North Carolina Conversations Summer-Fall 2008.pdf

Again! Celebrating an AmericanIcon; Yesterday’s Tomorrows: PastVisions of the American Future;and Key Ingredients: America byFood. The exhibitions sparked anastonishing array of public programsthat in turn have generated unprecedentedvolunteerism, local philanthropy,cultural tourism, performingarts projects, and ambitious capitalimprovements.For SITES, Museum on Main Streetexemplifies the fulfillment of itsmission: to extend Smithsoniancollections, research, and exhibitionsto communities across the nation. ForState Humanities Councils, Museumon Main Street broadens publicinvestigation of the humanities,inspires community pride and cooperation,and develops heightenedawareness of local heritage.— —as point-person for the NewHarmonies exhibit tour throughthe state. He will collaborate withstaff at the exhibit sites, the statescholar, and the national MoMSteam over the three-year life cycleof the project.Stover founded and directed theSpoken Word Performance PoetryEnsemble in Washington, D.C.,and edited its anthology, Bad BeatsSacred Rhythms. He wrote andproduced “Run on Water,” an epicnarrative for radio, stage, and filmthat examines the Black experiencein coastal Carolina during theCivil War.As with these previous programs,Stover expects New Harmonies will“invite diverse audiences statewideto experience creative expressionthrough performances and toexplore the rich musical heritageof North Carolina and the country.”Darrell Stover, theHumanities Council’s ProgramAssociate and Statewide Coordinatorfor Museum on Main Street, servesHere Stover poses with a statue of hisfavorite jazz musician in High Point. Photoby Harlan Gradin.as sultry as a summer night inMississippi delta country. The instrumentsvary from fiddle to banjo toaccordion to guitar to drum. Buta drum in the hands of an Africansounds different than one in thehands of a European. And neither isthe drumbeat of an American Indian.Yet all the rhythms merge, as do themelodies and harmonies, producingcompletely new sounds — newmusic. The musics merge becausethis is America.The exhibition provides a fascinating,inspiring, and toe-tapping listento the American story of multiculturalexchange. The story is fullof surprises about familiar songs,histories of instruments, the rolesof religion and technology, and thecontinuity of musical roots from“Yankee Doodle Dandy” to the latesthip hop CD.The North Carolina HumanitiesCouncil has received proposalsfrom museums and historic sitesacross the state to host the NewHarmonies exhibit. Selected siteswill be announced in the fall. Eachsite will develop programming andactivities to complement the exhibit— for example, lectures, films, andperformances. Then New Harmonieswill be heard across the state in 2010.For more information contact DarrellStover, MoMS Statewide Coordinatorat (336) 334-5723 ordstover@nchumanities.org.NC Conversations • Summer 2008 • 33