Famous Record Collector, Blues Guitarist and Banjo Player Performs Live on Campus
Southern historian Gregg Kimball and special guest Sheryl Warner perform at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 11. Free and open to the public.Norfolk/Virginia Beach, Va. – Virginia Wesleyan College’s Winter Session Program presents “Breakdowns, Blues, and Ballads: The Transformation of Appalachian Music,” featuring musician Gregg Kimball with special guest Sheryl Warner live in concert at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 11, in the Blocker Science Auditorium on the College campus.
Kimball and Warner will perform tunes by Clarence Greene, Tarter and Gay, Dock Boggs, Hobart Smith, Claude Ely and other seminal Appalachian artists. Kimball will also play rare period recordings of mountain musicians. Host Dr. Dan Margolies, Virginia Wesleyan’s associate professor of history, will also assist musically and take part in the conversation.
This event is free and open to the public. Convenient parking is available next to Blocker Hall. >>View a map of the College Campus [PDF]
This special event is in conjunction with the Winter Session course, "Music and Folk Culture of Southern Appalachians,” taught by Margolies. This one-credit course meets Monday night during the three-week session.
“Winter Session is an exciting opportunity for students to focus on one course intensively for three weeks and earn college credit,” said Director of Winter Session Dr. Susan Wansink. “Students can take unique courses on-campus that are not offered during the regular semester, participate in travel courses and lighten their load for their spring semester.”
Gregg Kimball is the Director of Educational and Outreach Services at the Library of Virginia. He has developed numerous major exhibitions and programs including Virginia Roots Music: Creating and Conserving Tradition, mounted at the Library in 2001. Kimball has authored a number of articles on Southern traditional musicians and currently serves on the program committee for the Richmond Folk Festival.
Singer Sheryl Warner was one of the first few women to attend the Virginia Commonwealth University Jazz Studies Program. Her rich, expressive voice has developed over twenty-five years of singing in blues and folk traditions, described by Dirty Linen magazine as “One of the most expressive and powerful voices in blues today.” She is a member of the trio Sheryl Warner and the Southside Homewreckers, winners the James River Blues Society’s 2000 blues competition.
About Winter Session
Offered each year between the fall and spring semesters, Winter Session is an optional three-week term that complements Virginia Wesleyan’s academic program. Winter Session provides opportunities for students to focus with members of the faculty on a single academic subject and earn course credit. On-campus courses and travel courses are available.
For more information, contact Dr. Dan Margolies at 757.455.5716 or dmargolies@vwu.edu.
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