3107 Cathedral Ave. NW
Washington DC 20008-3420
USA
202-333-1089
Email:
Travels to: All regions of the US and abroad
Biography:
I was classically trained on the violin and played professionally in the late 1950s and early 1960s. In the mid-1960s, as a graduate student at Duke U., I began documenting oldtime fiddlers in NC, VA, and WV and apprenticed myself to my new fiddling mentors to learn their repertory and style. As a folklorist I taught at UCLA (1968-69), then became head of the Archive of Folk Song at the Library of Congress (1969-74), director of the Folk Arts Program at the National Endowment for the Arts (1974-76), and director of the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress (1976-99). After retirement from the federal government I resumed a career of fiddle performances, workshops, lectures, music camp instruction, and consultancies. Publications include essays on fiddling and folk music; as an editor, several LPs and CDs and a Library of Congress website on fiddling and folk music; and as a performer, several CDs and an instructional DVD/VHS."Learning to Fiddle Appalachian Style"
A practicum for intermediate and advanced violinists/fiddlers)' lecture-concert topic.
"Fiddle Tunes of the Old Frontier"
A presentation on the special cultural features of Appalachian fiddling.
A photo of me fiddling is available online at http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/hrhtml/hrpres03.html. A version of that image cropped to feature me alone appears at http://www.mugwumps.com/bcn.html#Instructors. The photo is by my wife Karen Singer Jabbour and may be used.
A special instructional video is available in either DVD or VHS form: LEARNING OLD-TIME FIDDLE APPALACHIAN STYLE.