Arts National Fellowship Awards

Subject: Arts National Fellowship Awards
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 01 Oct 04 - 05:51 PM

Charles (Chuck) T. Campbell of the Campbell Brothers "Sacred Steel Guitars," gospel musicians, has received a National Heritage Fellowship Award for 2004, given annually by the National Endowment for the Arts; the nation's highest honor in the traditional and folk arts.

Quoting from a brief bio- "Sacred steel" music originated in the House of God, a Holiness-Pentacostal church founded in 1903 by a Tennessee street preacher named Mary Magdalene Lewis Tate. In the 1930s, a number of these churches began using the electric steel guitar as the central musical instrument of the religious service. Campbell is recognized as an innovator and teacher in the tradition.

Joe Derrane, a master of Irish-American button accordion music, also received the Fellowship Award.

Derrane first recorded in the 1940s, and "changed the course of Irish-American accordion music." After a long hiatus, Joe Derrane performed at Wolf Trap in 1994. Since then, he has made numerous recordings, toured internationally, and was named "the Best Male Musician of the Decade" (1990-2000) by the Irish-American News. He conducts instructional workshops all over the country.

Subject: RE: Arts National Fellowship Awards
From: Peace
Date: 01 Oct 04 - 06:18 PM

Cool. Thanks, Q.

Subject: RE: Arts National Fellowship Awards
From: Desert Dancer
Date: 02 Oct 04 - 01:14 AM

The news is from June 2004, but here it is, in a National Endowment for the Arts news release.

~ Becky in Tucson

Subject: RE: Arts National Fellowship Awards
From: KathWestra
Date: 02 Oct 04 - 04:54 PM

Actually, Becky, this is a timely thread. While the winners were announced in June, last night (Friday, October 1) was the big public celebration--a free public concert/presentation by all the dozen or so winners at Lisner Auditorium in Washington, DC. A chance for these wonderful musicians, dancers, puppeteers, and craftspeople to show a wildly enthusiastic audience of 3,000 or so people what they do. It is my absolute favorite folk event of the year--truly inspiring to see these folks, many of them getting on in years, and to see them appreciated in such a large public forum. The NEA award comes with a $20,000 stipend for each winner.

Subject: RE: Arts National Fellowship Awards
From: Desert Dancer
Date: 02 Oct 04 - 05:51 PM

Oh, yeah, I recall hearing a couple of years ago that Bob McQuillen had to miss the Northeast Squeeze-In in order to attend the event. Sure wish I was closer and could be there sometime.

Here's another link for information on this and previous years' awardees.

~ Becky in Tucson

Subject: RE: Arts National Fellowship Awards
From: katlaughing
Date: 02 Oct 04 - 11:17 PM

I see Jerry Douglas is listed this year, too. That's wonderful.

And, our own Jean Ritchie was a recipient in 2004. Good company all.

Thanks, Q,

kat