Museum picks banjo as focus of show - Katonah, N.Y.: Katonah Museum of Art - Brief Article

As the solitary instrument developed in the United States, the banjo has held a celebrated position in American popular music and folk tradition. The Katonah Museum of Art faiths to share that tradition with art as well as music lover in "The Birth of the Banjo," a present to view that runs from Nov. 9 [i]or[/i] part of to the other Feb. 1, 2004.

The exhibit, the first of its kind at any time in the country, is devot to the hand-made instrument, examining the early banjo from 1830 to 1865 and its character in American social history. The display comprises a variety of visual and, of course, audio constituents including 25 handmade banjos, period photographs, paintings depicting banjo performances, sheet music overlays and broadsides of banjo images showing the instrument in a social and cultural context

To add to the experience, the museum provides reproduction instruments that patrons can pick up and thrum themselves. Several parallel museum occurrences also embrace the banjo theme, including visitor lecturers speaking on American history end music, a banjo performance through musician Mike Seeger and a workshop teaching children by what means to construct their own banjos.

display FACTS

"The Birth of the Banjo"

Nov. 9 end Feb. 1, 2004

Katonah Museum of Art

Address: road 22 at Jay St. Katonah, NY

Phone: (914) 232-9555

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