Instructor of Music
Andrew Small is an award-winning multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, and composer who makes his home in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Southwest Virginia. Originally from Eastern North Carolina, Andrew holds a master’s degree in music performance from Yale University and has performed around the world with artists including Sierra Hull, Mandolin Orange, and the North Carolina Symphony. Andrew is a member of the teaching faculty for the Bluegrass, Old-Time, and Roots Music Program at East Tennessee State University and now here at Ferrum College.
Andrew’s original music has been featured on radio, recordings, podcasts, film, and television, and he has collaborated with teams from the Duke University Center for Documentary Studies and the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media at George Mason University. With Ashlee Watkins, Andrew composed theme music and recorded soundtracks for the PBS documentary film Rock Castle Home and for the podcast The Green Tunnel. In 2021, Andrew was awarded first prize in the bluegrass category for his song “Yesterday’s Blues” at the 29th Annual MerleFest Chris Austin Songwriting Contest.
An avid proponent of traditional music styles from the Blue Ridge region, Andrew was selected to serve as the inaugural Artist In Residence for The Crooked Road – Virginia’s Heritage Music Trail. In 2022, Andrew completed a Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship with master fiddler and National Heritage Award-recipient Eddie Bond of Fries, VA. Andrew is a former Bluegrass Mandolin Champion of Australia and his old time string band The Alum Ridge Boys & Ashlee won first place at the 85th Annual Old Fiddlers’ Convention in Galax, VA. He performs old time, bluegrass, and country music in the duo Ashlee Watkins & Andrew Small.
