Mark Freed, our Folklorist, was born in Clarion, Pennsylvania, but has been living in the western North Carolina mountain region for the past three years. Originally driven to this location due to his passion for the banjo and mountain music, he enrolled in the Appalachian Studies masters degree program at Appalachian State University. With a thesis still to write, Mark is finishing up his degree while working halftime for the Watauga Arts Council. He sees his role as folklorist as an opportunity to provide traditional arts programming and community outreach rather than a documenting and analysis position. Mark has taught a course on Appalachian string band music for ASU and worked as a teaching assistant for Mary Greene in her Appalachian Music course. Starting in the spring semester, 2006, Mark will begin teaching the Appalachian Music course for ASU’s music department. He was the chair of the Appalachian Heritage Council, a student group at ASU, promoting and organizing music, storytelling, traditional crafts, and other concerts, workshops, and events dealing with the Appalachian region. One of these events, the Black Banjo Gathering, turned into an international event celebrating African and African American banjo roots and contemporary players. While you can often find Mark around the town and region playing his banjo and helping coordinate music events, he also brings a passion for all of the traditional arts of the region and is looking forward to providing opportunities for our local community. Contact Mark by email at mark@watauga-arts.org.