Daniel Boner- Director of Bluegrass, Old Time, and Country Music Studies, Band Director-Country Band and Bluegrass Band, Voice Harmony, Individual Instruction.
A multi-instrumentalist and vocalist, Daniel Boner has made national and international concert tours of Italy, Japan, Germany, Belgium, Canada, England, and Scotland; performing at venues that include St. Peter's Basilica, NATO Headquarters, the Smithsonian National Folklife Festival, the Grand Ole Opry, and The White House. In 2004 he teamed up with bluegrass shamisen virtuoso, Takeharu Kunimoto, as a member of The Last Frontier, performing throughout the United States and Japan. Daniel's music can be heard on more than fifty recordings, including his 2007 solo album, The Gospel Way, and his production of David Grindstaff's Here and Now, which featured a number of IBMA and Grammy Award-winning artists. Daniel has performed onstage with many bluegrass and Grand Ole Opry stars including Ralph Stanley, Jesse McReynolds, Alison Krauss, Rhonda Vincent, Ricky Skaggs, and the late Porter Wagoner.
Email: Boner@etsu.edu
On the Web: http://dansmusiconline.com/
Phone: 423-439-8582
Office: Brooks Memorial Gym, 304
Ted Olson- Professor of Appalachian Studies, American Folk Music Instructor.
Ted Olson holds the Ph.D. from the University of Mississippi, the M.A. from the University of Kentucky, and the B.A. from the University of Minnesota. He has written, edited, or co-edited 15 books, including Blue Ridge Folklife, A Tennessee Folklore Sampler, and The Bristol Sessions: Writings About the Big Bang of Country Music. Additionally, Olson was Music Section Editor and Associate Editor for the Encyclopedia of Appalachia. He is currently serving as Book Series Editor for the Charles K. Wolfe American Music Series (University of Tennessee Press) and as Editor of the Journal of Appalachian Studies. Additionally, Ted has produced and compiled two documentary albums of traditional Appalachian music, and he has written interpretive liner notes for CDs of American vernacular music released by such recording companies as Rounder Records, Bear Family Records, Lonesome Records, and the Ralph Stanley Museum and Traditional Mountain Music Center.
Email: olson@etsu.edu
Phone: 423-439-4379
Office: Nicks Hall, 214
Roy Andrade- Assistant Professor, Individual Instruction- Bass and Guitar, Band Director- Bluegrass Band and Old Time Band, Guitar Class.
From the mountains of Western North Carolina, Roy Andrade is an Appalachian old-time musician and singer. A founding member of the popular group Reeltime Travelers, he traveled the country performing some 600 shows with the band. He has recorded music for several documentary films and for the movie Cold Mountain.
Email: andrade@etsu.edu
Office: Brooks Memorial Gym, 304D
Lee Bidgood- Assistant Professor, Band Director - Bluegrass Band, Individual Instruction - Mandolin.
Lee Bidgood is a musician and scholar, performing and researching musical styles ranging from Mennonite communal singing to bluegrass, old time, country, and early music.
His dissertation is titled "Performing Americanness, Locating Identity: Bluegrass and Ethnography in the Czech Republic." He received his PhD in 2010 from the Critical and Comparative Studies in Music program at the University of Virginia.
Lee has performed on mandolin and fiddle with North Carolina bands the Steep Canyon Rangers and Big Fat Gap and studied viola da gamba with Brent Wissick. In the Czech Republic he has toured and recorded with Roll's Boys and performed with other bands including G-Runs and Roses and Reliéf.
Email: bidgood@etsu.edu
Phone: 423-439-8584
Office: Brooks Memorial Gym, 304C
Brandon Green- Lecturer, Band Director- Bluegrass Band, Individual Instruction- Banjo, Dobro, and Mandolin.
Brandon, a West Virginia native, is a multi-instrumentalist and vocalist. He has played on and produced numerous albums. Brandon has toured extensively with bluegrass bands throughout the U.S. and Canada, as well as internationally in Ireland, Holland, Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland. He was a member of the Abrams Brothers for three years and has been a guest performer with artists such as Bill Keith, Jesse McReynolds & The Isaacs. Brandon also performs many venues with his gospel band "Judah's Lion". He had been enrolled in the Bluegrass, Old Time and Country Music program at ETSU for a year before transferring to Concord University in West Virginia. At Concord, Brandon earned a B.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies (Music/Business), focusing on a study of classical music on the five string banjo.
Email: greenbr@etsu.edu
Office: Sam Wilson Hall, 149G
Will Parsons– Bluegrass Band Class, Individual Instruction- Banjo, Guitar, Mandolin, Fiddle, and Bass.
Hailing from the mountains of West Virginia, Will Parsons has toured nationally with Barry Berrier and for several years with The Charlie Sizemore Band. Aside from giving individual instruction on bluegrass fiddle, guitar, mandolin, bass and progressive banjo at ETSU and performing with the bluegrass band, "Meridian" Will finds time to practice his craft as a master luthier.
Email: parsons@etsu.edu
Office: Sam Wilson Hall, 149B
Jane MacMorran– Director of the Appalachian, Scottish, Irish Studies Program, Individual Instruction –Celtic Fiddle, Bluegrass Fiddle, Celtic Band Director.
An accomplished player of many musical styles, former United States Scottish Fiddling Champion and founder of the polished, high energy Celtic music group, Celtic Air, Jane MacMorran directs the Celtic Band Class and gives instruction on fiddle at the Bluegrass, Old Time and Country Music Program at ETSU. Over the past several years, in several countries, Jane has taught over two thousand students. She serves as concertmaster of the Symphony of the Mountains and serves as Artistic Director of Suzuki Talent Education of Appalachia. She has a degree in violin performance and studied Suzuki pedagogy with Shinichi Suzuki at the Talent Education Institute in Matsumoto, Japan. Jane MacMorran is the director of the Appalachian, Scottish, & Irish Studies Program at ETSU.
Email: macmorra@etsu.edu
Phone: 423-439-7992
Office: Nicks Hall, 21
Benjamin Bateson- Recording Lab Manager.
Benjamin Bateson, originally from Wheeling, West Virginia, began working in his banjo instructor's recording studio at the age of 16. This inspired him to pursue a degree in recording engineering from Middle Tennessee State University. While living in Middle Tennessee he started working for Roundabout Records and The Tracking Room studio on Nashville's music row. In 2008 Ben graduated from MTSU with a Bachelor of Science in Recording Industry with a focus in Production and Technology. In the beginning of 2009, Ben began working for Tennessee State Parks under folklorist Bobby Fulcher archiving much of the Cumberland Trail History Project materials.
Email: bateson@etsu.edu
Phone: 423-439-7474
Office: Nicks Hall, 278
Colleen Trenwith- Lecturer, Bluegrass Band Instructor, Fiddle Harmony Instructor, Individual Instruction Guitar and Fiddle.
Colleen Trenwith is from New Zealand and started her musical journey on classical violin, playing in the Wellington Youth Orchestra and the National Youth Orchestra. Eventually, she was introduced to the world of fiddle, old time and bluegrass music and has played in various bands including the Hamilton County Bluegrass Band and a couple of Old Time string bands with Frank Sillay, a native of Atlanta, Georgia. She has also played on the Grand Ole Opry in Bill Monroe's segment of the show and at Bill Monroe's own Beanblossom Festival, where Colleen met Kenny Baker. Baker was great inspiration to her music with his flowing melodic style and fiddle compositions, which seemed to suit her own playing. She has taught both American and Irish fiddle styles for many years in New Zealand schools and privately, writing books of fiddle tunes to pass on to students and other violin teachers, with a passion for passing on the joy of playing the fiddle to others. In August 2007, Colleen began studying at East Tennessee State University where she completed the requirements for a minor in Bluegrass, Old Time and Country Music.
Email: trenwith@etsu.edu
Office: Sam Wilson Hall, 149A
Dave Yates– Individual Instruction – Mandolin and Guitar.
A native of Johnson City, TN Dave Yates has spent a majority of his life submerged in music. He began playing music when he was seven years old and has taught lessons since 1986 on many instruments. Some of his recent students include Hunter Berry and Beth Lawrence. For over 27 years Dave Yates played with Dave Friday; and was the opening act for Merle Haggard for nearly two years. Dave has played for five number-one gospel hits, one of which has won a Grammy.
Greg Fields– Individual Instruction – Guitar.
Veteran of The ETSU Bluegrass Band circa 1982, Greg Fields is an accomplished vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and seasoned performer. Greg hails from Sullivan County Tennessee, a hotbed of traditional music and is a popular instructor of guitar and bass.
Ed Snodderly– Songwriting Class, Individual Instruction – Dobro and Guitar.
Singer-songwriter Ed Snodderly is a Sugar Hill recording artist both with the Brother Boys—of whom he is a founding member—and with dobro giant, Jerry Douglas. Ed teaches dobro and guitar and the department's very successful songwriting class. His acting credits include many successful roles in touring productions and he was seen by millions in the movie "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou."
Frank Wing- Individual Instruction -Bluegrass Banjo, Guitar.
Originally from Kingsport TN, Frank is a recently retired biology teacher from Dobyns Bennett High School where he now teaches guitar for the adult education program. Frank began playing music at a very early age. His first interests were in piano. Later his passion shifted to guitar. He currently teaches individual instruction on guitar, five string banjo, Irish tenor banjo, and beginning Irish fiddle. A former member of the group The Boys in the Band with Adam Steffey, Tim Stafford, Barry Bales and Tom Ratliff, Frank is now involved with the band Sigean, which plays traditional Celtic, Irish and Scottish pieces.
Adam Steffey- Individual Instruction- Mandolin.
Adam Steffey is a five time Grammy Award winning recording artist and entertainer, and is a seven time winner of the International Bluegrass Music Association "Mandolin Player of the Year" award. Mr. Steffey has performed with artists including, Dan Tyminski, Alison Krauss, Dolly Parton, Rhonda Vincent, and Vince Gill from stages including The Grand Ole Opry House, The Ryman Auditorium, and Carnegie Hall. He has produced an instructional mandolin DVD and conducted instructional workshops nationwide.
Hunter Berry- Individual Instruction- Fiddle.
A native of Elizabethton, TN, Hunter Berry has learned his craft very well. Before joining Rhonda Vincent & The Rage in 2002, Berry performed with Melvin Goins and Doyle Lawson. He has won SPBGMA fiddle awards for four consecutive years and has been nominated for IBMA awards on two occasions.
Jeremy Fritts- Individual Instruction - Guitar.
Jeremy Fritts's musical interests are quite diverse. His career has ranged from performance and composition to concert promotion and instruction. He has studied bluegrass, classical, and jazz music at the college level and toured nationally with his family band (The Fritts Family). Their most recent CD, "One More Mountain," debuted nationally on the Singing News chart, and the Roots Music Report Roots Gospel chart. In addition, Jeremy has completed his Master's Degree in Guitar Pedagogy from Belmont University.
Jim Miller- Individual Instruction - Hammered Dulcimer, Mandolin.
Jim Miller has been playing and performing traditional music for the past 40 years. An accomplished instrument builder and teacher, he has taught workshops at numerous festivals as well as won many awards for his musicianship, including first place on dulcimer at both Galax, VA and Fiddler's Grove, NC. For twenty years, Jim was the owner of the Hampton Music Shop, in Hampton, Tennessee, where he handcrafted over 750 hammered dulcimers. He has played with Celtic, Bluegrass, Swing, Blues and Old Time bands, and has done session work on many recordings.
Teresa Owens- Executive Aide.
Teresa graduated from Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville, TN, where she received a B.S. degree in Business Management. She is a native of the Tri-Cities area, and currently lives in Elizabethton, TN.
Phone: 423-439-7072
Office: Brooks Memorial Gym, 304
Haley Stiltner- Graduate Assistant.
Haley is originally from Windsor, Virginia. She graduated from ETSU in May 2010 with a B.B.A. in Economics. She is currently pursuing a MALS degree from ETSU with a concentration in Appalachian Studies. She has been playing banjo since she was young and currently plays with the band The Next Best Thing.
