Kentucky
has a priceless heritage of rare and beautiful fiddle tunes going back to the
days of the pioneers. For the past 30 years it has been John Harrod's mission
to preserve this traditional music and the history of Kentucky's old fiddling
styles. Through his field recordings, collecting, archiving, writing, advocacy,
performances and media appearances, he has kept Kentucky fiddle styles and
repertoire alive and in the forefront of local, national and international
attention.
John has made countless audio and visual recordings of
now-deceased fiddle players demonstrating and talking about their music. As a
native Kentuckian, he has been able to inspire the trust of many of these
old-time musicians and encourage them to share their music and experiences in a
way that an outsider could not. He maintains an enormous archive of recordings,
information and photographs and makes them available to regional organizations
and institutions. According to one longtime fan, his house is a shrine to
Kentucky's traditional music. A generous and knowledgeable scholar, John has
been active in helping the Kentucky Folklife Program to identify musicians to
perform at the biannual Kentucky Folklife Festival, obtain recordings for
archival purposes, and encourage performers to continue their art.
John
plays and teaches fiddle himself. He offers tangible lessons about tunes,
techniques, and bowing styles, but even more importantly, he nurtures his
students' love for the intangibles: the beauty of a fiddle tune, the purpose in
playing such an instrument, and pride in Kentucky's venerable musical heritage.
He is a superlative performer; this makes his presentations enjoyable as well
as educational. He plays several different instruments but he's known for his
fiddle music and has performed with a number of bands over the
years.
John's tapes are in the Appalachian Sound Archive at Berea
College and are being copied for a similar archive in the new traditional music
center in Morehead. In John's own words, his goal is "to provide a link between
the old traditions and a newer generation in the hope that some of the
individuality, depth of feeling, and sense of place that animates old-time
fiddling might find its way into the music of talented younger musicians, and
that the names of the great fiddlers of the past will be remembered in a future
where Kentucky continues to cherish its unique musical heritage."
Previous recipients: Eddie Pennington, J. D. Crowe, Lynwood
Montell, Lestel Childress