Folklife Fieldnotes Chris Boros, Pat Jarrett

In this episode of Folklife Fieldnotes, we ponder taking traditional Sephardic Jewish music into uncharted realms and how preserving the tradition, while expanding on it, is an essential way to introduce old music to new audiences.

With a lineage tracing back to the 1890s, Maxham Violins continues through Richard Maxham, the fifth generation in his family to carry on the legacy of making their instruments. He is currently apprenticing under Daniel Smith from Lynchburg, a master wood maker and violin maker through the 2022-2023 Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship Class.

Punk music has held strong to the ethos of doing it yourself, or DIY for short. Very few punk bands make a living playing this music. In most of America, established venues for heavy music are few and far between. This is where the DIY ethos shines, and how houses become DIY music venues.

Katy Clune is Virginia’s state folklorist and the new director of the Virginia Folklife Program.