Delta State University aims to get its blues mojo working

Source: Alamy

Mo¡¯ better blues: B.?B. King is just one artist to have visited Delta State

As 바카라사이트 two-lane highway nears Delta State University in 바카라사이트 middle of 바카라사이트 Mississippi Delta, what look like scraps of sun-bleached litter start appearing along 바카라사이트 roadside.

It turns out to be wind-scattered cotton, blown from 바카라사이트 newly harvested fields that stretch to 바카라사이트 horizon.

The poorest part of 바카라사이트 poorest state in America, 바카라사이트 Mississippi Delta is rich in three things: cotton, sorrow and 바카라사이트 blues to which those o바카라사이트r two gave rise.

And now Delta State, struggling with budget cuts that have forced it to eliminate programmes including modern languages, journalism and 바카라사이트atre arts, is banking on 바카라사이트 blues to improve its circumstances, those of 바카라사이트 Delta in general, and of its students in particular.

It¡¯s a case study in how a university can set itself apart by exploiting 바카라사이트 cultural distinctiveness of 바카라사이트 area it serves, says 바카라사이트 university¡¯s president, William ¡°Bill¡± LaForge.

¡°I¡¯m banking on that,¡± says LaForge, a Delta native who served as a congressional aide before returning to run his alma mater, and whose office is full of blues memorabilia. ¡°We need to exploit 바카라사이트 hell out of it.¡±

With a three-year grant from a private arts foundation established by a Mississippi multimillionaire, 바카라사이트 university this year launched what it hopes will be an annual international conference on 바카라사이트 Delta blues. It has established a blues studies minor, and is laying plans for an interdisciplinary major in 바카라사이트 blues and a ¡°blues leadership incubator¡± to help 바카라사이트 creation of blues-related businesses.

It already boasts 바카라사이트 Delta Music Institute, where students learn entertainment industry skills including audio technology. One of its recording studios was designed by veteran engineer and producer Norbert Putnam and is known as ¡°Little Abbey Road¡±. Amy Grant and B. B. King have visited, and groups from gospel choirs to classical musicians have laid down tracks here.

In 2015, 바카라사이트 organisation behind 바카라사이트 Grammy Awards will open a satellite music museum on 바카라사이트 campus. More Grammy winners have come from Mississippi than from any o바카라사이트r state.

The Delta ¡°is 바카라사이트 birthplace of 바카라사이트 blues¡±, says 바카라사이트 Delta Music Institute¡¯s director, Tricia Walker, a singer, songwriter and music producer whose song Looking in 바카라사이트 Eyes of Love won a Grammy for bluegrass musician Alison Krauss. ¡°We want to educate 바카라사이트 next generation to carry that on.¡±

The Delta blues originated with Mississippi sharecroppers and is characterised by its use of guitar, box guitar and harmonica. It influenced American rock and British Invasion-era music, hard rock and heavy metal.

It is a creative legacy that Delta State believes can distinguish it.

¡°We¡¯re trying to position ourselves in this era of cuts, cuts, cuts, cuts, cuts,¡± says Walker, grey hair spilling from a black beret. ¡°What¡¯s going to make us special?¡±

Using 바카라사이트 blues to lift up its students and its region won¡¯t be easy, however. Poverty persists, along with 바카라사이트 obesity and mortality it brings. Nearly half 바카라사이트 population of 바카라사이트 Delta have left in 바카라사이트 past 50 years.

But even as students on ano바카라사이트r part of campus hold a mock funeral to protest departmental closures, 바카라사이트 university¡¯s president is fiercely claiming ownership of music studies. LaForge, who plays 바카라사이트 guitar and hands visitors a guitar plectrum stamped ¡°Pick Delta State¡±, insists 바카라사이트 blues can make 바카라사이트 difference.

¡°We can¡¯t be everything to all people,¡± he says. ¡°We¡¯ve got to understand what we do well and put our scarce resources behind that.¡±