Berea College Bluegrass Ensemble Plays UK

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Dec. 2, 2009) − The Berea College Bluegrass Ensemble will travel up I-75 to the University of Kentucky this Friday to present the next concert in "Appalachia in the Bluegrass," a concert series that explores traditional music in the Appalachian region. The free public concert featuring the local college ensemble, led by Al White, is set for noon Friday, Dec. 4, at the Niles Gallery, located in the Lucille C. Little Fine Arts Library and Learning Center.
 
The Berea College Bluegrass Ensemble was founded in the fall of 1999 to give Berea College students with background or potential in bluegrass music an opportunity to play in a "working" bluegrass band with weekly rehearsals, performances and travel. The group’s founder, Al White, has performed professionally with many bluegrass bands including the Bluegrass Alliance and the McLain Family Band, and teaches Appalachian instruments at Berea College.

Members of the ensemble are selected by audition, and typically remain with the group until they graduate from Berea College. The band’s recent tour of Japan marked its second visit there, the first being in 2006. The Berea College Bluegrass Ensemble also toured Ireland in 2004 and 2007. Current band members include: Will Haizlett, on mandolin; Darrin Hacquard, on guitar; John Bradley, on bass; Andrew Taylor, on fiddle; Micah Ruell, on lead vocals; and Al White, on banjo and fiddle.

The "Appalachia in the Bluegrass" concert series, presented by UK's John Jacob Niles Center for American Music, showcases a diverse selection of traditional musical expression. This series focuses on the many faces of indigenous American folk music, celebrating its roots in old-time music. All "Appalachia in the Bluegrass" concerts take place in the gallery of the Niles Center in the Little Fine Arts Library on UK's central campus. Niles Gallery concerts are scheduled on Fridays at noon and are free and open to the public.
 
The John Jacob Niles Center for American Music is a collaborative research and performance center of the UK College of Fine Arts, UK School of Music and UK Libraries.
 
For more information on the Berea College Bluegrass Ensemble concert at UK's Niles Gallery, contact Ron Pen, director of the Niles Center, by phone at (859) 257-8183.