Denison’s long-standing Bluegrass music program underwent a name change this past year—it is now formally known as “American Roots.” To understand why the name has changed and what it means for the program, one must acknowledge the background of the music itself: Bluegrass music is a subgenre of country music that was first developed in the mid-to-late 1940’s by Bill Monroe, Earl Scruggs, Lester Flatt and a handful of other popular acoustic musicians. Their work was an amalgamation of Appalachian fiddle and string band music, early blues, gospel music and early commercial country music.
The study of this music is offered as a concentration within the music major at Denison and comprises exceptional student performers with all levels of professional and personal musical experience. The objective is to cultivate an interest in traditional music within new students, as well as advance knowledge and performance skills in students wishing to major or minor within the American Roots degree.
Director of American Roots Adam Schlenker discussed the name change from Bluegrass to American Roots: “For us to study Bluegrass we also need to acknowledge the diverse music and cultures from which it was created. We need to look at the complete narrative and not just tell one piece of the story. I see this renaming of the program to American Roots Music as a major step for this program that in no way diminishes the Bluegrass components. It does, however, set us up to explore even more music and the people who created it, creating a more holistic learning environment.”
Each American Roots member also upholds individual responsibility as an outstanding liberal-arts student by thriving on balancing a demanding interdisciplinary schedule while actively participating in countless hours of music lessons, performances, gigs and jam sessions and involvement within the local and extended community. To learn more about Denison’s American Roots, follow @duroots on Instagram and see their upcoming concert on December 3, 7pm in Swasey Chapel.
