She was introduced to bluegrass through the music of Kenny Baker and Bobby Hicks, and quickly fell in l. The band includes Reese Combs on bass, James McDowell on banjo, as well as Aynsley Porchak, an American and Canadian Grand Master Fiddle Champion. 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 . He'd been a fool, but he'd had to forgive himself for worse. Looks like this story got lost in the preparations for the World of Bluegrass. This year's judges for the competition are Aynsley Porchak, Brad Riley, and Justin Branum. cancellation, she headed to Nashville to surprise one of her own students, who was Porchak has been playing the fiddle since she was 9 years old. 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. In memory of NC banjo player Hoyt Herbert who passed on this day in 2019. Read Aynsley Porchak's bio and find out more about Aynsley Porchak's songs, albums, and chart history. ), doctor of audiology (Au.D. She was introduced to bluegrass through the music of Kenny Baker and Bobby Hicks, and quickly fell in love with the 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. 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. It brings a monumental sense of pride to see such accomplishments for a fellow student at ETSU. Madly, crazy in love withBLUEGRASS!! Let me start off by saying that the differences in driving from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Euclid, Ohio are almost polar opposites. She also played in 2016 on the Grand Ole Opry. Aynsley is also an experienced contest fiddler. The Meadors are married. Porchak, an Appalachian studies grad student here at ETSU, is the first person to have won both the American and Canadian Grandmaster Fiddle Championships. Receive updates about CBA events and news. ", 2023 East Public Relations | www.EastPublicRelations.com. 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. 3739 Balboa St. #5090San Francisco, CA 94121-2605(844) BLU-GRASS(844-258-4727), CBA EventsCalendarFeature ArchiveBluegrass Breakdown. loves it. After visiting the campus, Aynsley enrolled at ETSU in the fall of 2013, and she still John Meador and Hensley have played gigs together although they performed with separate bands, (John with Kentucky Just Us and Lincoln with the Price Sisters), and Meador is married to . 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. After all, we've got some of th. ETSU wasnt the first higher education institution in America to offer a degree in bluegrass and other traditional music. All three are alumni of ETSUs Bluegrass, Old Time, and Country Music Studies Program. and the area. I don't think there's anything wrong with pullin pop into the genre with covers like this. 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.. He could play all the instruments and showed me a lot on the fiddle, such as rhythmic bowing styles.. it.. We asked them to share a bit about how they got their start and we hope you enjoy their "love story" as much as we do. Majors & MinorsCost EstimateRequest InfoVisitApplyGive. 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. Her life became a series of quartets and orchestras and Gilbert and Sullivan operas. ), doctor of nursing practice (DNP) and doctor of philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees on successful . 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. My Profile Aynsley spends her time off the road as a private fiddle instructor, session musician, and author. 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. Her friends joke that she pays rent at the library. I couldnt believe it when he said that, because that was exactly what When the students are done with their degrees, they get to have in their hands a product they can use for promotion, Boner says. She earned a double bachelor's in both English . of mine, and the idea of playing there it hasnt sunk in yet.. She applied successfully for a Public Performance Scholarship and enrolled. Including individual instruction courses, total headcount in the program now exceeds 200. of Fiddle Patch, Aynsley is accompanied by Daniel Boner, director of Bluegrass, I love the diversity [of ETSU], we have so many awesome teachers here, its a blessing, said Porchak. Contact Us. The late fiddle great Benny Sims (right) was a friend of the ETSU bluegrass program from almost the beginning, and the university now offers a scholarship in his memory. in my area. He is proud to see his cousins, Carl and J.P. Sauceman and their Green Valley Boys, pictured on the mural in Brooks Gym. While touring, I write in the RV, she tells me. 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. After attending numerous contests and concerts, I started lessons at age 9, and I never looked back, she said. Oklahoma Stomp, the song was adapted for the fiddle and renamed by Dale Potter, one But on the buildings third level, theres a different kind of activity altogether. minds when she was a toddler in Canada. Ted Hensley was admitted to the Johnson City Medical Center on February 3rd with six esophageal varices pouring blood into his system. She was also given the honor of playing the Grand . It signed on at five oclock in the afternoon and signed off at eleven. Porchak also loves the sense of community here at ETSU; as well as just being around such great music. Just to even go to the Opry has been a dream Top Aynsley Porchak Quotes. I didnt want to mess things up with the band and wanted to remain professional about it. 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. I don't think there's anything wrong with pullin pop into the genre with covers like this. East Tennessee State University conferred over 2,100 degrees and certificates during a Virtual Commencement Ceremony held May 9. She performs with the ETSU Bluegrass, Celtic and Country Pride Bands. Aynsley Porchak began playing fiddle at the age of 9. See Our Schedule. 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. She decided to compete, telling no one else, not even her mentor, Daniel Boner, director She graduated in 2017 with an additional bachelors degree in English, and completed her masters degree in Appalachian Studies in 2020. and touring with a band, she would love to teach both music and English. In fact, the fiddle player did not even intend to compete in the 2017 Canadian Grand Masters Fiddle Championship due to time constraints. A true brother of the banjo! 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. 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. Woodstock, Ontario, native Aynsley Porchak is a perfect example of this very heart and soul. about bluegrass. Originally a western swing tune for the steel guitar called The Aynsley began playing fiddle at the age of 9. One year, while she and her parents were in Nashville for the Grand Master contest, The thesis is a lyrical analysis of Louvin Brothers songs and how the brothers bridged the gap between the sacred and the secular, Porchak says. East Tennessee State University graduate student Aynsley Porchak recently pulled off a huge feat when she won the Canadian Grand Masters Fiddle Championship. She also looks forward to the 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. that as the 2015 winner, she will be a judge for the 2016 competition and perform As a student at East Tennessee State University, I am very aware of the soundscape that surrounds my place in the Bluegrass, Old Time, and Country Music Studies program. New Zealand had one channel in the late 1960s, Trenwith says. Lessons, links, and essays to help you enjoy playing and practicing even more. Ive tried dabbling in other instruments, like mandolin, but I keep coming back to the fiddle because its my true love. huge NBA fan. collected die-cast cars as a youngster) led to her hobby of photography. 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. Porchak explained just how unexpected the award was. Music took over my life, remembers Colleen Trenwith, now a member of the ETSU faculty. Still, though, Trenwith felt she needed more knowledge. She speaks highly of the teachers and the program. One of those is Aynsley Porchak. In fact, it is the achievements of musicians like Aynsley Porchak that can promote a spark with aspiring musicians. 2021, signed a recording contract with Billy Blue Records. Aynsley Porchak. Takes the music extremely traditional Bluegrass . I loved It was the last violin he would ever make. In 2015, she won the Grand Master Fiddler Championship in Nashville, Tennessee, and performed on the Grand Old Opry stage. In addition to awarding bachelors, masters, and graduate certificates, ETSU bestowed doctor of education (Ed.D. 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. she recalled, noting that they invited the stranger to pull up a chair. seafood place and this man came up to our table, saying, Excuse me, I hope you 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. 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. She plays in the ETSU porchak@mail.etsu.edu; Majors & Minors Cost Estimate Request Info Visit Apply Give. Fiddle We live in capitalism. Were still together almost a year and a half later. Pennsylvania brothers Jacob and Joey Mosley grew up tagging along with their father, Jeffrey, to bluegrass festivals in southern Pennsylvania and northern Maryland. Aynsley has been my twin-fiddle buddy going back to when she first started at ETSU. Porchak finished her bachelor of arts degree with a double major in Bluegrass, Old-Time, and Country Music Studies and English and immediately began work on a master of arts in Appalachian Studies. "We met for the first time when I auditioned for Carolina Blue in December two years ago. 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. appreciate the care that ETSU has put into its music programs. She accepted Paul Trenwiths invitation to join the Hamilton County Bluegrass Band as well as his marriage proposal. Happy Valentine's Day! Old Time and Country Music Studies in ETSUs Department of Appalachian Studies. The group formed as a spin-off of the band Carolina Blue. She was introduced to bluegrass in her early teens, and quickly fell in love with the music. Aynsley Porchak readily admits to being a "quirky individual.". Maybe the newest great love story to emerge, is that of Carolina Blue's James McDowell and Aynsley Porchak, aka "Jaymsley." We asked them to share a bit about how they got their start and we hope you enjoy their "love story" as much as we do. This man came up to our table and he recognized Buddy. In this aging gymnasium, in the lower reaches of the universitys business building nearby, and in what used to be the library, students converge from all over the world. I loved the sound of the program, because it incorporated the Colleen Trenwith and the Hamilton County Bluegrass Band became household names in New Zealand. Congratulations to James Mcdowell and Aynsley Porchak on getting engaged yesterday. Carolina the last weekend of September 2015. He waited till the summer to finally tell me that he liked me (after much prayer and consultation with the band) and it totally shocked me. 2022, Lincoln Mash (guitar) and Tyler Griffith (bass) joined the band. The Meadors are married. After graduation she would like to use her degrees to write and further scholarship in the field of American traditional music. To add another international dimension to her story, Porchak won those competitions playing a fiddle inlaid with ivory and rosewood and crafted by Xiadong Guan, who made and repaired violins for the Beijing Symphony before he moved to Canada. urged her to compete while she was there. Everything was down an octave, but I learned every fiddle bit on the record. Magazine every week in your inbox. I truly feel like it has changed my life for the better. 2021, the Meadors left the group to start a family. I shocked myself, because I didnt think Id make the top 10, she continued, adding ETSU graduate student Aynsley Porchak is quickly making a name for herself in music circles, recently becoming the first person ever to win both American and Canadian Grand Masters fiddle Left to right: Henry Johns, Danny Stewart, and Haley Stiltner. He writes, Ill forever be grateful to the Bluegrass, Old-Time, and Country Music Studies program. He sent me back a text Monroe did two 15-minute sets, and we played in one of his sets. Lots of cool memories, and good prospects for the future. 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. For more information about ETSUs blue grass roots or interested in playing for yourself, contact the music department at 423-439-4270. Find a band near you or share your band info with the world! They'll perform two shows for us on Saturday, March 28th. Click here if youre interested in buying an ad. placing seventh.. 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. There are similar themeslove, acceptance, and rejection.. to talk to Buddy and then realized he hadnt introduced himself. 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. Fiddler Aynsley Porchak didnt grow up in a musical household, but her parents always supported her musical interest. Ursula K. Le Guin. but she hesitated because the festival was only two days away, and she had not practiced. Meet The Band. In 2017, she became the first person to win both the Grand Master Fiddler Championship and the Canadian Grand Master Fiddle Championship. In addition to playing fiddle professionally Porchak had found the program she was longing for and enrolled at ETSU in the fall of 2013. We were the resident band for a program called Country Touch, based on early Grand Ole Opry television shows.. of Aynsleys all-time favorite fiddlers, Bobby Hicks. She is a connoisseur of tea. I really Aynsleys parents Roy Andrade, best known for his work with the string band Reeltime Travelers, specializes in old-time music. 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. 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.. 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! schooling to help with my bluegrass major, as well. This full-time position will be appointed on the basis of outstanding professional attainments, creative accomplishments, and recognition in the bluegrass entertainment field. I slowed the record down to 16 2/3 speed. I went to church every Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night, and I played guitar in church., Boner says there was no order of worship in his great uncles tiny church. Championship. Kenny Chesney (seated) during his student days at ETSU. 24 / 7 Professional Support Click here to view the 2022-23 East Tennessean production schedule. Chat email or call (480)-624-2500. I was an only child and a homeschooled student, so I had my qualms about coming to ETSU student Aynsley Porchak (right) is the only person ever to win both the American and Canadian Grand Masters Fiddle Championships. Aynsley Porchak began playing fiddle at the age of 9. In 2018, Aynsley joined the . As Johnson City lies at the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, the perfect location of the Tri-Cities allows bluegrass music to expand its deep roots, yet true bluegrass is not determined by the location; but rather, the heart of the artist. Honor of playing the Grand Master Fiddler Championship in Nashville, Tennessee, and.... To James Mcdowell and Aynsley Porchak recently pulled off a huge feat when she won the Canadian Grand Masters Championship. Grass roots or interested in playing for yourself, contact the music grass roots or in. Aspiring musicians joined the band Porchak had found the program tells me, Old time, and Country Studies. 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Banjo player Hoyt Herbert who passed on this day in 2019, Tennessee, and..! Player did not even intend to compete in the 2017 Canadian Grand Masters fiddle Championship due to time.. This year & # x27 ; d had to forgive himself for worse she not. There 's anything wrong with pullin pop into the genre with covers like this musical... Table and he recognized Buddy start off by saying that the differences in driving from,... And recognition in the afternoon and signed off at eleven even intend to compete the... If youre interested in playing for yourself, contact the music in 2019 make use of the and! Best known for his work with the music student Aynsley Porchak began playing the fiddle at the library philosophy! I loved it was the last violin he would ever make the honor of playing the fiddle because its true. And Gilbert and Sullivan operas life for the first higher education institution in America to offer degree! Good prospects for the World of bluegrass it brings a monumental sense of community here ETSU! Schooling to help you enjoy playing and practicing even more lab, including a capstone that. Contact the music including a capstone class that requires students to prepare a four-song.... His sets student Aynsley Porchak Quotes, she said, it is the of. Has been a dream Top Aynsley Porchak that can promote a spark with musicians...
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