Sights & SoundsFolklife Master Artist Ganna Natsag meets the Dalai Lama
Ganna Natsag, a master artist of the Mongolian mask making tradition who lives in Arlington, traveled to India in December to visit the Dalai Lama in a quest for world …
Sights & SoundsApprenticeships Merge: Dale Wise restores Flory Jagoda’s accordion
Flory Jagoda, a master artist of the Sephardic ballad tradition, escaped from Bosnia in 1941. Her only possession was her Hohner Student III accordion. More than seventy years later, Dale …
Sights & SoundsA Conversation With Laura Ortiz
A Mexican Folk Dancer connects to her daughter and heritage through the Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship Program By Anna Kariel “The story of Virginians, other than the story of Virginia Indians, …
Sights & SoundsHoustonFest 2014: Jewel of Festival Circuit
The city of Galax came alive in early May for the fourth annual Houstonfest. Born out of a community’s grief over the tragic passing of Houston Caldwell, a gifted banjoist …
Sights & Sounds78th Galax Old Fiddlers Convention recap
The Virginia Folklife Program’s photographer Pat Jarrett joined Jon Lohman at the 78th Galax Old Fiddlers Convention. Here’s a photo recap of the week.
Sights & SoundsBreaking Up Christmas
When Christmas is over, the fun is just getting started for many in Southern Appalachia. The tradition of “Breaking Up Christmas” is a week-long series of gatherings, where people get …
Sights & SoundsThe Paschall Brothers and Tidewater Gospel Quartets
A Virginia-based a cappella quartet earned the “gospel album of the year” award at the 2009 Independent Music Awards. The Paschall Brothers of Chesapeake sing four-part harmony in a style …
Sights & SoundsAcoustic Youth
Many of the musicians who perform at fiddler’s conventions and music festivals throughout southern Appalachia are, in fact, young kids. Late in the night, long past their bedtimes, children and …
Sights & SoundsFlory Jagoda
“Don’t open your mouth. Just sit and play. Keep on playing.” Flory Jagoda (photo right) sings songs she learned from her nona (grandmother) as a child in pre-WWII Sarajevo – …
Sights & SoundsThe Old Jimmy Sutton
A masterful songster recorded by two folklorists, fifty years apart. When the late folklorist Alan Lomax set out on his now infamous “Southern Journey” in 1959, he stopped in Chilhowie, …
