The James Madison Museum was packed Sunday afternoon as Dr. Dena Jennings thrilled the audience with her discussion about the history of the banjo and her handmade gourd instruments. Jennings' lecture ...

When dried, the gourds have been supremely useful as containers, medical and musical instruments, even decorative birdhouses. Despite their ubiquity, though, they have their secrets. Archaeological ...

When I attended my college choir reunion in Redlands last month, I had to admit to those who asked, that I hadn”t been singing much in the last 32 years. Since college, I”ve focused much more on ...

The bottle gourd, beloved since pre-Columbian times not only for its voluptuous shape but for its endless uses, very likely floated on ocean currents from its native Africa to South America inside the ...

THE techniques and repertoire of traditional African music are handed down by word of mouth. There are skilled musicians who make music their profession. However, participation in music is generally ...

Such a gardener is Arthur Stephens of the Richmond Indigenous Gourd Orchestra. He’s not looking for chaste gourds; he wants ones that whisper, “I’m a shakere” and “Make me your mbira.” When Stephens ...

Latrobe Valley folk musician Penelope Swales was talking with a guitar maker about the difficulties in being paid for the time spent on the craft before the focus turned to a gourd she had bought from ...