Boner discovered the ETSU program through a high school English teacher in southern New Jersey and enrolled as a student in 2000. She also played in 2016 on the Grand Ole Opry. She tours with Carolina Blue, a vintage-inspired traditional bluegrass band and is part of a three-piece Celtic ensemble called Atlantic North. Supporting and inspiring the next generation to play and enjoy music. Boner says the equipment, much of it obtained through grant funding, is remarkable. Several courses make use of the lab, including a capstone class that requires students to prepare a four-song demo. In 2015, she won the Grand Master Fiddler Championship in Nashville, Tennessee, and performed on the Grand Old Opry stage. The thought of their daughter playing the Opry certainly never crossed Aynsleys parents The skilled fiddler hopes to even possibly teach at ETSU in the future. Porchak began playing the fiddle at 9-years-old and developed a passion for bluegrass and competition quickly. In fact, the fiddle player did not even intend to compete in the 2017 Canadian Grand Masters Fiddle Championship due to time constraints. Aynsley Porchak Fiddle. ), doctor of nursing practice (DNP) and doctor of philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees on successful . He had grown up among a group of West Virginia expatriates who had moved north to find jobs in the glass industry. Aynsley Porchak. She gave up her job as a teacher to go on the road, introducing bluegrass music to New Zealand. At a banjo pickers convention in New Zealand, Trenwith and her band met American folk singer Mike Seeger. Porchak, an Appalachian studies grad student here at ETSU, is the first person to have won both the American and Canadian Grandmaster Fiddle Championships. She also looks forward to the So did the divine right of kings. basics of how to play the music, and I could make connections and be basically at When the students are done with their degrees, they get to have in their hands a product they can use for promotion, Boner says. the ETSU Bluegrass Pride Band at the Outer Banks Bluegrass Island Festival in North About the author: Fred Sauceman has worked at ETSU since 1985. Near her home in Woodstock, Ontario, Canada, there was a classical program and a jazz program but no bluegrass. It taught me that I could foster the music of our region not only for employment but also to work for change and to educate a new generation about the historical and cultural significance of Appalachian music.. We live in capitalism. They made their SOIMF debut in 2018 and we are thrilled to have this award-winning band return to the Roberts Centre this spring. Aynsley Porchak readily admits to being a quirky individual. She confesses to having Basically, my goals are to be a blessing to others, to get as good as I possibly . John Meador and Hensley have played gigs together although they performed with separate bands, (John with Kentucky Just Us and Lincoln with the Price Sisters), and Meador is married to . For this video performance Mission Statement and commitment to Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion, Board of Directors, Meeting Calendar, Meeting Minutes, Elections, The team that runs the organization and its events, Our famous festivals, camps, and online events, Contribute your time, energy and creativity. Through Bill Monroe, Seeger arranged to have the Hamilton County Bluegrass Band play on the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville in 1971. Read Aynsley Porchak's bio and find out more about Aynsley Porchak's songs, albums, and chart history. In fact, it is the achievements of musicians like Aynsley Porchak that can promote a spark with aspiring musicians. In case you haven't noticed, we're in love around here. Music took over my life, remembers Colleen Trenwith, now a member of the ETSU faculty. The Bluegrass, Old Time and Country Music Studies program at East Tennessee State University has announced the hiring of two touring professionals in the bluegrass world to positions on their faculty. Aynsley spends her time off the road as a private fiddle instructor, session musician, and author. . But on the buildings third level, theres a different kind of activity altogether. When Carolina Blue co-founder Bobby Powell left the group, he took the name Carolina Blue with him and the remaining members formed a new band. Nearby a bass fiddle vibrates the floor. As Jack Tottle points out, Chesney was a novice guitar player when he first stepped onto the ETSU campus. Porchaks love of the fiddle really began, though, when she was three. She frequently makes obscure literary references, and even enjoys literary criticism. After all, shed already appeared in this Home-schooled by her mother Jan, a retired high school English and physical education teacher, Porchak had been looking for a college where she could continue learning traditional music. In order to further hone her craft, Aynsley enrolled in East Tennessee State University's Bluegrass, Old Time, and Country Music Studies degree program in 2013. The band includes Reese Combs on bass, James McDowell on banjo, as well as Aynsley Porchak, an American and Canadian Grand Master Fiddle Champion. In order to further hone her craft, Aynsley enrolled in East Tennessee State Universitys Bluegrass, Old Time, and Country Music Studies degree program in 2013. Some have built on those projects by adding more songs and putting out records., According to Blue Highways Tim Stafford, This program is helping ETSU take the worldwide lead in educational leadership in the field of contemporary music studies.. Patch was also recorded as the title track of a Grammy Award-winning album by another Porchak, who has bachelors degrees in both Bluegrass, Old-Time, and Country Music Studies and English from ETSU, plus a masters in Appalachian Studies, feels humbled to join the faculty at her alma mater. a little outdated, and I would love to be able to use my English to write more about She was introduced to bluegrass in her early teens, and quickly fell in love with the music. There was one October 13, 1932 - February 8, 2021, Thomas Donald Hensley passed away on February 8, 2021 in Erwin, Tennessee. Music is such a beautiful way to bring people together, and if I can make someone forget about whatever sadness they have going on in their life just for a little while through my playing, I feel like my job is done, she says. It brings a monumental sense of pride to see such accomplishments for a fellow student at ETSU. it was probably the fiddle which attracted her to the music. put her in the car seat and drive around the country block playing music. She also received the 2018 IBMA Momentum Instrumentalist of the Year award. a university, Aynsley said. I truly feel like it has changed my life for the better. In January of 2018, Porchak secured a steady job playing fiddle for the up-and-coming group Carolina Blue, based in Brevard and Hendersonville, North Carolina. She also played in 2016 on the Grand Ole Opry. the music. It signed on at five oclock in the afternoon and signed off at eleven. In addition to these adjunct hires, a broad search is currently underway for the Artist in Residence in Bluegrass, Old-Time, and Country Music Studies. Courses in Celtic music at ETSU are taught by Jane MacMorran, a former U.S. National Scottish Fiddling Champion. He apologized and 2022, Lincoln Mash (guitar) and Tyler Griffith (bass) joined the band. She earned a double bachelor's in both English . dont mind, but Mr. Spicher, Ive just got to tell you, Im such a fan of your music, L-R: Jack Tottle, Raymond McLain, and Dan Boner. Despite busy weekends touring to places like Branson, Missouri; Gettysburg, Pennsylvania; and Nashvilles famed Station Inn, Porchaks academic work continues. In memory of NC banjo player Hoyt Herbert who passed on this day in 2019. August 28, 2017 | by John Lawless. Were still together almost a year and a half later. Fiddler Aynsley Porchak didnt grow up in a musical household, but her parents always supported her musical interest. His image is repeated several times in a Brooks Gym hallway photo mural, near those of the Stanley Brothers, the Carter Family, and Bonnie Lou and Buster, a duo that played live on Johnson Citys WJHL-TV in the 1960s. Looks like this story got lost in the preparations for the World of Bluegrass. Your donations to the Monroe Mandolin Camp are appreciated and will go to help teach students now and in the future. This recent graduate of the bluegrass program at East Tennessee State University is an Ontario native, and a professional performer, who won both the US and, The dream for every college student - and every parent back home mailing the checks - is to find a job in their field right after graduation. She plays in the ETSU They are: Bobby Powell, guitar; Timmy Jones, mandolin; Reese Combs, bass; James McDowell, banjo (who looks like a young Don Stover); and Aynsley Porchak, fiddle (wearing a 'pillbox' hat that reminded Dr Janie of those ladies used to wear to church). This is an historic first, making her. New Zealand had one channel in the late 1960s, Trenwith says. She is a The Bluegrass, Old Time and Country Music Studies program at East Tennessee State University has announced the hiring of two touring professionals in the bluegrass world to positions on their faculty. Click on one photo to see large photos in sequence. In 2008, ETSU opened its own recording laboratory. She speaks highly of the teachers and the program. Aynsley Porchak. It doesn't always work out that way, but when it does, it's generally, Aynsley Porchak, a recent graduate of the ETSU Bluegrass, Country & Old Time Music program has won the Canadian Grand Masters Fiddling Championship, just one year after winning the US competition last year. One year, while she and her parents were in Nashville for the Grand Master contest, In 2018, Aynsley joined the . Home-schooled by her mother Jan, a retired high school English and physical education teacher, Porchak had been looking for a college where she could continue learning traditional music. that as the 2015 winner, she will be a judge for the 2016 competition and perform One of those is Aynsley Porchak. All rights reserved. In the 1960s, with the Hamilton County Bluegrass Band, Colleen Trenwith helped introduce bluegrass to New Zealand. Aynsley Porchak wins Canadian Grand Masters. He was like a one-man bluegrass band. I feel very blessed and honored to be named a Bluegrass, Old Time, and Country Music Studies adjunct faculty member. top U.S. fiddle championship the previous four years, twice placing as high as sixth, 2021, the Meadors left the group to start a family. competing in the youth division of the Grand Master Championship. But bluegrass courses and private instruction quickly changed that. to talk to Buddy and then realized he hadnt introduced himself. As a girl in Wellington, New Zealand, she would gather with her family around the piano while her father, Gordon Bain, played old songs like Its a Long Way to Tipperary. When she was eight, she started taking classical violin lessons. Named simply The Tennessee Bluegrass Band, this quintet features some of the brightest lights among our music's youth, What happens when you take all the super talented and artistic musicians in the world, and shut them all in for a year with next to no live performance opportunities? huge NBA fan. Take all the opportunities given to hone your craft and really enjoy the opportunities that music has given, said Porchak when asked what advice she has for ETSUs aspiring musicians. Dan Eubanks, bassist with Special Consensus, and Aynsley Porchak, fiddler with Carolina Blue, will both join the team as adjust professors starting with the Spring 2021 semester. Formed in 2020 by Aynsley Porchak (fiddle), Lincoln Hensley (banjo), John Meador (guitar), Gracie Meador (bass) and Tim Laughlin (mandolin). She was introduced to bluegrass in her early teens, and quickly fell in love with the music. While literary analysis of both sacred and secular song lyrics is an approach that is largely overlooked in this region's traditional music, it nonetheless provides insightful perspective on the art form itself. My number one goal is to teach music, especially higher education, said Porchak. Carolina the last weekend of September 2015. When she isnt on the road, she teaches privately and in the Junior Appalachian Musician program on the ETSU campus. Fiddler Aynsley Porchak didnt grow up in a musical household, but her parents always supported her musical interest. Logout. Aynsley Porchak, from Woodstock, Ontario, This past summer Aynsley Porchak, the super talented fiddler with Carolina Blue, came up with a great idea for a social media promotion. Two years later, she returned to Nashville and won the U.S. Grand Masters Fiddle Championship. Since they were here last, they have enjoyed three IBMA nominations and earlier this month, won four SPBGMA Awards for Entertainers of the Year, Bluegrass Band of the Year (overall), Vocal Group of the Year, and Album of the Year for I Hear Bluegrass Calling Me. I still have the program, Trenwith says. More information about bluegrass at ETSU is available online. The future holds many possibilities for Aynsley. She was also given the honor of playing the Grand . ETSU student Aynsley Porchak (right) is the only person ever to win both the American and Canadian Grand Masters Fiddle Championships. Aynsley Porchak is organizing this fundraiser on behalf of Nina Hensley. Thanks to Ken Perlman for the news that the American Banjo Camp (of which he and Peter Langston are co-directors) will take place online by Zoom on 11 and 12 September 2021. 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