Dulcimer conference to feature historian, progressive dulcimer virtuoso
A mountain dulcimer historian who discovered the instrument while living in Greenwich Village in the 1960s and a 19-year-old dulcimer virtuoso who already has been crowned national champion and is widely recognized for her progressive playing style will be on the instructional staff for Dulcimer U Summer Week at Western Carolina University.
WCU’s 14th annual conference of mountain dulcimer classes, concerts and jam sessions will be held Sunday, July 14, through Friday, July 19.
Born in 1927 and now living in Reston, Va., Ralph Lee Smith is widely considered to be the foremost authority on dulcimer history. Smith taught himself to play the dulcimer during the folk revival of the 1960s, and in the 1970s.
Sarah Morgan of Sharp’s Chapel, Tenn., recently graduated from high school, but she already has made a name for herself in folk music, earning the national champion title at the National Mountain Dulcimer Championships in Winfield, Kan., in 2012.
In addition to Morgan, this year’s Dulcimer U will feature four more dulcimer players who have earned the title “national champion.”
www.dulcimeru.wcu.edu or 828.227.7397.
