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National Heritage Awards Concert 2002 The 21st National Heritage Awards Concert, held in Washington, D.C., on September 30, 2002, was recorded and produced by DUQ for public radio stations around the country. The National Heritage Fellowships are the highest honor our country bestows on folk and traditional artists. The fifteen individuals honored this year were chosen for their artistic excellence, authenticity and contributions to their respective fields. The honorees included: Ralph Blizard-- Tennessee’s master of the long bow old-time fiddling tradition. Born in 1918, Blizard has played fiddle for radio audiences from the age of 14. Since he retired from a 28-year career with Kodak in 1980, Blizard and his band the New Southern Ramblers has performed with the Kingsport Symphony Orchestra, and on "Good Morning America." Loren Bommelyn-- Tradition bearer for the Tolowa, northern California Native Americans. Bommelyn has spent his life working to preserve Tolowa cultural traditions such as its language, ceremonial dances and songs, and basket making. Kevin Burke-- accomplished Irish fiddler. A former member of the Bothy Band, Burke emigrated from Great Britain to Portland, Oregon in 1979. He founded both the Celtic group Patrick Street and the more eclectic Open House, and has produced seven solo albums. Rose and Francis Cree-- basketmakers and storytellers of the Ojibwe Native Americans on the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation in north central North Dakota. The Crees collaborate in their basketmaking; Francis splits dried ash wood and makes the frames, while Rose weaves willow in distinctive patterns of tan, red, and stripped willow. Luderin Darbone and Edwin Duhon-- Cajun fiddler and accordionist and co-founders of The Hackberry Ramblers in 1933. This ensemble features elements of rural string band, Western Swing, and popular ingredients combined with its native Louisiana French repertoire, has received a Grammy nomination for the 1997 recording Deep Water and performed at the Grand Ole Opry in 1999. Nadim Dlaikan-- premiere Lebanese nye (reed flute) player and maker. As a child Dlaikan began playing the nye, despite its lower-class association, and since then he has studied with Naim Bitar, Lebanon’s premiere nye player, and performed as a part of Lebanon’s best-known folk troupe. Now settled in Michigan, Dlaikan is also a skilled crater of nyes mijwiz (small reed) flutes. David "Honeyboy" Edwards-- preeminent blues guitarist/singer. Edwards has participated in the growth and development of blues over the last century, through its Delta roots, its golden age in Chicago and the current revival of interest. Now 87, he has been touring since the age of 14, retaining his rural sound while incorporating his Chicago influences. Flory Jagoda-- musician and composer in the Sephardic tradition. One of a handful of Bosnia’s holocaust survivors, Jagoda perpetuates the culture of the Sephardim, Jews who were expelled from the Iberian peninsula in the 15th century and relocated to the Balkans, retaining their language and customs. She tours widely and passes on her musical tradition through teaching. Clara Neptune Keezer-- basket maker of the Passamaquoddy tribe of Pleasant Point in Perry, Maine. Keezer, whose family has a generations-old tradition in basketmaking, has been innovating in the craft since the 1950s, building on the tradition of the strawberry basket. Her work has been featured in numerous exhibitions, including Lost and Found Traditions: Native American Art 1965-85. Bob McQuillen-- New England contra dance musician and composer. Contra is a form of social dance done in straight lines brought over by America’s early European settlers; McQuillen has been central to modern development of contra music over the past 50 years. He has written over 1000 dance tunes and was awarded the Governor’s Arts Award in Folk Heritage in New Hampshire in 1997. Jean Ritchie-- renowned Appalachian ballad singer and songwriter and the recipient of the Bess Lomax Hawes National Heritage Fellowship, awarded to those artists who have had a major beneficial effect on the traditional arts of the United States. Ms. Ritchie has been instrumental in writing, recording and performing many songs in the Appalachian tradition for a diverse audience. In 1955 she wrote the American classic Singing Family of the Cumberlands. Domingo "Mingo" Saldivar-- known as cojunto music’s "Dancing Cowboy". Since a young age, Saldivar has been playing cojunto music, the regional music of South Texas blending Mexican, European and American influences. He is known for his renditions of popular country tunes like Johnny Cash’s "Ring of Fire," and his animated stage performances. Losang Samten-- Tibetan-born monk and sand mandala painter. Samten studied the 2,500-year-old ritual art for three-and-a-half years, mastering over 20 of the most complicated sand mandala designs. He was later selected by the Dalai Lama to present his art outside of monasteries for the first time in centuries, and now has settled in Philadelphia as head of the city’s Tibetan Buddhist Center. The master of ceremonies for the concert was Nick Spitzer, known to public radio audiences as the host of American Routes, and the host was DUQ’s Katherine Fink. Support for this program was provided in part by the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Council for the Traditional Arts. Information for Public Radio Stations: DUQ-FM again offered the free two-hour concert highlighting the 2002 National Heritage Awards Concert. Following the satellite feeds, the program will be available on CD to stations without downlink facilities. Rights: Two free broadcasts were permitted before January 1, 2003. DUQ must be notified of carriage via productions@wduq.org. Feeds: Program ID: 00-000-00634 In-cue: "...is a production of WDUQ, Pittsburgh." Length: 1:59:00 Materials Available: Artist photos and bios Funding: National Endowment for the Arts Source/Contact: |
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