MAJOR, MINOR
Our Program
Whether you have career ambitions in music or want to incorporate music into your broader liberal arts experience, our music program is a great opportunity. We offer a major (BA) and minor, stressing regional and cultural contexts through a methodological hybrid of music theory and performance, Appalachian studies, cultural studies, musicology, and ethnomusicology. A cornerstone of our program is a unique concentration in traditional music that emphasizes the multi-cultural roots, influences, and varieties of vernacular music within southern Appalachia. Students with interests outside of traditional music can choose a concentration in general music that maintains the framework of the degree with an alternative set of core criteria and coursework.
Applicants are not required to submit a formal audition, however we welcome recordings as part of the standard application process.
Traditional Music
Warren Wilson is inextricably linked to our location in the Blue Ridge Mountains, and our traditional music program is firmly tied to the Appalachian region.
Traditional music courses include:
- Old-Time Fiddle
- Mandolin
- Appalachian Flatfooting and Clogging
- Appalachian Square Dance
- Old-Time String Band
- Bluegrass Band
- Folk Guitar
- Flatpicking and Fingerpicking Guitar
- Banjo (Old-Time and Bluegrass)
- Appalachian Ballads and Folksongs
- Appalachian Music and Dance
Ensembles
Music performance is an integrated part of our program. You will have the opportunity to participate in a variety of ensembles, including:
- Old-Time String Band
- Bluegrass Band
- Jazz Ensemble
- College Choir
- Gamelan Ensemble
Taught by Professional Musicians
In addition to our full time faculty, our curriculum is given breadth with the participation of accomplished musicians and experts including:
- Katie Cilloffo Individual Instruction: Voice
- Jason DeCristofaro Jazz Ensemble, Individual Instruction: Piano, Percussion
- Parrish Ellis Individual Instruction: Guitar, Banjo
- John Engle Individual Instruction: Fiddle
- John Miller Songwriting, Individual Instruction: Mandolin, Banjo
- Ben Nelson Beginning String Band, Individual Instruction: Fiddle, Banjo
- Suzannah Park College Choir
- Travis Stuart Old-Time String Band, Individual Instruction: Banjo
- Natalya Weinstein Individual Instruction: Fiddle
Where Music Goes, Dance Follows
Dance classes at Warren Wilson include Appalachian Flatfooting and Clogging, Appalachian Square Dance, Jazz, Tap, Modern, and Ballet as well as Hip-Hop and African dance. In addition, we offer “Dance, Culture & Identity” every spring as an anthropology course. Half of the class is spent reading theory and scholarship on dance, and the other half moving, dancing, and participating in workshops (for example, Javanese Dance, Flatfooting, Tango and Salsa), and we offer free Salsa classes each week.
Warren Wilson is also host to the Old Farmers Ball, a community contra dance that takes place every Thursday in Bryson Gym. This dance, founded in 1982, is known throughout the country.
The Swannanoa Gathering
Since 1992, the Swannanoa Gathering has offered a series of weeklong folk music workshops on campus during the summer. The programs include Traditional Song Week, Celtic Week, Old-Time Music and Dance Week, Guitar Week, Contemporary Folk Week, Mandolin and Banjo Week, and Fiddle Week.
