Press release from PacJAM:
PacJAM (Pacolet Junior Appalachian Musicians) is entering its 5th year of helping to keep traditional mountain music alive and well with Polk and Spartanburg County youngsters. PacJAM offers traditional music classes for youth (and now adults, too) throughout the school year and in a July summer camp. This program, which is in partnership with Tryon Fine Arts Center’s Arts in Education, continues to gain recognition and accolades – most recently from the Wayne C. Henderson Festival.
Wayne Henderson, who is an acclaimed guitarist and luthier, established his Music Festival and Guitar Competition in 1995, and ever since has used a portion of the proceeds to benefit traditional music programs and budding young artists in the Central Appalachian Region.
Not only is PacJAM a 2018 Wayne Henderson Scholarship recipient, but for the first time, so is one of its young musicians. Carson Moore has studied bluegrass banjo with Phil Jenkins at TFAC since 2016. Phil grew up learning banjo from his Uncle Snuffy Jenkins, who originated the three-fingered picking style known as bluegrass picking. (The style is also known as “Scruggs Style,” after the namesake of its most famous proponent & Jenkins’ friend, Earl Scruggs.)
Carson says, “When I was 6 or 7 I watched a documentary on traditional banjo and was immediately hooked. Mr. Jenkins has taught me many of the licks that Snuffy wrote for the songs he played like ‘John Henry.’ I am very thankful to have him as my teacher.”
Tryon Fine Arts Center is a proud to help preserve and promote community-centered traditional music, and is thrilled that PacJAM, and PacJAM’s young students, are gaining recognition from organizations such as the Wayne C. Henderson Festival Scholarship. PacJAM enrollment for summer and fall for adults and youth is now open, at tryonarts.org/pacjam/.
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