Hello Friend,
You may be one of those who've been heard to say,
"Whatever happened to Jean Ritchie?" Well, here I am,
not kicking too high, but very much alive.
So, if you're interested, read on, and I'll tell you some of
the happenings in my life since last we met.
Our residence is in Port Washington, NY- my husband is
George Pickow (photography, films and video; our
company, Folklife Productions). Son Jon works with
George when he's not using his marvelous tenor voice
elsewhere (Gregg Smith Singers, the Norman Luboff
Choir until Norman's death, the Dusing Singers...etc).
Son Peter lives in NYC and is Editor-in-chief at Music
Sales there. The two of them contribute fine vocal and
instrumental performances on my recordings. They also
act as musical arrangers and producers, and Jon runs our
Greenhays Recording Studio.
When we're not in Port Washington or on the road,
George and I love to stay in our log house in Viper,
Kentucky, on the family land where I was raised. We
designed and built the house with local help, using
beautiful old recycled logs, hand-hewn from virgin timber
about 150 years ago. George refuses to retire, so we don't
spend as much time in our KY house as I'd like, but we
manage two or three months a year, and all of us are
there in June, when the Ritchie Family Reunion takes
place!
I still take on about 15-20 singing engagements a year, in
colleges, festivals and seminars around the country and
abroad. In 1996, George and I spent three weeks in
Ireland, helping to set up and open the Ritchie-Pickow
Archive at University College Galway, performing, and
re-visiting the wonderful folks (and/or their descendants)
who sang into our tape recorder and allowed George to
photograph them, back in 1952-53 during my Fulbright
year in Ireland and the British Isles.
1995 marked my fiftieth year in public performance, and
we celebrated it by releasing our latest recording,
"Mountain BornJean Ritchie & Sons Sing Cabin
Country." To accompany this recording, Kentucky
Educational Television did a one-hour Special,
"Mountain Born-the Jean Ritchie Story," which played in
late December, 1996 around the country on the PBS
Network.
This is just a few things...Life is good, and we're enjoying
it, and I'm doing my best to age gracefully...Anyway,
now I've written to you, and I hope you'll reply. I look
forward to hearing from you! All the best, Jean Ritchie
You may be one of those who've been heard to say,
"Whatever happened to Jean Ritchie?" Well, here I am,
not kicking too high, but very much alive.
So, if you're interested, read on, and I'll tell you some of
the happenings in my life since last we met.
Our residence is in Port Washington, NY- my husband is
George Pickow (photography, films and video; our
company, Folklife Productions). Son Jon works with
George when he's not using his marvelous tenor voice
elsewhere (Gregg Smith Singers, the Norman Luboff
Choir until Norman's death, the Dusing Singers...etc).
Son Peter lives in NYC and is Editor-in-chief at Music
Sales there. The two of them contribute fine vocal and
instrumental performances on my recordings. They also
act as musical arrangers and producers, and Jon runs our
Greenhays Recording Studio.
When we're not in Port Washington or on the road,
George and I love to stay in our log house in Viper,
Kentucky, on the family land where I was raised. We
designed and built the house with local help, using
beautiful old recycled logs, hand-hewn from virgin timber
about 150 years ago. George refuses to retire, so we don't
spend as much time in our KY house as I'd like, but we
manage two or three months a year, and all of us are
there in June, when the Ritchie Family Reunion takes
place!
I still take on about 15-20 singing engagements a year, in
colleges, festivals and seminars around the country and
abroad. In 1996, George and I spent three weeks in
Ireland, helping to set up and open the Ritchie-Pickow
Archive at University College Galway, performing, and
re-visiting the wonderful folks (and/or their descendants)
who sang into our tape recorder and allowed George to
photograph them, back in 1952-53 during my Fulbright
year in Ireland and the British Isles.
1995 marked my fiftieth year in public performance, and
we celebrated it by releasing our latest recording,
"Mountain BornJean Ritchie & Sons Sing Cabin
Country." To accompany this recording, Kentucky
Educational Television did a one-hour Special,
"Mountain Born-the Jean Ritchie Story," which played in
late December, 1996 around the country on the PBS
Network.
This is just a few things...Life is good, and we're enjoying
it, and I'm doing my best to age gracefully...Anyway,
now I've written to you, and I hope you'll reply. I look
forward to hearing from you! All the best, Jean Ritchie
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