Betty Vornbrock is seated next to Sharon Andreucci who is standing in Vonrbrock's music room, surrounded by colorful tapestries and instruments on the walls.Sights & Sounds

Betty Vornbrock & Sharon Andreucci

Women & Old-Time Fiddling Betty Vornbrock says music fans around her Carroll County home are unique: They are not necessarily accustomed to being performed to. Instead, with the preponderance of …

two women dance in colorful blue and pink dresses in front of the US capitolNews

Virginia Folklife Awards $35,000 to Five Apprenticeship Teams

The five apprenticeship teams represent artforms with centuries-old roots in Virginia—African American storytelling and music, as well as old time fiddling—as well as the dance and music of Bolivia and Puerto Rico.

Martha Spencer of the Whitetop Mountain Band performing at the Wytheville Community College Jamboree on March 18, 2023. All photos by Pat Jarrett / Virginia Humanities.Sights & Sounds

Listen: Wytheville Community College Jamboree

Listen to two sets from Wytheville Community College’s Bluegrass and Old-Time Jamboree, and enjoy a tall tale by Thornton Spencer.

Event

Music as Work

Join us and the Birthplace of Country Music Museum for a fascinating discussion on “Music as Work,” in partnership with the Arts Alliance Mountain Empire (AAME). Coming from a variety of …

May 23, 2023 | 7PM | Bristol
Event

A Celebration of Virginia Folklife: Performances, Displays & Activities

Join us on Saturday, July 8 at the Library of Virginia for an afternoon of performances, displays, and activities highlighting old and new Virginia musical traditions including blues, fiddling, shape-note singing, and more.

July 8, 2023 | 12PM – 4PM | Library of Virginia, Richmond
Sights & Sounds

Bernadette “B.J.” Lark and Alanjha Harris

Gullah-Geechee Gospel Singing Handpainted symbols hang on the walls of Trinity Missionary Baptist Church in Roanoke, Virginia, where Bernadette “B.J.” Lark hosts CommUNITY ARTS Roanoke, an after-school program for children. …

Sights & Sounds

Kazem Davoudian & Alexander Sabet

Kazem Davoudian of Sterling, VA, is an experienced Ostad (master artist, in Farsi) of Iranian classical music. He is teaching Alexander Sabet of Washington, DC, how to play the tar, a traditional long-necked string instrument.

A young woman stands in the middle of the woodsSights & Sounds

Home Is the Sound of Rivers and Crooked Roads

Elsa Howell, who is learning the art of Appalachian ballad singing through our Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship Program, reflects on the important role music plays in her culture and community.

Sights & Sounds

Where Our Roots Meet: Concert Release

Earlier this year, following International Holocaust Remembrance Day, a crowd gathered in Fairfax for an evening of Sephardic music from the Balkans, led by Trio Sefardi and the Elias Ladino Ensemble.

Photo of a young man holding a banjo and looking away with a smileSights & Sounds

Forging Connections with Bristol’s Tyler Hughes

Old-time musician Tyler Hughes is now co-managing a new funding opportunity for traditional arts in and around Bristol. “People in the Appalachian region deserve to have the fullest life that they can achieve,” he says.

Sights & Sounds

Sephardic Music Traditions In Virginia — Folklife Fieldnotes Episode 13

Pat Jarrett explores the legacies and changes in Sephardic music traditions by sharing recordings of Flory Jagoda, Susan Gaeta and Gina Sobel on their new work with Minnush, and an interview with Zack Youcha, organizer of the “Where Our Roots Meet” concert.

two women standing in an open green field with mountains on the horizonSights & Sounds

Elizabeth LaPrelle & Elsa Howell

Elsa Howell first met Elizabeth LaPrelle, an accomplished ballad singer, banjo player, and crankie maker, as an eight-year-old.

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