Blue Ridge Center for Music & Creative Arts
205 Graves Mountain Lane, Rt. 670, Syria, VA, 22743
Blue Ridge Center for Music & Creative Arts Hosts
Master Bluegrass Workshop for Area High School Students
The newly formed Blue Ridge Center for Music & Creative Arts will host its first workshop for talented area high school music students on December 20th and 30th at Graves Mountain Farm & Lodges in Syria, VA. Titled Bluegrass Master Classes in Excellence, the two-day program is designed to facilitate the development of local bluegrass musical talent and establish mentoring and support relationships between students and faculty, which consists of nationally recognized bluegrass artists.
Five concurrent workshops with two students in each will cover skill development in songwriting & vocals, banjo, mandolin, bass, and fiddle. The workshop is open to high school students from Madison and surrounding counties with a strong interest in bluegrass and demonstrated skills in classic bluegrass instruments.
Program faculty includes Vince May, a founding member of the Roanoke based band “The Guard” and a member of the Rose River Ramblers; Valerie Smith, a national and international touring artist with critically acclaimed recordings, Grammy, IBMA, and Dove Award nominations; Lisa Kay, a vocalist and mandolin player with more than 25 years of experience performing in bluegrass bands and a bluegrass radio host; Doug Marshall, a veteran guitar, mandolin, bass, and banjo player and teacher; Wally Hughes, a singer and multi-instrumentalist who has been playing bluegrass with other top bluegrass musicians across the US and Canada since 1972; and Joe Zauner, a bluegrass banjo and guitar player since 1973 who is well-known at bluegrass venues throughout the DC area.
Founded in July 2023, the Blue Ridge Center for Music & Creative Arts is a not-for-profit organization located in Madison County, Virginia. The Center provides facilities, programs, and supporting services for professional musicians and other artists in conjunction with educational and developmental programs for talented high school students in a manner that promotes meaningful interactions, learning opportunities, creative expression, and mentoring relationships.
The goal of the Center is to help high school age students develop their skills, identify and strengthen their creative potential, prepare for successful auditions for admissions to colleges and music conservatories, obtain scholarships and other financial aid based upon their talents, and prepare for a lifetime of involvement in the creative arts.
The artistic programs are supplemented with training in technical areas that support artistic endeavors such as sound engineering, live performance management, videography, and music video production.
For further information, please contact:
Earle Martin, Executive Director
earle@brcmca.com
540-923-4494