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.”
Since ETSU is the only university with bluegrass education, students travel from all over the country and world to be part of it including Norway, Sweden,and Japan.
Colleen Trenwith, who travelled from New Zealand for the program said, “It has inspired me to return to New Zealand and share my knowledge of the music I have played in New Zealand for many years, but with a newfound authority built on a more sure knowledge-base.”
Some of the alumni that have come from the program include award-winning musicians like Kenny Chesney, Adam Steffey and Barry Bales. Many famous alumni give ETSU extensive credit for helping them in the music world.
“This program is helping ETSU take the worldwide lead in educational leadership in the field of contemporary music studies. It’s an invaluable resource for the community, bluegrass music and the future of both,” said Tim Stafford, an alumnus of the program who has won national and international music awards.
The bluegrass major will allow students to learn one-on-one with some of the leading musicians in the country. Adam Steffey is a mandolin instructor who is a five-time Grammy award winner. Barry Bales teaches bass and has won 13 Grammy awards and Bass Player of the Year for 2008 from the IBMA. Steffey and Bales are just two of the many successful alumni who are coming back as teachers.
“They will be teaching alongside the instructors they studied with when they were in the program,” said McClain. “So they are not coming in as stars but as artists who would like to give back.”
Besides general education courses, the major will include many classes within the existing minor but adding 12 new courses. These classes will include everything from history, theory and recording courses to instrument set-up and maintenance classes.
“We are trying to maintain the spirit of learning through discovery and inspiration which is already inherent in this style of music,” said McClain.
The pre-proposal for the degree has already passed the Academic Council of the University and the Tennessee Board of Regents. The more extensive final proposal is now in the same process. Once it reaches the TBR, it usually takes about three to six months to pass according to Mary Morgan, from the TBR.
“Instating the major will be big for bluegrass, big for ETSU,” said Boner.

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