Floyd Music School now offering lessons at Pulaski Theatre

Floyd Music School is now offering private and group lessons at the Pulaski Theatre in downtown Pulaski. Weekly fiddle, banjo, mandolin and guitar classes will be taught by Mike Mitchell, the founder and director of Floyd Music School – Floyd’s center for comprehensive musical education, emphasizing heritage mountain music.

Mitchell received his musical training at Youngstown State University in Ohio and has been playing the fiddle for 35 years. Currently, he plays with the best bluegrass bands in the two Virginias and is a first-call session player, as well. Following the critically acclaimed “Thirteen Hours,” Mike’s latest CD, “Dead Center,” has some of the finest pickers in the business, including Sammy Shelor of the Lonesome River Band, Wyatt Rice (Tony Rice Unit), Jacob Eller (Sierra Hull and Highway 111), Jeff Midkiff, Will Farmer (Blue Moonshine), Joe Prichard and Shannon Jones (from the West Virginia-based jam band, The Recipe), and Buddy Pendleton (an early Bill Monroe fiddler). Mitchell performs and records on Arthur Conner fiddles, which can be found at Mitchell Music Co. in Floyd, a family business representing Handmade in The Blue Ridge.

Mitchell was instrumental in bringing FloydJAMs, an afterschool heritage music program, into Floyd County schools and has been providing music instruction for all ages and skill levels for many years. Several students have won ribbons at regional fiddle competitions and played in the Roanoke Youth Symphony. Under Mitchell’s direction, The Blackberries, Floyd Music School’s junior bluegrass band, has played several times at Heartwood in Abingdon, at Chantilly Festival Farm’s Bluegrass and BBQ Festival, and for a Nick Rush political rally.

Group classes are already forming for Monday evenings with more times available, as needed. For more information or to sign up for lessons, call 745-6872 or visit www.floydmusicschool.com.

– Submitted by Jennifer Brooke

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