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It loves them so much that family members have devoted much of their lives the past couple of decades to this unique instrument through their magazine, the "Banjo Newsletter." When Nancy Nitchie realized that the good folks who had developed and sponsored the highly-regarded Tennessee Banjo Institute wouldn't be able to hold another one soon, she responded to the urging of family and colleagues -- and the seeds for Maryland Banjo Academy were planted. |
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| The seeds quickly grew, helped by old-fashioned hard work and fertilized by devotion to the banjo, and the plans for the first banjo academy were completed. Of course, others had to help. Acoustic Musician and Bluegrass Unlimited magazines, along with Maryland's Caroline County Arts Council, agreed to co-sponsor the event. Teachers of all stripes, representing some of the best talent in various styles on the 5-string banjo, were lined up, and the call went out to players. Soon pickers, strummers and clawhammer players signed up to spend three days in April on the campus of the Bishop Claggett Center in Buckeystown, Maryland.
As word of the academy spread, it attracted the notice of even Maryland's Gov. Parris N. Glendening. The governor was inspired to write a note to the banjo lovers, welcoming them to his state. "I applaud your devotion to enriching the lives of all Marylanders by sharing your music and culture. I hope this event becomes an annual tradition," the governor wrote. |
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Maryland Banjo Academy Video Clips
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By the time the doors opened Friday, April 18, 1997, for the first Maryland Banjo Academy, students from 28 states, Canada and even Sweden were carrying their banjos across the campus grounds.
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| Although other types of banjos and styles of playing have their devotees, the decision was made to focus mainly on the traditional 5-string at the Maryland Banjo Academy. And what a focus it turned out to be. The assembled players and banjo builders provided participants with an overview of this instrument from its days in the late Eighteenth Century to its use in the hands of the most modern, creative players today. Two hundred years of banjo history and styles of playing were on display this lovely, but windy, spring weekend. |
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| Pete Seeger joined the group at Buckeystown for the long weekend. Pete is famous for his role with The Weavers, a vastly popular folk-singing group that paved the way for the folk music boom of the late 1950s and 1960s. Pete also pioneered popular banjo instruction with his book on "How to Play the 5-string Banjo," now considered a classic.
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Bela Fleck has pushed banjo playing to new limits and has thrilled audiences worldwide. His tastes have led him to explore music for the banjo that has never been tried before.
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| Bill Keith is called the father of "melodic or chromatic" style, three-finger banjo. He discovered in the late 1950s that he could play fiddle tunes note for note and spawned a technique that continues to this day to attract new adherents. And, of course, Bill is also famous for the tuners he developed.
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Eddie Adcock is a veteran and a bluegrass favorite. Eddie played in his early days with Bill Monroe and later with the original Country Gentlemen. He is also known for a distinctive "Travis" banjo style picking.
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| Read BNL Editor Donald Nitchie's report on the April 1997 Maryland Banjo Academy.
Banjos Ringing: The 1997 Maryland Banjo Academy video, produced by David Wells, was reviewed in the February 1998 issue of BNL by Wilbur Whitten.
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