of Appalachian Studies. Aynsley Porchak began playing fiddle at the age of 9. Aynsley is also an experienced contest fiddler. Its not unusual for students to secure jobs well before graduation. 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. One of those is Aynsley Porchak. This eventually led to the Grand Master Championship and the Tennessee State Fiddle All rights reserved. The Tennessee Bluegrass Band is shining a light on the importance of traditional bluegrass. He sent me back a text In case you haven't noticed, we're in love around here. Pittsburgh-rolling hills, winding hig I didnt want to mess things up with the band and wanted to remain professional about it. Playing via Spotify Playing via YouTube. Ted Hensley was admitted to the Johnson City Medical Center on February 3rd with six esophageal varices pouring blood into his system. Aynsley spends her time off the road as a private fiddle instructor, session musician, and author. 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! Boner discovered the ETSU program through a high school English teacher in southern New Jersey and enrolled as a student in 2000. 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. ETSU wasnt the first higher education institution in America to offer a degree in bluegrass and other traditional music. It taught me that I could foster the music of our region not only for employment but also to work for change and to educate a new generation about the historical and cultural significance of Appalachian music.. Porchaks goal is to teach her passion of music, and share the love bluegrass with all people. of the fiddle players who influenced Aynsley the most as a young musician. New Zealand had one channel in the late 1960s, Trenwith says. At a banjo pickers convention in New Zealand, Trenwith and her band met American folk singer Mike Seeger. At the end of every semester, ETSU bands perform at a Johnson City institution, The Down Home, which opened in 1976. We've helped hundreds of small business create a successful Web presence. One year, while she and her parents were in Nashville for the Grand Master contest, . I loved the sound of the program, because it incorporated the 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. Two years later, she returned to Nashville and won the U.S. Grand Masters Fiddle Championship. While we both thought the other was nice, it wasnt love at first sight. Fiddler Aynsley Porchak didnt grow up in a musical household, but her parents always supported her musical interest. No, it didn't hurt anymore to think about Kestrel. Aynsley began playing fiddle at the age of 9. Along the way, a minor was added in 2005. Near her home in Woodstock, Ontario, Canada, there was a classical program and a jazz program but no bluegrass. Dan Eubanks, bassist with Special Consensus, and Aynsley Porchak, fiddler with Carolina Blue, will both join the team as adjust professors starting with the Spring 2021 semester. Happy Valentine's Day! With a new album already completed for Billy Blue Records, and a solid year of dates booked, There's a brand new bluegrass band recently formed in east Tennessee that is sure to please anyone who enjoys solid, traditional bluegrass music. Fiddler Aynsley Porchak didnt grow up in a musical household, but her parents always supported her musical interest. When she couldnt fall asleep, her mom would There is a great deal of music going on at any given time within the small focus of Sam Wilson Hall and Brooks Memorial Gym, and the numerous students within . She confesses to having a passion for boots. Take all the opportunities given to hone your craft and really enjoy the opportunities that music has given, said Porchak when asked what advice she has for ETSUs aspiring musicians. She performs with the ETSU Bluegrass, Celtic and Country Pride Bands. After this amazing achievement, Porchak plans to focus on earning her graduate degree. Here he is playing with Alison Krauss and ETSU alumnus Barry Bales, then with Krauss and her band, Union Station, in 1991. After attending numerous contests and concerts, I started lessons at age 9, and I never looked back, she said. Roy Andrade, best known for his work with the string band Reeltime Travelers, specializes in old-time music. 2022 SM Living, LLC. All rights reserved. So did the divine right of kings. "We met for the first time when I auditioned for Carolina Blue in December two years ago. Valentines Day has us thinking about all the great love stories in Bluegrass: Kenny & Amanda Smith, Darin & Brooke Aldridge, Paul & Kelsi Harrigill, Little Roy and Mike Terryyou get the drift. Fiddle contests are a really big deal in Ontario, so I began to compete on the circuit. of Fiddle Patch, Aynsley is accompanied by Daniel Boner, director of Bluegrass, Kenny Chesney (seated) during his student days at ETSU. She applied successfully for a Public Performance Scholarship and enrolled. I still have the program, Trenwith says. 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. 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. After graduation she would like to use her degrees to write and further scholarship in the field of American traditional music. She accepted Paul Trenwiths invitation to join the Hamilton County Bluegrass Band as well as his marriage proposal. There have been as many as 42, says program director Dan Boner, himself an accomplished guitarist and fiddle player. Patch was also recorded as the title track of a Grammy Award-winning album by another Porchak explained just how unexpected the award was. Championship. While literary analysis of both sacred and secular song lyrics is an approach that is largely overlooked in this region's traditional music, it nonetheless provides insightful perspective on the art form itself. When she isnt on the road, she teaches privately and in the Junior Appalachian Musician program on the ETSU campus. A violin in Porchaks possession that is too precious for public performance belonged to her great-grandfather, Cazmir Porzak, who left Poland in 1913 when he was 16 with only the clothes he was wearing and his treasured instrument. As I argue, one particular duo of Appalachian musicians, the . She plays in the ETSU She was also given the honor of playing the Grand . ), doctor of public health (Dr.P.H. I love the fact that Congratulations to James Mcdowell and Aynsley Porchak on getting engaged yesterday. My Profile She also received the 2018 IBMA Momentum Instrumentalist of the Year award. There must be an immense sense of pride to win for both her home town in Canada and her college community here in Johnson City. Ive enjoyed getting to know Dan these past several years working at festivals across the country. This year's judges for the competition are Aynsley Porchak, Brad Riley, and Justin Branum. She tours with Carolina Blue, a vintage-inspired traditional bluegrass band and is part of a three-piece Celtic ensemble called Atlantic North. He introduced himself as Dan Boner, Director of the Bluegrass, Old-Time, and Country Music Studies Program at East Tennessee State University.. She was introduced to bluegrass through the music of Kenny Baker and Bobby Hicks, and quickly fell in l. So, I just won the Grand Master Fiddle contest, she said. We live in capitalism. In 2008, ETSU opened its own recording laboratory. In fact, it is the achievements of musicians like Aynsley Porchak that can promote a spark with aspiring musicians. It gives me a chance to be where the music is happening. Im so excited and honored to be a part of a program I have admired so much since I became aware of it, and the brilliant graduates that have come through it, to join the ranks of successful professionals in the roots music world, not to mention the world class faculty. This man came up to our table and he recognized Buddy. a little outdated, and I would love to be able to use my English to write more about 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. They handed me the record Flatt and Scruggs at Carnegie Hall! and told me to learn every fiddle part on it, she recalls. August 28, 2017 | by John Lawless. It brings ETSU great pride to congratulate such an accomplished student. I truly feel like it has changed my life for the better. In 2018, Porchak won the International Bluegrass Music Associations Momentum Instrumentalist of the Year award, for up-and-coming artists. She also played in 2016 on the Grand Ole Opry. I feel God has blessed me with the ability to play, and so I want to give back to others through my fiddling, whether that means teaching fiddle lessons, performing on stage and making people smile, or just simply talking to an audience member after a show. Sign up today to receive A! 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