Getting to know the faculty - Week two

Class Assignment - See note below!

In response to the recent expansion of the ETSU Bluegrass, Old-Time and Country Music Program new faces have emerged and the chain of command has shifted.

Director Dan Boner says the growth of the program is in the amount of people showing interest. “We’ve had an increase of students by 10 percent from last semester and 220 people enrolled in individual instruction,” said Boner.  

Dan Boner was selected in July as director after a year and a half search.  He held the interim director position since the fall of 2007 and worked closely with the former Director Raymond McLain. Boner has reorganized the program for students by condensing syllabi and bringing in new faculty members, says Jane Bond, the program’s executive aid. “We have two assistant professor positions that replaced the assistant director position,” said Bond.

Roy Andrade and Lee Bidgood were hired to fill the assistant professor positions in early August. Andrade has been on staff for four years, was the former lecturer and notices change this semester. “It [the program] feels different, but in a good way,” said Andrade. “The staff is bigger and younger. It’s exciting that there are lots of new students and we are retooled for that.”

Bidgood, one of two new members of the program’s staff, moved to Johnson City, TN from Chapel Hill, NC in July to secure his position. He is a multi-instrumentalist, founding member of the Steep Canyon Rangers and he teaches: Survey of Contemporary Bluegrass, Bluegrass Seminar I, individual instruction and is advising two bands. “Lee is personable and extremely knowledgeable,” said Jeff Elkins, a junior at ETSU and member of the Roan Mountaineers, a band Bidgood advises. “He shattered my preconceptions about the band class. He challenges us all to be prepared and focused, and expects us to work to be the best we can be.”

Bidgood’s qualifications lie within his academic endeavors. “What is different about Lee is that he will be getting his Ph.D. in ethnomusicology,” said Boner. Bidgood says that ethnomusicology is the study of music’s relationship with people and their culture and he is currently working on a dissertation through the University of Virginia about bluegrass music in the Czech Republic.

Brandon Green was hired, alongside of Bidgood, to fill the role as lecturer. “He is a great example of excellence in musicianship,” said Boner. Green studied classical music with focus on banjo at the Concord University in West Virginia and was also a student at ETSU in 2002.

He has performed on banjo with Canada’s Abrams Brothers and is an endorser for Prucha Banjos, says John Lawless of thebluegrassblog.com. Green’s title as lecturer means he is full time and is teaching Intro to Bluegrass and Country Music Theory I and II and Bluegrass Harmony Singing. Boner feels that Green is an asset to the team because of his hands-on ventures. “Brandon has real world experience with being on the road, owning his own business and making ends meet with that income alone,” said Boner.

Bidgood and Green are the newest members of what Jane Bond describes as “a family.” The list of accomplishments of every person involved in the Bluegrass, Old-time and Country Music Program is extensive. Much like a standard family dynamic, each person within the program offers a different kind of expertise, but they all have a common goal, says Boner. “We all have a common love for music and our biggest goal is to pass on the music as it was traditionally learned by our ancestors.”


Edit- I wrote this for the writing assignment Lise gave us and it's unedited. I didn't mean to leave this sitting here without commentary. I must have gotten distracted while I was posting. I wanted to request feedback and opinions from the class. It would still be great to get some feedback on this story and how it can be improved. Lise is finished editing, but there's always room for more improvement.

Recap of week two: That week in particular was interesting because I was researching for that story, but also getting to meet the amazing folks involved in the program. I had an opportunity to sit down with Jane Bond, Dan Boner, Lee Bidgood and Roy Andrade. We had some great conversations about the program that really boosted my desire to graduate with a Bluegrass minor!