School Information

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2021 Student Schedule

Mountain Music School will be held Monday, July 26 – Friday, July 30, 2021 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The student schedule is as follows:

     9 a.m. to noon — Class Instruction

     Noon to 1 p.m. — Lunch

     1 p.m. to 3 p.m. — Class Instruction

  

Instructor Information:

Tyler Hughes

Tyler Hughes began studying Old Time banjo at age 12 and today plays all across the southeast, preserving and promoting the traditional music of the Appalachians. Hughes first began his involvement with Mountain Music School over five years ago as a student. He now serves as the lead instructor for the Mountain Music School string band class and the co- director of the Mountain Music School Student String Band, a featured performer at the Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion and the Home Craft Days Festival. Hughes currently lives in Johnson City, TN, where he is pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Bluegrass, Old Time, and Country Music Studies at East Tennessee State University. He performs with several bands including ETSU’s Old Time Pride Band, Empty Bottle String Band, and more locally with The Generation Gap.

Todd Meade

Todd Meade has served as an adjunct music instructor at Mountain Empire Community College and is a regular instructor of Mountain Music School’s beginning fiddle class. A native of Twin Springs, Meade has played fiddle and upright bass for a number of bands, including the Twin Springs Bluegrass Band, Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys, ETSU Bluegrass Pride Band, and the Carolina Road Bluegrass Band. He was nominated for Bass Player of the Year in 2007.

Larry Mullins

Larry Mullins has served as an instructor of beginning guitar at Mountain Music School for eight years.  He teaches guitar in the Wise Jams program and has been a featured artist at Mountain Empire Community College’s Home Craft Days Festival, the Doc Boggs Festival, Heartwood Center, and many more.

Rhody Jane Meadows

Singer, songwriter, storyteller and musician Rhody Jane Meadows is a native of Big Stone Gap, VA and currently resides in Roan Mountain, TN. Meadows, a former public school teacher, holds a B.A. in English from the University of North Carolina and a M.A. in Appalachian Studies from Appalachian State University. She currently serves as an instructor of arts at Lees McRae College.

Cathy Qualls

Cathy Qualls has served as a beginning guitar instructor at Mountain Music School for several years. Cathy is a music instructor at Union Primary School for the last 40 years and has also served as an adjunct faculty member at Mountain Empire Community College, teaching shape note singing and beginning piano. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Music K-12 from Emory and Henry College, and sings with a local gospel group “The Tender Chords.”