|
Paul has been playing the banjo since 1973. Initially, he was taken by the popular Bluegrass Banjo movement of the time. But, owing to a keen interest in the history of the instrument which began with an English report in High School in 1976, he soon branched out on the banjo and has studied all major styles of five-string banjo playing: Bluegrass, Old Time (Frailing, Clawhammer), Classic Banjo, and Minstrel Stroke Style. He has traveled to Gambia and Senegal, West Africa (in 2004 and 2006) with Ulf Jagfors and Daniel Jatta to learn to play the Jola akonting and to research banjo origins. He was the co-author (with Greg Adams) of recent articles concerning the akonting ("Banjo Newsletter", March, 2007 and "The Old-time Herald," February-March, 2007), and has travelled to Banjo Camps across the country to provide workshops and instruction in playing the akonting. His degrees in Dramatic Art (BA, 1983), Bluegrass Music (South Plains College, 1985) and Master’s degrees in Playwriting and Education, 1989 and 2000, respectively, make him particularly well-suited for a solo theatre piece concerning the history of the banjo. Paul has been a Boston Public School Theatre Arts teacher since 1993.
|
|
