home > community foundation > featured artists and speakers

Now presenting these featured artists and speakers! 

Bruce L. Bunch “Art on the Fly”

Hill House, January 6- February 16
Reception at the Hill House, January 9: 4-6 pm
The excitement of the water breaking at the first leap, the battle of wits, the pride of the landing, and the satisfaction of the release to fish another day, are all captured in a sunburst of watercolors. An avid outdoorsman and conservationist, wildlife artist Bruce Bunch has found a dramatic way of displaying that prized catch in today’s “Catch and Release” world. Bunch is a familiar sight in the Southern Appalachian mountains. Camped out beside a stream with his brush in one hand and a fly rod in the other the scene is reminiscent of Winslow Homer. Asked why, “It allows me to paint through the eyes of the enthused.”

Bruce has combined his passions for the arts and the outdoors by creating "Art on the Fly". This series of birds, dogs and fly fishing art have been collected by sportsmen worldwide. Bunch's work has won critical regional, national and international acclaim, including "Best of Show" at the Georgia Wildlife Arts Festival and the "Queen's Award" (UK) for excellence. Most recently, he has been selected, once again, by the South Carolina State Park Service as an Artist-in-Residence. The Virginia Fly Fishing Festival chose Bruce as it's 2007 Festival Artist. This is the first time a non-Virginian artist has been so honored. In 2009 the Western North Carolina Fly Fishing Expo also picked Bruce to be their featured artist.

Life has not always been in the outdoors. The majority of Bunch's career has been applying his award winning creative talents to the corporate world. For over 30 years, Bruce advertised and marketed everything from Piper airplanes to the much acclaimed Michelin baby campaign.

When Bruce, a licensed pilot, is not painting and camping in the outdoors, he can be found teaching a workshop or lecturing to a group of outdoor enthusiasts. An "Out of the Box" thinker, Bunch brings a unique approach to teaching. His style is relaxed and entertaining and relates to people of all ages. He is a master at teaching comparative and fine arts and encourages critical thinking skills: yet is able to translate the information in a way that is wonderfully entertaining and fun. While working on a cum laude BFA from Ohio University's School of Fine Art, Bruce Bunch was an instructor of graphic arts, illustration, and typography. In addition, he has conducted workshops and lectured at Yale, Kent State, Penn State, University of Akron, Greenville Technical College, Roper Mountain Science Center, Upstate Visual Arts School of Art and Greenville County Museum of Art to name a few. He has also served as a jurist for the Congressional Art Competition and is on the advisory board for the College of Fine Arts at Ohio University. His work and information can be viewed at http://brucelbunch.com.

On April 10th, a docent led trip to the Greenville Arts Museum will include a watercolor workshop with Bruce. Further details about this event will be added in early 2012.

Littlejohn's Grill:  Clemson Nightclub a Place where Rock 'n Roll Began

Beginning just as World War II was ending and continuing until the era of segregation known as Jim Crow came to a halt in fits and jerks, a small nightclub in Clemson, South Carolina turned a spotlight on musical entertainment in this sleepy college town.  Some might say Littlejohn’s Grill was just an unimportant “colored” juke joint along the side of the road. Others quickly recognize the Grill, in its day, was the epicenter for black entertainment in Upstate South Carolina.

Owned by Horace and Gertrude Littlejohn, the club supplied first-class entertainment, food and lodging for travelers and performers touring the Chitlin’ Circuit from the late 1940s until the mid-1960s. Many musicians found it to be a convenient stopover while touring from the Mississippi Delta to points along the East Coast. The Littlejohn family says Horace may have been the first black man to own a club between Atlanta and Charlotte, a distance of about 250 miles. Patrons and performers frequenting the Grill could eat, dance, listen to the latest music, and stay overnight. Accommodations could be scarce if you were black, so places like the Grill provided safety for people of color traveling the roads of America before integration. Over the years many future jazz and blues greats appeared at Littlejohn’s Grill, honing skills that would take them to the top of the music business.

The long and impressive list of jazz and blues celebrities appearing at the club include; Ruth Brown, Ray Charles, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Elmore James, Count Basie, Big Joe Turner, Piano Red, Fats Domino, Little Richard, Otis Redding, comedian Red Foxx, Wilson Pickett, James Brown and scores of others. It was not unusual for 1500-1600 people to crowd inside and outside the club to see and hear blues and jazz greats invent the music that became rock ‘n’ roll. “On nights when people like James Brown and Ray Charles performed we could barely handle the crowds. Cars jammed-up the two-lane road (S.C. Highway 93) in front of the Grill, so big trucks could barely get by. It usually cost $15 to $20 to see a show like that. That was a lot of money in those days,” said Oscar Preston an employee at the Grill.

Preston fondly remembers one of his favorite performers, bluesman Elmore James; “Many major performers visited the Grill in the 1950s. Elmore was one of my favorites. He drove a big pink Cadillac and played slide guitar. His sound was early rock ‘n’ roll. Lots of people came out for that.”

Horace Littlejohn died from complications of diabetes in 1966. After his death the club was never quite the same. Gertrude Littlejohn tried to keep the business going, but found it difficult. The club was leased to various nightclub operators who changed the club’s name frequently; Pink Panther, Half-Way Club, King Cobra Lounge and Alfie’s Playpen. Without Horace’s guidance the club never regained its prominence and slipped into disrepute.

 In the 1990s the old buildings were razed and replaced with the Littlejohn Community Center. The Littlejohn’s granddaughter, Adraine Jackson-Garner is now the director. “My dream was to build a community center in honor of my grandfather,” she said. Only a handful of people remain that remember the Grill during its heyday. “It was a great place. You could really cut-the-rug at Littlejohn’s Grill,” said James Tribble, a 93 year-old Clemson resident.

Vince Jackson is a free-lance writer for the Anderson Independent-Mail and has written for magazines such as LIVING BLUES. He enjoys playing blues music on harmonica and has written a book about Littlejohn’s Grill which is available by calling 864-650-0585.  Books will be available for sell after the Fireside Chat.

Legendary Blues Guitarist Mac Arnold & Plate Full O’ Blues

Location TBD, Friday, May 11: 7-9 pm
Mac Arnold must have known at an early age that his music career would read like a “Who’s who” of Blues/R&B Legends. His high school band “J Floyd & The Shamrocks” were often joined by none other than Macon, Georgia native, James Brown on piano. After deciding to pursue a professional music career, he joined the Charles Miller group until 1965 when he made the move to Chicago to work with recording artist/saxophonist A. C. Reed.

In late 1966, at age 24, came the opportunity of a lifetime to join the Muddy Waters Band and help shape the electric blues sound that inspired the rock and roll movement of the late 60’s and early 70’s. Regular guests of the band included Eric Clapton, Paul Butterfield, Mike Bloomfield, and Elvin Bishop. The Muddy Waters Band (as a unit) shared the stage with the likes of Howlin’ Wolfe, Elmore James, Jimmy Reed, Junior Wells, Big Joe Williams, and Big Mama Thornton just to name a few. During this time, Mac played on John Lee Hooker’s “live “album, Live at the Café Au Go-Go, as well as Otis Spann’s classic recording “The Blues is Where It’s At”.

After more than a year with Muddy Waters, Mac formed the Soul Invaders which backed up many artists, including The Temptations and B. B. King. In the early 70’s, he moved Los Angeles to work at ABC Television and LAFF RECORDS (Redd Foxx). This led to working on the set of Soul Train from 1971 to 1975 and then working with Bill Withers (“Lean On Me”) before moving back to South Carolina in the 80”s.

Mac now resides in Pelzer, SC, where at the age of ten he got his first taste of the blues when he learned to play his brother Leroy’s home-made guitar. Going back to his roots. Mac is serving up a mess of Blues with his own band, “Mac Arnold & Plate Full O’ Blues”. The band consists of Danny Keylon on bass and vocals, Austin Brashier on guitar and vocals, Max Hightower on keyboards, harmonica, guitar, and vocals, Mike Whitt on drums, and Mac Arnold on vocals, bass and Gas Can Guitars.

Mac and Muddy Waters: In 1965, having already established himself back home as a bass player, playing with J Floyd & the Shamrocks including James Brown on keyboard , Mac Arnold decided to take a trip to Chicago to check out the Blues scene. He was obviously impressed because 3 months later 24 year old Mac packed up and moved to the Windy City to expand his music career.

There was a club called the Green Bunny Club on 77 & Halstead St. where Mac first met his sax man A. C. Reed who at the time needed a bass player. Mac was the right man for the job. He played with A. C. for only a short time when he got a chance to play with Muddy Waters. He was asked to come out to Big John’s Grill on the North side to sit in with the band. Muddy asked him where he was from, he replied Greenville, South Carolina. Muddy said, “son, if you’re from the South, then you can play,” and so he did for over a year. His first gig with Muddy was the Mother Blues Club. The band’s line up was Luther Johnson on guitar, Sammy Lawhorn on guitar, Frances Clay on drums, Otis Spann on piano, Mac Arnold on bass, and Muddy on guitar and vocals. The band would play most of the show and Muddy would play the end of the set. On occasions he would play every other set. This gave the guys a chance to show their stuff. Mac had an edge because he’d been working with James Brown in the past. A lot of people had yet to of heard of James Brown, so when Mac would play that funky stuff, it got a lot of people’s attention. Mac is a left handed bass player, and if you listen to some of his early recordings, you will hear he was way ahead of his time.

The band would tour from the East to West Coast and all points in between. Cruisin’ in a 1965 Fleetwood Cadillac, all 7 band members and the driver (Bo) at the wheel. Bo could drive almost non-stop from St. Louis to San Francisco with no sleep. One time they were passing through Mississippi, they stopped in to see some of Muddy’s relatives and wound up doing a show. Mac stayed at Muddy’s cousin’s house, and when L. A. he would stay with George Smith and his family of 6 kids. While touring the West Coast, Mac fell in love with the California weather. When he returned to Chicago he told his wife “we’re moving.”

Mac talked to Muddy and told him he would give him time to find another bass player. Muddy wished him luck and said “he would have him back any time,” and that was it. Mac is one of the last surviving members of the Muddy Water’s era, and so Mac Arnold & Plate Full O’ Blues begins.

Meet 2011 Artists in Residence – Jhon Akers & Martha Beaudrot

Jhon Akers is a classical guitarist and will be at The Reserve at Lake Keowee as a guest artist-in-residence August 21-24th. During this time, he will perform at Founders Hall on Monday, August 22nd, and will also lead a group to the Carl Sandburg home in Flat Rock, NC on Tuesday, August 23rd.

Martha Beaudrot will join in October. She will be a guest of the Community Foundation October 28-31st. Martha will host a concert on Sunday, October 30th in the afternoon at Founders Hall.

Meet Jhon Akers:

Bio: Jhon was born in Berkeley, California; raised in New York and schooled in Switzerland at the Villa St. Jean International School; attended undergraduate college at Middlebury; began classical guitar studies in 1970 with Phillip Rhinelander; continued under Valentín Bielsa Leganés and Pancho Burgos in Spain; David Grimes in California; completed an MA at Middlebury and the PhD at UCLA in Hispanic Languages and Literatures; taught at Webb School of California; Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame; North Carolina State University; and Wofford College for the last seventeen years. Jhon is fluent in English, Spanish and French; good knowledge of Portuguese, Italian and German.

Artist Statement:Segovia reminds us that “…the guitar awakes in our soul exquisite reverie.” It is a deeply personal and expressive instrument, and to quote Carl Sandburg, with a range “from storm crash to wind whisper.” As for the recitation and dramatization of guitar-inspired poetry, I look to Emerson who writes “The music that can deepest reach, and cure all ill, is cordial speech." What speech is more cordial than poetry?

Performance Preferences: Classical guitar music of Spain, Latin America, Europe and the United States—including memorized repertoire of 50+ pieces, with guitar-inspired writings of Sandburg, Lorca, Nicolás Guillén, and Antonio Machado.

Selected Performances and Presentations: Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site, Flat Rock, NC; Carl Sandburg Historic Site, Galesburg, IL; Piccolo Spoleto Festival, Charleston, SC; North Carolina School of the Arts; University of South Carolina School of Music; Guitar Foundation of America International Festival and Guitar Competition, Miami; International Music Day, Sala Manuel Ponce, Cuernavaca, Mexico; Stadthaus, Winterthur, Switzerland; Notre Dame University; Wofford College; Furman University; Middlebury College; Pomona College.

Selected Publications: A Small Friend—Carl Sandburg’s Guitar, a collection of Sandburg’s guitar-inspired writings with my own commentary, published with Honoribus Press and distributed by the Bold Strummer; A transcription of an original composition by Segovia entitled “For My Dear Sandburg,” with notes and facsimile original, by the Columbia Music Co. of Chapel Hill, NC; “Recollections of Sophocles Papas,” Soundboard, the publication of the Guitar Foundation of America; and a 2011 book, Sandburg’s Wish, An Anthology of the Guitar in Literature.

Contributions to the Classical Guitar: Serving as music director of the Troubadour Series at Wofford College, an annual program of six to eight solo performances by some of the world’s best guitarists; co-sponsor with Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site, US Department of the Interior, of the annual “Carl Sandburg Solo Guitar Recital” in Flat Rock; former member of Board of Directors of Music Foundation of Spartanburg, SC, and the Board of the Rotary Club of Spartanburg, where I entertain regularly; teaching group classical guitar at Wofford.

Meet Martha Beaudrot:

As a high school student, Martha Beaudrot spent her summers studying at the Brevard Music Center. It was there that she was exposed to the world of music and realized that piano would be her life’s journey. She went on to Furman University where she studied with Ruby Morgan. Winning the Weber Scholarship, she earned a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance, graduating magna cum laude. From there she went to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and received a Master of Music in Piano Performance, studying with Francis Whang, and serving as a teaching assistant for two years. She did further study at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York , as a student of Maria Luisa Faini.

On Sunday, October 30^th Martha, along with her former student, Ethan Flowe (pictured to right), will perform an evening concert at Founders Hall. Ethan began studying piano at age 14 with Martha Beaudrot in Greenwood, SC. After just three years of study, Ethan began entering competitions. He was selected to perform in the South Carolina Music Teachers Association winner's recital in both 2008 and 2009. In December of 2008, he was the winner of the Genesis $10,000 High School Piano Competition in Myrtle Beach. In 2009, he was the recipient of the $1,000 Beverly K. Whitten scholarship in the semifinals of the Daniel Piano Competition. He spent his senior year at the South Carolina Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities. Ethan currently is a sophomore at UNC School of the Arts in Winston-Salem, where he studies with Eric Larson. He plans to pursue a career in piano performance.

She moved back to South Carolina where she raised two daughters, and has been an independent piano teacher and accompanist for the last thirty years. She has accompanied for the Charleston Opera Company, Erskine College, the Greenwood Festival Chorale, and has taught Music Appreciation at Lander University. She currently teaches piano in her private studio in Greenville, SC. Her other interests include tennis, hiking, and dogs.