Interactive Website Receives 2009 Emmy Award!

Kelly Kowalski and Jason Skinner’s KNME-TV-5 interactive website featuring the documentary, "The Musical Adventures of John Donald Robb in New Mexico," was selected for an Emmy from the National Academy of Television Arts and Science Rocky Mountain Emmy Awards. The documentary was nominated in two categories:

Advanced Media – Interactivity
The Musical Adventures of John Donald Robb KNME – Albuquerque, NM Kelly Kowalski and Jason Skinner

Documentary – Cultural
The Musical Adventures of John Donald Robb KNME – Albuquerque, NM Kelly Kowalski

The late John Donald Robb loved and composed all kinds of music, but his passion for the songs of everyday folk is what he is remembered for most. Roaming the countryside of the Southwest during the ‘40s and ‘50s, Robb recorded and transcribed over 3,000 Hispano folk songs, the largest collection of its time. Part biographical sketch of this adventurous musician and part modern-day exploration with ethnomusicologists and folklorists following in his footsteps, this 30 minute documentary revives and celebrates New Mexico’s disappearing folk music traditions.

You can visit the exciting interactive Website and also watch the documentary, as well as listen to some of Robb's recordings, online now. The documentary received major funding from Sanford N. McDonnell Foundation, New Mexico Arts, a division of the Office of Cultural Affairs, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Under Ted A. Garcia, former General Manager and CEO of PBS affiliate KNME-TV-5, the program was produced and directed by Kelly Kowalski, KNME; edited by David Leach, with videography by Robert McDermott and Paige Thomas. The DVD is available ($24.95) by calling KNME-TV-5 at 1 800 328 5663.