East Tennessean

Issue date: 4/27/09 Section: The Scene

Media Credit: Marion Stiles Many students already in the bluegrass program minor hope to turn the subject into a four-year degree. [Click to enlarge]

Although ETSU is already famous for bluegrass music, the school is taking it to the next level by creating the first ever bachelor of arts in bluegrass, old time and country music.
By Spring 2010, the program is hoping to make the idea of a bluegrass major into a reality. The directors of the bluegrass, old time and country music program want to provide an extensive education for their students beyond what the minor in bluegrass can offer.
"There is a lot of demand for the major among students," said Raymond McClain, the director of the program. "I think our industry is also ready for a pool of academically trained professionals."
Jack Tottle started ETSU's bluegrass education in 1982 with little support from the community at the time. People felt that bluegrass and country music were not educational subjects.
However, the students proved the many benefits of this education. Several have taken their talent and skills they learned and have won Grammy awards, honors from the International Bluegrass Music Awards (IBMA), the Academy of Country Music and the Country Music Association.
"I learned more about music in five hours with the program than I did in the last 15 years," said David Smith, a former bluegrass minor. "What they have done with the minor is extraordinary. Imagine what they could do with a four-year degree."
In addition, the ETSU bluegrass bands have played in several esteemed places like the IBMA show with Ricky Skaggs and the Sonneck Society in Nashville, which carries a great deal of academic reverence. The students have even traveled the world with the program playing at the NATO Headquarters in Belgium, the U. S. Embassy in Japan and the Moscow Folk Arts Festival in Russia, to name a few.
The program now carries prestige with the community, and around 500 students are enrolled in it. In 2005, the bluegrass minor was founded.
"It only made sense as the program and the interest grew to make a minor," said Daniel Boner, assistant director of the program. "And now we have students and prospective students constantly asking when we're going to have the major."

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