With long brown hair and hot pink Chuck Taylors, Sidney Hollandsworth is at the Montgomery County Tourism office stuffing JAM registration announcements into envelopes.
She’s been named director of the new Junior Appalachian Music program launching this month for middle school students in Christiansburg.
The JAM program seeks to sustain and celebrate traditional music in the Appalachians by handing out fiddles and banjos to young people and teaching them to play – maybe love and share – the music.
Sidney Hollandsworth is the daughter of Kathie and John Hollandsworth, local legends of traditional, old-time and Celtic music. She grew up steeped in Appalachian musical heritage. The founder of the JAM program, Helen White, is an old family friend.
Growing up in Christiansburg, she graduated from Radford University in 2003 majoring in music.
“I play several instruments,” she said “Auto harp and guitar are most relevant to JAM, but I have a background in voice and piano.”
JAM, begun in Alleghany County in 2000, now spreads music traditions to kids in 41 venues in the Carolinas, Tennessee; there are 13 in Virginia, but while Virginia’s musical traditions may be strong in rural communities, they dwindle in busier, urban locales.
“In towns like Galax and in Grayson County, traditional music has survived among families even though travel to play and practice – getting there and back – can be a challenge. The tradition of playing old-time music hasn’t survived quite as well in larger towns like Christiansburg. On the other hand, in towns we have a concentration of people in a central location and a lot of activity and support in the area like Blacksburg Market JAM and the Crooked Road. It’s a great thing,” Hollandsworth said.
Forty Christiansburg Middle School students will begin music classes this week.
