About the Event
Image credit: The oldest known banjo, c. 1770-1777, from the Surinamese Creole culture. Owned by an enslaved person and collected by J. G. Stedman in the 1770s. Calabash gourd, sheepskin soundboard, wooden neck. Part of the collection at The Dutch: Nationaal Museum van Wereldculturen.
The modern banjo is an instrument commonly associated with the Appalachian region and Bluegrass music, but the origins of this instrument extend beyond the rolling hills of the Southern mountains, to West Africa. The banjo has evolved over the generations from a gourd body with gut strings to a metal resonator body and steel strings like we see today.
This program will be led by Mark Freed, the Director of Cultural Resources for the Town of Boone and Banjo Scholar. This will be both parts lecture and demonstration, with Freed performing tunes and techniques for each iteration of the instrument.
About the Speaker
Mark Freed works as Director of Cultural Resources for the Town of Boone. He moved to western North Carolina in 2002 for his love of the banjo and then to Boone in 2003 to pursue a master's degree in Appalachian Studies. During this time, Mark worked with Dr. Cece Conway and others to produce the Black Banjo Gathering at Appalachian State University in 2005, and he has continued collaborating with Dr. Conway on similar banjo roots presentations. Mark is an adjunct instructor of Appalachian Music at App State, and he has worked in the Jones House Cultural and Community Center since 2005, as a folklorist and director. Mark lives in Boone with his wife, three kids, and a wall full of banjos.
PLEASE NOTE: Limited seating available. An 80% refund will be issued if the participant cancels three weeks prior to the event. For cancellations made less than three weeks prior to the event, BRAHM will issue a refund IF the museum is able to fill the vacated spot.