Peter Givens

Peter Givens earned an M.A. in American History from Western Carolina University, writing a thesis on Great Smoky Mountains National Park before beginning a 40-year career with the U.S. National Park Service, most of it on the Blue Ridge Parkway. He designed exhibits, wrote publications, represented the park in a multitude of public settings and played a prominent role for many years in the development of the Blue Ridge Music Center where the stories and exhibits are closely related to the...See more

Peter Givens earned an M.A. in American History from Western Carolina University, writing a thesis on Great Smoky Mountains National Park before beginning a 40-year career with the U.S. National Park Service, most of it on the Blue Ridge Parkway. He designed exhibits, wrote publications, represented the park in a multitude of public settings and played a prominent role for many years in the development of the Blue Ridge Music Center where the stories and exhibits are closely related to the themes throughout "An Enduring Voice." He designed and taught a class in Appalachian History at Virginia Western Community College for twelve years. These experiences and his attempts to play the music depicted here led to the writing of this book. Peter and his wife, Carole, live in Henrico, Virginia. See less