Dirty Linen

This is an excerpt from the print edition of Dirty Linen #128 (February/March 2007).
The full article is in the magazine, available on newsstands, by subscription, and at the Dirty Linen webstore.

The Swannanoa Gathering

Safe Haven for the Soul

by Linda J. Morris

If West Virginia is almost heaven, that's because once you're in the Virginias, you're almost in North Carolina. There, the Blue Ridge Mountains rise majestically before the highway as you approach the Swannanoa River, which loops around Warren Wilson College. In this cradle, music lovers, acclaimed professionals to amateurs, meet every summer to share their music and to find that precious freedom to explore their own potential. This is the Swannanoa Gathering, where friendships are forged, traditions are honored -- and strangers never feel alone.

For 15 years, the series of weeklong workshops and concerts has become a way of life for participants. It sprang from the vision of college president Doug Orr. He had been to other music camps and wanted something similar, but with more flexibility for students to take multiple courses. Orr also wanted a program that was instructor-friendly, giving musicians access to each other and encouraging them to bring their families.

Swannanoa director Jim Magill remembers the shaky beginnings. "Doug and I met to hatch the plan in the fall of '91. When he said he wanted to run it the next summer, I about fell over." Magill attempted to promote Swannanoa at the Folk Alliance Conference in Calgary. "I had a brochure for a program that essentially did not exist. You could tear off a page and send for a catalog -- which did not exist."

That summer, 93 students enrolled in four programs over three weeks. Of course, the program lost money. Enrollment has now grown to 843 students in eight programs over five weeks. Themes include Sing and Swing, Dulcimer, Celtic, Old Time, Performance, Guitar, Fiddle, and Contemporary Folk, with workshops on many topics like voice and instrument care woven in. The advisory board now includes Fiona Ritchie, Tom Paxton, Dougie MacLean, John McCutcheon, and others.

[cover #128]