About John Robison :

John C. Robison's earliest influence of period music came from begging his great-grandmother to play the piano for him and listening to her tell stories of her father’s Civil War exploits.  With the additional motivation of the folk music boom of the 1960's, John learned to play banjo, guitar, fiddle, flageolette, harmonica, mandolin, and autoharp.  His time machine would be his instruments, music, and period attire. 

John received a bachelor's degree in history from Virginia Commonwealth University, began reenacting and working seasonally with the National Park Service which allowed the musician impressions to gel and the rest is history. 

John is a founding member and banjo player for the Civil War period ensemble Southern Horizon.  He is also a recipient of the United Daughter's of the Confederacy's Jefferson Davis Historic Gold Medal for historic music impressions. 

His Colonial Period Programs range from 1607-1812.  The period dress changes along with the music through these 200 plus years.  The instrumentation is violin, mandolin, guitar and flageolette. 

The Civil War Programs are available in Union, Confederate and Civilian attire.  Instrumentation is banjo, fiddle, harmonica and flageolette. 

The Gilded Age programs can be presented in formal (tuxedo) or casual dress on banjo, mandolin, violin and guitar.  The music is usually from the mid 19th century to World War I. 

John’s goal is to present four centuries of rich American musical history in period attire using original or reproduced instruments appropriate to the time period in a manner designed to educate and entertain.