High Country Humanities is a collaboration between the College of Arts and Sciences at Appalachian State University and community partners in Watauga County. We aim to foster a greater understanding and appreciation of the humanities in the local community, both within and outside the campus.
Upcoming Events
Wednesday, April 2, 2025
5:30 - 7 p.m.
5:30 - 7 p.m.
The classical composer Béla Bartók is perhaps most famous in the music world for having incorporated elements of folk music into his work, a practice that earned him the title of “father of ethnomusicology.” He even spent one summer in Asheville in 1945 and composed one of his piano concertos there. What qualifies as folk music in North Carolina and around the world? What elements of rural sound inspired Bartók, and in which rural communities did they originate? In this workshop, participants will hear examples of and learn to recognize the folk sounds in classical music.
Sunday, May 4, 2025
3:30 - 5:30 p.m.
3:30 - 5:30 p.m.
App State’s High Country Humanities — with support from North Carolina Humanities and the Watauga Arts Council — is pleased to present a public listening workshop, followed by a free concert. The listening workshop celebrates the 80th anniversary of the “Asheville Concerto” (“Piano Concerto No. 3”) by Béla Bartók (1881-1945). After a fifteen-minute intermission, there will be a free public concert, sponsored by a Grassroots Grant from the Watauga Arts Council.
Upcoming Events Presented by Affiliates
Affiliate events are organized by App State academic units and centers or by individual faculty members working with partners from other local and regional organizations.
Department of Government and Justice Studies
Thursday, April 3, 2025
7:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Hughlene Bostian Frank Visiting Writers Series
Thursday, April 10, 2025
3:30 - 4:45 p.m.
Hughlene Bostian Frank Visiting Writers Series
Thursday, April 10, 2025
6 - 7:30 p.m.
Philosophy and Religious Studies in the Contemporary World
Tuesday, April 15, 2025
5:30 - 7 p.m.
Mission
High Country Humanities seeks to sponsor and support local humanities events that are open to the public. In some cases, we will promote humanities events organized by our community partners, and in other cases, we will organize events ourselves. Whether the event takes place on the Appalachian State’s campus or elsewhere, High Country Humanities events will be open to everyone in the public interested in the humanities.
Get Involved
High Country Humanities welcomes faculty and community input. We invite local stakeholders to contribute to this initiative. To get involved, please contact hchumanities@appstate.edu. Here are a few ways to participate:
- Suggest an event for us to promote.
- Nominate a community leader or humanities expert to serve on the advisory board.
- Volunteer to help organize or staff an upcoming event.
- Want to receive announcements about upcoming events? Subscribe to our mailing list
Donors and Sponsors
If you are interested in making a donation to support High Country Humanities, or if you are a local vendor who wishes to sponsor an upcoming event, please contact hchumanities@appstate.edu. Contributions of any amount make a difference!
North Carolina Humanities
Nov. 20, 2024
High Country Humanities will design and deliver high-impact humanities programming on Béla Bartók (1881–1945), the Hungarian composer who helped bridge the divide between classical and folk music. A vocal opponent of the distinction between “high” and “low” cultures in Nazi-occupied Europe, Bartók was exiled to the United States during World War II. He spent his final summer in North Carolina, where he composed his famous “Asheville Concerto” in 1945. Celebrating the eightieth anniversary of this piece, humanities experts will offer free public talks, discussions, and guided listening workshops to make classical music more accessible and relevant to broad audiences in rural North Carolina.
Watauga Democrat
Sep. 27, 2024
Appalachian State University’s High Country Humanities welcomed the community to Valle Crucis Park on a sunny afternoon on Sunday, Sept. 22, for a string of folk music demonstrations by university professors. Dr. Laurie Semmes, a professor of ethnomusicology, spoke about the bandura, Ukraine’s national instrument; Mark Freed, an adjunct instructor of Appalachian music, presented on Appalachian folk music; and Dr. Jacob Kopcienski led an audience question-and-answer session. Local folk musician Rick Ward was also present for the demonstrations.
App State High Country Humanities Receives Grant from North Carolina Humanities
College of Arts and Sciences
Oct. 17, 2023
High Country Humanities has received a large grant from North Carolina Humanities. This $20,000 grant will help fund a series of free public events relating to the theme of “Connecting Local and Global Rural Cultures,” including workshops, panel discussions, guided tours and interactive lectures in which humanities experts will help the public learn about a broad range of rural cultures.
This program is supported in part by North Carolina Humanities, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, www.nchumanities.org.
Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this website do not necessarily represent those of North Carolina Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities.