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Ninth year Now in its ninth year, Maryland Traditions represents a statewide effort "to discover, share, preserve and sustain traditional arts and culture," according to its mission statement. Elaine Eff of the Maryland Historical Trust is the other co-director of Maryland Traditions. Before Maryland Traditions existed, Murphy says, it was the job of just one folklorist to canvass the state's entire folk- and traditional-arts landscape. Now, seven people are doing it, he says, pointing out that Maryland Traditions has five partner organizations that employ a folklorist. The five are: Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art, Salisbury University; Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum (St. Michaels); Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County; Prince George's African American Museum and Cultural Center; and Frostburg State University. Maryland Traditions provides funding to these partner groups, Murphy says, and together, they "produce folk festivals, museum exhibits and public events that enable folk artists to show what they do." For instance, Maryland Traditions is helping the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum with its second annual folk festival this year, planned for July 25, he says. "We're also starting to help our Prince George's partner develop a February 2010 symposium on African-American sacred, or gospel, music in Prince George's County." Apprenticeship awards are a major element in the Maryland Traditions program. A master practitioner of folk or traditional arts takes an apprentice for a year, Murphy says. The Traditions program also awards project grants to organizations or individuals who conduct research or programming in order to document, preserve or present Maryland's traditional arts and culture. Evening At Creative Alliance In the meantime, Murphy is continuing with his research in Cecil County. "I'm working with the descendants of Ola Belle Reed, the clawhammer banjo player and songwriter," he says. A native of North Carolina, Reed began performing professionally in the mid-1930s. High on a Mountain is one of the songs she's known for. Murphy also works with instrument makers in the state. He focuses on banjo makers. "Everywhere I looked, there were banjo makers," he says. "I had never really encountered that before." He notes that Baltimore in the 19th century was a place where the commercial production of banjos began. Moreover, the Baltimore and Washington, D.C., areas have been historically known as centers of bluegrass and honky-tonk music, he says. Today, he's seeing "a lot of West African immigrant musicians playing music with white banjo players – after all, music has that power to transcend cultural differences." He's also looking to advance outreach efforts into the Latino community, especially to its musicians and craftspeople.
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He joined the Arts Council last year, moving down from Cambridge, Massachusetts. "Maryland's folklore program is a well-known and respected program," he says. "The state is one of the leaders in public folklore – it has demonstrated a strong commitment to the program even in tough economic times."