Piedmont Instrument Classes for Kids, better known as P.I.C.K., is a non-profit after-school program that provides instruction in banjo, fiddle and guitar for third, fourth and fifth grade students.
This Piedmont Folk Legacies program is made possible by a community effort to empower students through learning our musical heritage through lessons in playing the paramount instraments that helped form a music culture still living strong today.
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Thanks to artists, such as the legendary Charlie Poole, whose transforming old-time singing and banjo pickin' helped form the roots of country music from right here in Spray, North Carolina.
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His music has influenced the likes of many artists, including Bob Dylan, John Mellancamp, Joan Boaz and jam bands such as The Grateful Dead and Hot Tuna.
His legend lives strongest though in the many local artists today, keeping his legacy alive through their music and story telling.
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We look forward to using traditional music to positively impact the lives of the children of Rockingham County, enhancing their learning experience and continuing our rich cultural traditions for generations to come.
Louise Wright Price, President of Piedmont Folk Legacies, Inc., is the driving force behind the P.I.C.K. program.
Piedmont Folk Legacies is a non-profit whose mission is to “promote and preserve the musical and cultural legacy of the Piedmont region and to celebrate its influence on the development of American vernacular music, as exemplified by Charlie Poole.”
Along with Marianne S. Aiken, she founded the Charlie Poole Music Festival in 1996.
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In 2019, Louise conceived the PICK (Piedmont Instrument Classes for Kids) program to provide elementary school students with instruction in traditional instruments and educate them about the rich cultural heritage of the Piedmont region.
An avid preservationist, she was a 2016 recipient of the Preservation North Carolina Gertrude S. Carraway Award of Merit.
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Louise donates 100% of her time and has built a community of supporters who all pull together to make the P.I.C.K. program possible, including: Rockingham County Education Foundation, Rockingham County Arts Council, Dexter Media, Reidsville Area Foundation, HomeTrust, Sheetz, and the many parents who work so hard each week to make sure their children have access to this terrific program.
To provide a learning platform that gives our young students a canvas to grow through the historical banjo, fiddle and guitar instruments that have told our county's history for several generations.
To foster the next generation of Piedmont musicians, in an effort to build on Rockingham County's strong musical heritage and culture.
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