Logo: Susquehanna Folk Music Society
Presenting fine traditional arts in Central Pennsylvania since 1985

York County Oral History Project: Tales of a Musical Life

Interviews with York County residents who have a long-time involvement with music.

Albert Dalton

Albert Dalton plays the ukulele at a school performance

Albert Dalton is a multi-instrumentalist who grew up studying band and orchestral music, but later formed a folk music band with his wife and four children. Although he never lived in York County, he is the father of former Susquehanna Folk Music Society Executive Director Jess Hayden, and has greatly influenced her love and appreciation of folk music. Albert lives in Bonita Springs, Florida.

About the Project

SFMS began the "Tales of a Musical Life" project in the fall of 2017 and continued collecting stories through the summer of 2018. Twenty-eight people, some professional musicians and some not, were interviewed and asked questions about how they first came to love music and how music had enriched their lives. What emerged is a fascinating collection of stories which shows the diversity of music that thrives in York County, including bluegrass, jazz, folk, classical, soul, and even cowboy music!

Four of the individuals interviewed — Cushla Srour, Wayne Morris, Joe Coria, and Jerry McCoury — shared their stories in front of a live audience during the inaugural Susquehanna Folk Festival in summer 2018. SFMS hopes to be able to provide further public forums to share these stories in the future.

SFMS is indebted to the students of Dr. Richard A. Pierce’s Adult Development and Aging class at Penn State York who conducted the interviews, and to the York County Community Foundation's Hahn Home Fund for Embracing Aging for helping to fund the project.