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Deseret Morning News
Friday, May 18, 2007
Arts groups unite to keep pioneer heritage strong
New organization designed to bring all under one umbrella
By Carma Wadley
Deseret Morning News
Wherever they went in the Intermountain West, the pioneers took their arts with them: song, dance, stories, poetry, brass bands, even such art-crafts as quilting and woodworking.
Scott G. Winterton, Deseret Morning News
Karl Behling tells a story at the Sons of Utah Pioneers National Headquarters Thursday during ceremony for Utah Pioneer Heritage Arts.
A lot of artisans still practice those heritage arts, but Utah now has a new organization designed to bring all of them under one umbrella. An official "Signing of the Memorandum of Agreement" for the Utah Pioneer Heritage Arts association took place Thursday night at the Sons of Utah Pioneers National Headquarters. The evening featured performances by various groups involved in the project, as well as the signing ceremony.
"We feel there is a great need for the preservation of our heritage," said Shawnda Bishop, director of Clog America, and one of the driving forces behind the new organization. "We hope to bring together all the groups that are trying to preserve a part of that heritage to collaborate and gain strength. We hope to establish a home to preserve, celebrate and pass on these arts."
Many of the heritage arts are struggling to stay alive, added Clive Romney, of Enoch Train, who is also instrumental in the arts association. "Collaboration is the key, not only to let these arts survive but thrive. A lot of people love these arts, but we need to make them more visible. Working together, we can have presentations that have more depth."
For example, he thinks it would be fun for a musician to talk to a quilter, write a song about a quilt, and then have the quilt on stage as the song is performed. UPHA also envisions festivals where all the groups can come together, and putting together presentations for conventions and other groups. "Heritage is big business. A lot of people pay a lot of money to see how things used to be," Romney said; UPHA needs to tap into that.
They also hope to do outreach programs in the schools and take kids on field trips to Gardner Village and other places, and are also working on a Web site.
Founding members of UPHA include groups such as the Utah Old Time Fiddlers, Clog America, Cowboy Poets of Utah, Institute of American Music, Wasatch Contras, Gardner Village, National Pony Express, Utah Storytelling Guild, Nashville Songwriters Association International, Old-Time Utah Dances, Association of Square Dance Clubs of Utah, Utah Talent Showdown, Folklore Society of Utah, Enoch Train, Caboose, Bluesage Band, Mountain Men Association and the Utah Quilt Guild.
Membership in UPHA is open to groups and individuals interested in heritage arts. For more information or to become involved, e-mail Bishop at Iae123@gmail.com
"All we are trying to do is change the world, one little thing at a time," said Mark Geslison, of the Institute of American Music. His little part is encouraging more families to make music together. "So many people tell me, 'I wish I had done this when I was little.' Playing together is not always easy, but it can make a difference."
The pioneers loved the arts, said Romney. "We want to celebrate what they loved. There are great values to be cultivated through the arts, such as self-discipline, respect for others, honesty, and the law of the harvest — getting back what you put into it." As he said in a song he wrote for the occasion, "If we let them be forgotten, we're denying their tomorrows and our yesterdays."
VISION STATEMENT
Utah Pioneer Heritage Arts seeks to preserve the memory of our pioneer ancestors by becoming the premiere proponent of pioneer-era arts and provider of cultural events featuring those arts, and derivative arts whose roots lie in that era.
Through the combined efforts of its members, UPHA is building our sense of community, enhancing our standard of living, and strengthening our social fabric by preserving, nourishing, and showcasing our cultural roots.
OBJECTIVES
• Facilitate collaboration and cooperation between existing heritage
arts organizations
• Create festivals, events and presentations that feature the heritage
arts in ways that foster their preservation and create income streams
through heritage tourism
• Market joint interests (i.e., elevating the place of the folk arts
in public life) and resources (i.e., performers, events,
presentations) to Utah tourism agencies, government agencies,
businesses, heritage sites, event planners, etc.
• Find or build a home for the heritage arts that can be a venue for
concerts, symposiums, conventions, workshops, festivals, competitions,
exhibitions and performances and also provide space for offices,
archiving of materials, rehearsal and teaching as well as being the
home of resident performing groups
• Increase visibility of the heritage arts through a website, arts council, etc.
• Identify and cultivate heritage arts resources
PLANNED ACTIVITIES
• Build and maintain a website that will promote the events and
activities of the UPHA and provide links to members' websites
• Publish a monthly newsletter in which member organizations can
promote their activities and events to the members of all UPHA member
organizations and to the public
• Create events that allow member organizations to showcase their art,
reach new audiences and attract new members
• Conduct a capital campaign to build or acquire a home for the
performing folk arts and for the heritage display and craft arts that
do not have a home
• Develop educational programs to enhance member organizations'
ability to conduct their business, attract new members, collaborate
with other organizations and serve the community through their art
• Collaborate with local media to create media series that have the
folk arts as their focus
Clive J. Romney -- Executive Director
Clive Romney, Pearl-Award-winning recording producer, composer, songwriter, arranger, teacher and performer, and a forty-year veteran of the music business, serves as Executive Director of Utah Pioneer Heritage Arts.
Clive plays guitar, bass, mandolin, banjo, accordion, percussion, dan tranh, charango, bodhran, various other ethnic instruments, and some piano, and produces between four and ten albums per year in his recording studio, "Pitchfork Studios", engineering most of his own recordings. He is comfortable producing music in a wide range of styles, but his musical "home" is in folk, world and old-time music.
Clive wrote the lyrics for the films Swan Princess II and III,
the music and lyrics for "Over The Edge at The Grand Canyon"
(commissioned by the National Park), and has had more than four
hundred original works recorded and published. But he counts "Scripture Power", an LDS Primary children's favorite, as his greatest
musical achievement.
Clive founded and directs "Enoch Train", an eight-man ensemble that performs and records folk-flavored instrumental arrangements of hymn tunes, children's songs, and Americana, incorporating ethnic influences from around the world. Enoch Train were the featured performers for SeaTrek 2001, the reenactment of the emigration of 85,000 Mormon converts to the United States by ship, performing on board a tall ship and in Esbjerg, Copenhagen, Gothenberg, Oslo, Greenock (Scotland), Liverpool, Hull, and Portsmouth.
Clive recently founded "Caboose", a five-man band that performs
old-time and original folk-flavored vocal and instrumental music.
Their eponymous first album has just been released.
Clive teaches Songwriting at Salt Lake Community College and Introduction to the Music Business at Brigham Young University in Provo, where he has also taught songwriting in the past.
Shawnda Peterson Bishop – Associate Executive Director
Shawnda Bishop, Associate Executive Director of UPHA, has been a dance
entrepreneur and a key mover behind the preservation of American
folklore all her life. She is currently Executive Director of the
Worldwide Association of Performing Artists and Clog America, the
premiere International Festival Ensemble that represents the United
States in foreign folk festivals worldwide. (See www.wwapa.org)
After twenty years of owning and operating the Castleview School of
Dance, Shawnda now turns her full attention to creating and presenting
international festival shows and domestic programs to nourish our
American roots.
Shawnda has created American music and dance programs that span time
periods from early Americana through the Pioneer era and through the
1990's and which have been presented in festivals throughout Europe,
and in China, Russia, Korea, and Central and South America.
Shawnda designed and presents, with Utah Pioneer Heritage Arts' full
support, "Salute to the Utah Frontier", the educational fieldtrip
program at Gardner Village that teaches Utah pioneer dances, music,
and stories to 4th grade students.
Shawnda graduated Cum Laude in 1973 from Brigham Young University with
a degree in Broadcast Communications and Dance.
Board of Trustees
Russel K. Booth
Russ Booth has over thirty five years experience as a
Broker/Agent in leasing selling, managing and developing various types
of properties and is currently the Senior Vice President of Coldwell
Banker Commercial. He is a Managing Partner for several real estate
partnerships, LLC's and investment groups. He was awarded B.S. and
M.S. degrees from the University of Utah and Brigham Young University.
Russ was recently the President of the BYU Alumni Association,
and professionally is a former President of the 1.2 million-member
National Association of Realtors. He currently chairs the
International Consortium of Real Estate Associations. He has been
active in community, church, and civic organizations.
Russ is married to Nina C. Woodbury and has six children (5 boys
and 1 girl, ages 34 to 22) and four grandchildren.
Additional Information:
Charlene Nelson
Biographical Sketch
Charlene Nelson currently works for Logistic Specialties, Inc. as a consultant with emphasis in arts and community development. She most recently served as the Executive Director of the Davis Arts Council in Layton, Utah for the past eighteen years. The Arts Council was a young and totally volunteer arts organization when Charlene was asked to be the president in 1984. She was handed a shoebox with a few bank statements and a small amount of money in the checkbook. Deciding to see what could accomplish with this organization, she appointed members to the first Board of Trustees, helped write the Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws, applied for and received incorporation and then later 501(c)(3) non-profit status for the Layton Arts Council.
Charlene obtained an Associate of Arts Degree from Weber State University with an emphasis in theatre. She continued to develop the Layton Arts Council on a part-time volunteer basis until 1989 when she was hired as their first paid staff in the position of Executive Director, a position that she held through 2007. Under her direction, the organization developed into a fully operational agency with two full-time employees and additional seasonal staff. In 1995, the Layton Arts Council officially changed its name to the Davis Arts Council to better reflect their broader audience appeal.
Nelson has extensive experience in developing and executing cultural programs. She was a key component in helping to raise funds to build the Kenley Centennial Amphitheater in Layton and since its completion in 1996 has developed the paid Summer Concert Series, the free Sunday Night Concert series, the free Wednesday Night Movie series and various cultural programs offered through Davis Arts Council. She also developed arts education classes for youth and adults of the community and oversaw the various committees and volunteers of the council. In 2003 she completed an Arts Administration Certification program offered through a partnership of the Utah Arts Council and The Front Porch Institute based in Astoria, Oregon and in 2007 she completed a Change Leader Certification through the Utah Arts Council.
Charlene serves and has served on various committees in her community and state including the Utah Arts Council Community Advisory Panel, Weber State University Community Advisory Board, Syracuse Arts Academy Board of Trustees, Davis Conference Center Gala Committee, Best of State Judging Panel, Davis County Buffalo Days Committee, Layton Parks & Recreation Commission, Layton Liberty Days Committee, Layton City Centennial Committee, Cultural Amenities Committee – Weber State University, Davis County Tourism Committee, Davis County Bird Festival Committee, Davis County Economic Development Committee, Taste of the Town Committee – Davis County Chamber of Commerce and twice an Honorary Commander in the Hill Air Force Base Logstar program. She served as president of Utah Presenters from 2003- 2005.
Awards include Weber State University – Distinguished Alumni Award, Mattie Wattis Harris – Spirit of the American Woman Award, Layton Chamber of Commerce – “Community Improvement” Award, Utah Humanities – “Outstanding Project” Award, Layton City Award of Appreciation – Kenley Centennial Amphitheatre.
Born and raised in Salt Lake City, she moved to Los Angeles, California where she met and married her husband of 31 years, Craig. They now reside in Layton, Utah where they are the parents of five children and grandparents to three granddaughters and one grandson.