UK Alumni to Celebrate 'An Appalachian Christmas' With 'Red Barn Radio'

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Dec. 6, 2016) —  A concert featuring some of the state's best artists, including University of Kentucky alumni, will ring in the holidays in a very Kentucky way. "An Appalachian Christmas," presented as part of the "Red Barn Radio" program, will showcase the talents of the UK alumni that make up The Sara Holroyd Singers, dulcimer player Sarah Kate Morgan, UK alumnus, guitarist and vocalist Dean Phelps, and The Local Honeys. The recording session of "An Appalachian Christmas" will begin 8 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 7, at ArtsPlace, located at 161 North Mill St, and is free and open to the public.

The Sara Holroyd Singers, formed by UK alumni Renee Collins and Warren Cobb and directed by Maestro Richard Burns, will perform music from a Shaker worship service in "Music of the Shakers," arranged by recording artist and choral composer Salli Terri. The Sara Holroyd Singers are a choral group, made up of former UK Choristers, who sang under the direction of Holroyd from 1979-1987. A former UK School of Music faculty member, Holroyd conducted the UK Choristers in an annual performance of "A Shaker Worship Service" for thousands of people who came to the Shaker Village Meeting House. The popular program was even filmed by KET. This group of alumni recreated that experience again last year in a tribute concert for Holroyd’s 90th birthday to keep the legacy and the beauty of early American Shaker folk music alive and vibrant in the state of Kentucky.

Holroyd taught at the UK School of Music for 26 years. She received music education degrees from Peabody, Columbia and Indiana Universities majoring in both trumpet and voice. Though she received no formal training in choral conducting, she progressively started taking over choral groups from retiring professors eventually becoming one of only a very few female directors of choral activities in the collegiate ranks. Holroyd is best known for her colorful and vibrant Madrigal Dinners and "Gift of Music" concerts and for her collaborations with Terri on "A Shaker Worship Service," as well as preparing choruses on four occasions to perform with the world renowned Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Conductor Robert Shaw.

The music of Sarah Morgan embodies her respect and joy of folk music and her creative approach to arranging. Backing traditional Appalachian melodies and haunting old-time tunes with fresh harmonies and a progressive drive, she lends a new feel to seemingly "old" tunes, while accompanying pure and heartfelt vocals with the unpretentious sound of the Appalachian dulcimer. Folk, Americana and old-time roots are brought to the forefront at her live shows, where only Morgan and her dulcimer can be found behind the microphone, creating a subtle yet powerful sound that brings the relevant music of the past to today’s audience.

Morgan started her musical journey at 7 years old and has fallen in love with traditional and folk music through the years. A native of East Tennessee, she has incorporated the rich musical heritage of the area into her music. At 18, Morgan placed first at the 2012 National Mountain Dulcimer Championships held in Winfield, Kansas. A year later she was a finalist in the 2013 International Acoustic Music Awards.

UK alumnus Dean Phelps combines the rhythmic beat of thumbpicking guitar with a soulful vocal style. Part blues and part old school country, Phelps' repertoire of songs range from the late 19th and early 20th centuries along with a few pages out of the hymnal, creating a style that is reminiscent of performers like Merle Travis and Doc Watson.

Phelps has earned both local and national recognition for his guitar playing, winning the National Thumbpicking Guitar Contest at the Ozark Folk Center in Mountain View, Arkansas, and being named thumbpick guitar champion at the Indiana Picking and Fiddling Championship. He has appeared as the featured guest on "Red Barn Radio" and has performed at Denver area venues like the Oriental Theater and Swallow Hill.

The Local Honeys are a charming duo, born and raised in Central and Eastern Kentucky. The pairing is comprised of Montana Hobbs and Linda Jean Stokley. Hobbs and Stokley were the first females to graduate with bachelor's degrees in traditional music from Morehead State University.

The sincere dedication of The Local Honeys to Kentucky music led them to spend many late evenings in Morehead's traditional music archives where they listened in awe to the many regional fiddle and banjo players from which they have drawn much of their repertoire. They listened eagerly through the static and crackle of many field recordings to transliterate the living and late Kentucky artists whose stories, songs and tunes were recorded by those foreseeing the importance of their survival.

If you are unable to attend "An Appalachian Christmas," the concert will be livestreamed and will be recorded and filmed for "Red Barn Radio," which airs on radio stations all over the country, and a TV special that will air on WTVQ on Christmas Day and on KET several times during the month of December. 

"Red Barn Radio" showcases old-time and bluegrass musicians, both from the Commonwealth and neighboring states where Kentucky music has settled and flourished. In weekly conversation and performance with its talented guests, "Red Barn Radio" enlivens and archives Kentucky's musical heritage, and brings to the airwaves a uniquely refreshing and folksy hour of Americana programming.