On the evening of Thursday, September 8, The West Virginia Folklife Program, a project of the West Virginia Humanities Council, will present a concert by West Virginia ballad singer Phyllis Marks. The concert will be held from 5:30-7:30pm at the historic MacFarland-Hubbard House, headquarters of the West Virginia Humanities Council (1310 Kanawha Blvd. E) in Charleston. The free event will include a performance, question-answer session, and reception, and will be recorded and archived at the Library of Congress.
Phyllis Marks, age 89, is according to folklorist Gerry Milnes the last active ballad singer in the state who “learned by heart” via oral transmission. Marks was recorded for the Library of Congress in 1978 and has performed for 62 years at the West Virginia State Folk Festival in her hometown of Glenville. Phyllis Marks is among West Virginia’s finest traditional musicians and a master of unaccompanied Appalachian ballad singing. Following her performance, Marks will give a brief interview with West Virginia University musicology professor and West Virginia native Travis Stimeling.
“West Virginia Folklife Presents Ballad Singer Phyllis Marks” is supported by ZMM Architects & Engineers in Charleston and The American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress’ 2016 Henry Reed Fund Award. Established in 2004 with an initial gift from founding AFC director Alan Jabbour, the fund provides small awards to support activities directly involving folk artists, especially when the activities reflect, draw upon, or strengthen the archival collections of the AFC.
The West Virginia Folklife Program is a project of the West Virginia Humanities Council and is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Folk & Traditional Arts Program. West Virginia Folklife is dedicated to the documentation, preservation, presentation, and support of West Virginia’s vibrant cultural heritage and living traditions. For more information on the concert and West Virginia Folklife Program, visit http://wvhumanities.org/programs/west-virginia-folklife-program/ or contact Emily Hilliard at hilliard@wvhumanities.org or (304)346-8500.
