News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Raman Ellis performs with the backing of Brent Alan.
Brad Tisdel was feeling a bit nostalgic on Saturday night, May 13.
The Americana Project Director was hosting what was to be the final concert for several standout musicians in the roots music education program — students he has worked with for four years and more.
The format of the concert was unique: create a house band of noted musicians from the Sisters community and turn them loose to back the students on the young artists’ original material.
The result was yet another educational opportunity for the students — and a fine set of music for the audience.
The concert felt a bit like a rite of passage, a fact that Tisdel acknowledged when he noted that it is time to stop thinking of the players as Americana Project students and “start thinking of them as fine young artists.”
The Americana Project, sponsored by the Sisters Folk Festival, gives students the opportunity to learn the craft of songwriting, the art of playing the guitar, recording techniques and event production and promotion.
It is also designed to open the door to a deeper understanding of American culture through exposure to the nation’s rich musical heritage.
The program’s success is being duplicated in other Oregon schools. Tisdel provided the model for a program at Taft High School in Lincoln City three years ago.
The fruits of that program were on display Saturday night as a contingent of Americana Project students from Taft performed as the evening’s opening act.
Crook County schools are in the process of adopting the Americana Project.
The project has become a model program for music educators. In introducing Tisdel on Saturday night, local songwriter and musician Dennis McGregor recalled attending a symposium on roots music programs in schools at the Austin, Texas, Folk Alliance conference earlier this fall, where Tisdel acted as moderator.
McGregor told the audience that it was clear that the Sisters Americana Project is by far the most sophisticated such program in the country.
The Saturday concert also marked the debut of the Americana Project CD “Mosaic.”
The student participants in Saturday night’s concert were: Sam Pyke, Kyle Bowen, Nick Purvis, Nick Anthony, Monica Offield, Benji Nagel, Raman Ellis, Amalie Lantz, Travis Ehrenstrom, Travis Myrick.
Community musicians who played in their support were: Scott Hersh, Dennis McGregor, Sean Alan, Brent Alan, Joe Leonardi, Tim Schroeder, Patrick Pearsall, Brad Tisdel.
Justin Veloso was the drummer for the “house band.”
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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