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Posted by: Stephanie Hall
For some time I have been intrigued by the beautiful voices of four young men, singers in the Holloway High School Quartet, recorded by John W. Work III in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, in 1941. To mark African American Heritage Month this year, I thought I would try to find out a little more about them. I have …
Posted in: African American History, African Americans
Posted by: Stephen Winick
In the Homegrown Plus series, we present Homegrown concerts that also had accompanying oral history interviews, placing both together in an easy-to-find blog post. We're continuing the series with Newpoli, an ensemble based in Massachusetts playing folk songs and dance music from southern Italy, mainly from the regions of Campania and Puglia. Newpoli integrates a wide variety of styles such as Tarantella-Pizzica, Tammuriata, Villanella and the Neapolitan Canzone, encompassing music from the Middle Ages to the 19th century. Because Italian folk music, with the exception of a small number of Neapolitan songs, has not received much global attention or recognition, Newpoli concerts are often the first exposure audience members have to these traditions—even among Italians. Newpoli members are careful to highlight the joy and beauty of the music while explaining the rituals behind the dances and the ancient stories described in the lyrics. Most of the members are graduates of the Berklee College of Music and the New England Conservatory, and are proficient on a wide range of folk and early instruments including bagpipes, flutes, drums, accordions, viols, and lutes.
Posted in: Homegrown Plus
Posted by: Megan Harris
Today, the Veterans History Project launches a new online exhibit to commemorate the 75th anniversary of a piece of legislation that forever altered the American veteran experience: the GI Bill. In June 1944, Army Corporal John Kuhlman was in training at Fort Crook, Nebraska, and focusing on his eventual transfer overseas. While he anxiously considered …
Posted in: Afghanistan War, Iraq War, Oral History, Persian Gulf War, Students, Veterans History Project, Vietnam War, World War II
Posted by: Stephen Winick
If you happen to have seen the recent documentary Creative Feds, about federal workers who have musical careers which complement their federal jobs, you might have noticed a familiar face or two. One of the main characters in the film is AFC’s own folklife specialist Jennifer Cutting, who works here as a Research and Programs …
Posted in: Uncategorized