For more information:
• Craig and Barbara Pierpont, 13210 Edmonton Road, Edmonton, KY 42129

Producer: Charlee Heaton Pagoulatos
Videographer: Gale Worth

Music Maker

harp craftsman Craig Pierpont

This Edmonton man has found the perfect way to blend his love of music with his love of woodworking. He creates beautiful harps, dulcimers, and other musical instruments using only hand tools and no electricity—not even for lights. See and hear some of his creations as wife Barbara plays one of Craig’s handmade harps.

Watch This Story (6:32)

For more information:
• See the singer’s official web site for a biography, photos, and more.

Producer: Jodie Spears

We Knew Him When

Opera tenor Gregory Turay

Blessed with a voice mature beyond his years, former University of Kentucky student Greg Turay is a nationally known opera singer. Kentucky Life’s profile catches Greg as a graduate student at UK, and excerpts from a student production of Donizetti’s Elixir of Love show why he’s regarded as one of the brightest young stars to emerge in years.

Watch This Story (4:31)

Producer: Theresa Carpenter
Videographer, editor: Rick Barney

Making Their Own Way

Union Tree

Next, Kentucky Life travels to Louisville to meet three more would-be stars. John Bojandas, Natalie Robinson, and Todd Smith make up Union Tree, and they began to attract a local following with appearances around town in the mid-1990s. This profile catches them in the act of trying to get the attention of the wider popular music world with a self-produced compact disc. The profile includes a visit to the recording session and interviews with the three musical storytellers about trying to make it in the music biz.

Watch This Story (4:53)

For more information:
• Kentucky Folklife Program, Kentucky Historical Society, P.O. Box H, Frankfort, KY 40602-2108, (502) 564-3016

Producer, videographer: Vince Spoelker

Play Me Some Mountain Music

Cari Norris and friends

Storytelling is also at the root of the Appalachian musical tradition. “The themes you find in this old music, I think they cover the basic themes you encounter in life,” says singer Cari Norris. She and fellow folk musician Anna MacFie talk about “old-time” mountain music and the unexpected places its influence sometimes turns up in this segment, taped at the 1995 Kentucky State Fair.

Norris is the granddaughter of Lillie Mae Ledford, a legendary figure in folk and bluegrass music.

Watch This Story (5:40)