|
 |
 |
|
For the past 27 years, Ron Short, a native of the Appalachian Mountains of Dickenson County, Virginia, has provided a vital, authentic, musical voice for Roadside Theater. He has performed in 18 Roadside touring productions, and has written the scripts and musical scores of eleven musical plays that the company has toured across the U.S. and in Europe. His powerful vocals, proven songwriting skills, and accomplished musicianship (on a dozen instruments) have been nurtured by the central Appalachian Mountain culture in which he was born and grew up, and strengthened by his collaborations with artists from other cultures.
He has been instrumental in developing Roadside’s cross-cultural collaborative projects which include full length, musical plays with Idiwanan An Chawe, the Zuni language theater from Pueblo Zuni, NM and Junebug Productions, the nationally recognized African American theater from New Orleans, LA. He is Roadside’s playwright and composer on Promise of a Love Song, a collaborative musical production with Junebug Productions and Teatro Pregones, the premier Puerto Rican theater from the South Bronx. Currently, he is collaborating with Steinway artist Beegie Adair on the script and music for Betsy, Roadside’s newest musical play that explores the intersection of jazz and bluegrass and how the two musical traditions communicate and continue to shape an American cultural identity.
Short has recorded and produced four albums of music and story (Wings to Fly, Cities of Gold, Singing, and Mountain Tales and Music), but it is in live performance that his skills and experience shine. His music is grounded but unique — influenced by the slide guitar phrasings of Mississippi blues; the power of a cappella Old Regular Baptist, lined-out hymns; the spirit of the conjunto sounds of Texas; and the timelessness of the Scots-Irish fiddle tunes and frailed banjo styles of central Appalachia.
|
|
 |
|
I am honored and thankful to have been selected to write the commissioned work for the Virginia Continental Harmony project. Having worked as a musician/composer for the past thirty years, I am well aware of how little funding there is available to create new American music. As a "folk musician", I am doubly conscious of the fact that there is little opportunity for me to even apply for work of this status.
I believe, that the writing of new American music is imperative for the healthy development and growth of American cultural identity. For music to be vital and important, it must be constantly refreshed and renewed and "folk music" is no different from any other musical form. Folk music, the voice of the people, while reflecting heritage must nourish new forms of musical expression.
My hope for this project, is that we can live up to the high standards of a Continental Harmony project, while truly creating new and important interpretations of the Appalachian musical imagination.
|
|
 |
|
Wise, Virginia
The region of Central Appalachia where the University of Virginia's College at Wise is located has a long history of poverty and economic turmoil. However, while this region may be economically poor, it is rich in history, culture, and especially music. Everywhere there is music?churches, festivals, and homes where family bands gather to celebrate the music and their own lives.
learn more about this project
|
|
|
 |
|
