Bob Carlin
Producer, Performer, Teacher & Researcher


1/02–6/02:  Fieldworker, African-American Shape Note Choirs.  Documented on digital audiotape the Alexander County, North Carolina shape note (under a Folklife Section/North Carolina Arts Council documentary grant).

6/96:  Fieldworker, Smith McInnis Recording Project.  Documented on digital audiotape Hoke County fiddler McInnis (under a Folklife Section/North Carolina Arts Council contract).

1/95 to 6/95:  Project Director/Fieldworker, North Carolina Banjo Project. Documented on digital audiotape and in still photography four of the few remaining pre-bluegrass banjo players from North Carolina's Piedmont region. Through performances and interviews, preserved this important regional style (under a Folklife Section/North Carolina Arts Council documentary grant).

7/92 to 10/93:  Fieldworker, Steel Industry Heritage Ethnographic Survey. Documented the region's living traditional activities and practices through taped interviews and still photography.  Prepared written final reports to be used in developing plan for preserving and presenting the region's expressive cultural traditions through exhibits, special events, etc (under a National Park Service contract through Steel Industry Heritage Corporation).

5/92 to 6/92:  Fieldworker, Western North Carolina Fiddle Project.  Through taped interviews and still photography, documented the fiddle styles of Western North Carolina.  Prepared a written research summary to be used in readying a Folklife Section publication presenting the fiddlers of the Asheville area (under a Folklife Section/North Carolina Arts Council contract).

7/90 to 7/91:  Project Director/Fieldworker, Musical Change in the Western Piedmont.  Documented stringband music within a six county area of North Carolina.  Collected interviews on audiotape and preserve historic recordings, historic and newly generated still photographs, and oral histories at the Southern Historical Collection/UNC-CH.  Organized and interpreted a public presentation of expressive cultural traditions, including performances by traditional artists, and museum exhibition.  Wrote "Musical Change in the Western Piedmont:  A Research Summary" (under NC Humanities Council and Arts Council For Davidson County grants).

4/89 to 6/89:  Project Director/Fieldworker, Musical Traditions of Alamance County.  Using tape recordings and still photography, collected, documented and preserved information and artifacts pertaining to local music traditions and history for the Alamance County Historical Museum.  Organized a presentation of expressive cultural traditions, including a museum exhibition and the Fiddler's Picnic festival (under a Folklife Section/North Carolina Arts Council grant).

4/88 to 10/88:  Project Director/Fieldworker, Music Making in a Railroading Town.  Ethnographic survey in Lima, Ohio, to gather information about ethnic musical heritage.  Included archival research and fieldwork collection utilizing taped interviews and still photography.  Helped organize and interpret five public presentations of traditional music; final report (under a NEA Folkarts grant through American House).

6/87 to 7/87:  Fieldworker, Music of Magoffin County.  Collected, documented and preserved music traditions in Eastern Kentucky (under an Appalachian Studies Fellowship/Berea College and KY Folklife Foundation grant).

12/86:  Fieldworker, Library of Congress Banjo Collection.  Collected, documented and preserved banjo traditions in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and North Carolina for an lp publication presenting field recordings from the Archive of Folk Culture (under an Appalachian Studies Fellowship).



2401 W. Center Street Ext. • Lexington, NC 27295
(336) 248-6202 • e-mail