Americana Project wraps up year

Kevin Carlsmith and Danielle Strannigan performed at Epicure Exchange earlier this month as part of an Americana Project showcase. The roots music education program wrapped up its first full year this week.

Students, teachers, and supporters of the Americana Project gathered at Sisters High School on Friday, June 15, to eat pizza and celebrate the completion of the first year of the roots music education program.

"In just two trimesters, over 35 students have learned to play, write, and perform with guitars," said Brad Tisdel, who serves as the Americana Project Director. "Students who never even picked up a guitar before will be performing at this year's (Sisters) Folk Festival."

Not only did the students learn to play guitar, they learned about music theory, the history of American roots music, and the art of song-writing and recording.

"The coolest thing I learned was how to play and write the blues," said Ian Egan, who graduated this year. "I've played guitar for a while, but didn't really know much about chord progressions or the circle of fifths."

"I definitely got more excited about Americana as it went on," said band teacher Jody Henderson, who taught the students basic guitar and music theory. "At first it was kind of open-ended, but I was pleased with how most of the students took advantage of their time and used it to practice what they were learning."

For their final project, each student had to perform a song they'd written.

Tisdel is currently working on compiling their original songs onto a CD to send to the Library of Congress.

"We are also working on a video for the Americana Project," added Tisdel, "to let other students get a feel for what we are doing."

Tisdel said that over 50 students have signed up for the class next year.

"We are hoping to eventually get this program started at the middle school," Tisdel said. "This year, it served as a bridge between the alternative school and the high school, giving those kids a positive way to interact with each other."

Elixir Guitar Strings, manufactured by GORE, has recently come on board as a sponsor for the Americana Project. GORE has donated Elixir strings, hats, and pens to the students.