Fletcher Bright: American Roots Music Champion

More than six decades ago, Fletcher Bright came up with the name “Dismembered Tennesseans” for the musical group he formed with his high-school friends. In choosing the grisly moniker, Bright was ahead of his time. Today, it would seem the fitting choice for a southern heavy- metal outfit, but through the years, Bright, a fiddler, has focused on traditional American tunes for the group’s repertoire. On the band’s website, Bright muses that back in the day, “Dismembered Tennesseans seemed to be a good-enough name for a bunch of teenagers who had no long-range plans.” Bright, however, has been in it for the long haul and still keeps the group going—with some personnel changes. Bright continues to play concerts, includ- ing one with some of the Berklee student-recipients of the scholarship he established. This past April, Bright flew to Boston to play with student musicians at the renowned folk venue Passim, in Harvard Square.

In 2008, before the Berklee American Roots Music Program officially launched, Bright set up a scholarship for Berklee students playing and studying roots music. According to Matt Glaser, the director of Berklee’s American Roots program, Bright is one of America’s best straight-ahead, old-school-style bluegrass fiddlers and a fine ragtime and stride pianist. As Glaser says, “I met Fletcher many years ago—I would say 25 or more years ago— when he wrote to me asking for some advice about the fiddle style of the great Vassar Clemens. We became friends, and I had the privilege to meet him in Chattanooga to play in a concert that he was putting on. He’s always been a wonderful, warm human being, and great preserver of American fiddle tunes. He’s deeply knowledgeable about this music and has been very supportive of the college’s efforts to promulgate all kinds of American Roots music. He’s been a tremendous support to us. We’re thrilled that he finally came up here to visit the school and to play with the students at our monthly Berklee College of Music Roots Roadshow.”

The first recipient of the Fletcher Bright Scholarship was Joe Walsh ’08, a gifted mandolinist who plays with the Gibson Brothers and currently works with Glaser as the man- aging director of Berklee’s American Roots Music Program. Other students who have benefited from Mr. Bright’s generosity are Luke Price ’09 and Duncan Wickel ’11. The 2011 recipent was fiddler Jenna Moynihan,

a current Berklee student who had the pleasure of playing with Bright and the Dismembered Tennesseans at the Three Sisters Music Festival in Chattanooga in September 2011. “Receiving Fletcher’s scholarship has allowed me to reach farther and dig deeper into the music I love,” Moynihan says. “I’ve had new experiences that wouldn’t have been possible without his support. The award has really enabled me to pursue my passion. I am so humbled by his generosity. Beyond that, Mr. Bright is just a genuinely kind and inspiring person. I am proud to count myself among the lucky ones who have had the honor of knowing him.”

In his multifaceted career, Bright has been an educator as well as a performer, teaching bluegrass fiddle for more than 18 years at workshops in the United States, Canada, and England. “I love to fiddle and love to teach,” he says. “I will play with anyone who asks and am always good for another jam session.” In 2007, Bright was featured on the cover of Fiddler magazine, and in 2005, he received the Tennessee Governor’s Award in the Arts in the Tennessee Folklife Heritage category. In addition to his musical interests, Bright has pursued a career as a successful realtor and shopping center developer. A certified pilot as well, Bright has often flown members of the Dismembered Tennesseans to their gigs across the Southeast.

This year’s scholarship recipient is Jack Devereux, who is thrilled to be awarded this prestigious scholarship. Bright said that visiting Berklee recently and meeting with students has personalized the scholarship for him. “I love spending time with the students,” he says. “They are just starting out, and I am winding down my career. Talking about music with them transcends all ages.”

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Ginny Fordham is a major gifts officer in Berklee’s Development Office.