Mel Bay presents Ozarks Fiddle Music
Drew Beisswenger, Head of the Music Library at Missouri State University in Springfield, has been involved in researching the traditional music of the South for over 25 years. He held positions in public sector folklore including Folk Arts Coordinator for the Arkansas Arts Council, and Manager of the Regional Studies Center at Arkansas College (now Lyon College). His previous books on fiddle music include Fiddling Way Out Yonder: The Life and Music Of Melvin Wine (University Press of Mississippi), Beau Solo: 12 Cajun Fiddle Tunes Transcribed from Michael Doucet's CD (Mel Bay Publications), and The World's Hottest Fiddlers (Mel Bay Publications). He has recieved a Fulbright Scholar Program award to teach and research in Cork, Ireland, and has been awarded a Foundation Award for Research by Missouri State University. Beisswenger earned a Ph.D. in ethnomusicology from the University of Memphis, and in addition to teaching library courses he teaches courses on world music and Ozarks traditional music at MSU. Gordon McCann has been collecting fiddle tunes and documenting fiddle-related events in the Ozarks, especially in the Missouri Ozarks, since the mid-1970s. He has an indexed field recording collection of over 65,000 Ozark fiddle tunes if one includes variations. As the guitarist for famed Ozarks fiddler Art Galbraith, McCann performed nationally at venues such as the National Folk Festival at Wolf Trap, the New Orleans 1984 World s Fair, and the Smithsonian s American Folklife Festival. He co-wrote a book with Vance Randolph on Ozarks folklore sources, and co-producing six Rounder CDs featuring traditional Ozarks fiddle music. Widely considered an expert on Ozarks folk music traditions, McCann has served on advisory panels for the National Geographic Society and the National Endowment for the Arts. In recent years, he has produced television programs on Ozarks heritage and sponsored a series of concerts featuring young Ozarks fiddlers. In 2001, the governor of Missouri awarded McCann the prestigious Missouri Arts Award for his far-reaching work. McCann is a retired businessman and lives in Springfield, Missouri.