OLD TIME COUNTRY, FAMILY FOLK, AND COAL MINING SONGS TO BE FEATURED AT FINAL CVSM MUSICALE OF THE SEASON ON JUNE 13 

CHAMBERSBURG.  The Cumberland Valley School of Music will present its final Musicale of the season, “Old Time Country, Family Folk, and Coal Mining Songs” on Sunday, June 13, 2004 at 3:00 PM, hosted by Penn National Golf Course Community at the Trellis Terrace, Clubhouse Drive, Fayetteville, PA.  This beautiful pavilion is a perfect spot for a program featuring Jay Smar in a fascinating and historic performance of “old-time country music”. Among his many performing credits, Smar recently appeared at the Philadelphia Folk Festival and recorded a number of songs for a BBC Documentary, “The Welsh in America”.  He sings, plays a variety of folk instruments, and clogs, so this will be a diverse and entertaining program. 

Over the years, Jay Smar has gained considerable concert experience performing his own brand of new and traditional folk music, as well as 'opening' for such greats as Leo Kottke,  John Hammond, Maura O'Connell, Tom Paxton, Loudon Wainright, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Kathy Mattea and Emmylou Harris. His versatile talent has earned him first place honors in songwriting contests including the Keystone Song-Writers Association of Pennsylvania and as a finalist at the Kerrville Folk Festival in Kerrville, Texas, which highlights 40 original artists from the U.S. and Canada.   In 1986, WVIA-TV from Wilkes-Barre, PA, chose his song "Eastern PA" for a commercial to help promote vacationing in his home State.  Jay has recorded six albums, which have received radio airplay throughout the United States as well as in England and France.

As part of this musicale, Jay will introduce his audience to the "coal region" of Pennsylvania where during the 1800's, coal made an impact on the people and the region itself. He hails from the historic Jim Thorpe, PA area, and two of his songs, "Stuck in C" and "The Ballad of Glen Onoko", have been used by area TV and radio stations for commercial use. Another tune, "There's Coal in Summit Hill", relates to the story of the first discovery of anthracite coal in the U.S. and also tells of the "Switchback Railroad".

During his concerts, Smar’s  baritone voice is accompanied by finger-picking, flat-picking, and harmonica solos. Open-tuned slide guitar with a 5/8 inch SK deep-well socket and some claw-hammer banjo also make an appearance.  

            Tickets are $30 per person, and all proceeds go to help support the Cumberland Valley School of Music, a non-profit certified member of the National Guild of Community Schools of the Arts teaching music and drama in Chambersburg, Waynesboro, and Mercersburg.   For more information or to purchase tickets contact the CVSM office at (717)-261-1220.

Jay Smar