Jane MacMorran is classical music coordinator for the film. She leads the Celtic bands in Bluegrass, Old Time and Country Music Studies and is director of ETSU’s Appalachian, Scottish and Irish Studies Program in the Department of Appalachian Studies. She is a former United States National Scottish Fiddling Champion and served as concertmaster of the Symphony of the Mountains in Kingsport for two decades.
Both Will and Jane MacMorran performed much of the music on the “Grand Canyon of the South” soundtrack, along with appearances by several other ETSU students and alumni, including Aynsley Porchak, Kalia Yeagle, Tyler Hughes, Kristal Harman, Kris Truelsen, Ryan Nickerson and Stephanie Jeter.
Dr. Ron Roach, chair of the Department of Appalachian Studies, was one of the script editors, and Dr. Fred Alsop appears in an interview in the film. Alsop, an ETSU professor of Biological Sciences and Board of Trustees member, is director of the George L. Carter Railroad Museum, named in honor of the railroad entrepreneur who donated the land upon which the university now stands.
Two segments of the film are dedicated to Carter’s exploits, and the production also prominently features photographic images provided by ETSU’s Archives of Appalachia.
Voiceovers for Carter are performed by Stewart Harris, host of “Your Weekly Constitutional” and “Your Daily Constitutional,” which are produced and aired on WETS-FM, ETSU’s public radio affiliate.
A screening of the film will be held at ETSU at a later date.