Second Annual Dulcimer Week in the Wallowas

The sweet sound of Appalachian dulcimer music will soon be heard ringing through the trees at Wallowa Lake Camp, as Dulcimer Week in the Wallowas returns on July 1-7 to Wallowa Lake. Students age 12 to 85 will come from as near as Joseph and as far away as Arizona and the East Coast to learn and improve their skills on the mountain dulcimer. Many are visiting Wallowa County for the first time. The camp is sponsored by the Wallowa Valley Music Alliance and registration information is posted at www.wvmusicalliance.org.

 Instructors include Stephen Seifert, a popular player from Chattanooga, TN; Susan Trump, a longtime teacher and performer from Albany, NY; and Heidi Muller and Bob Webb, camp hosts, who have recently moved to Wallowa County. Classes will be offered for complete beginners, advanced beginners, intermediate and advanced players.

There will be jams and concerts, including a student and staff concert open to the public on July 6. All events are held at Wallowa Lake Camp. There are instruments available to rent or purchase, and local residents are encouraged to attend.

Stephen Seifert is one of America’s premier dulcimer players and instructors. He has taught at hundreds of dulcimer festivals in the US and overseas. Seifert was Adjunct Instructor of Mountain Dulcimer at Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music.

He has played dulcimer with the Nashville Chamber Orchestra and is featured on their Warner Classical recording performing Blackberry Winter, a concerto for dulcimer and string orchestra. He performed this piece at the Sunriver Festival in 2011 in Bend.

Susan Trump is also one of the country’s top dulcimer instructors. A singer and folk song collector, she is an award-winning dulcimer, fretless banjo and guitar player with four CDs. She has taught at folk and dulcimer festivals including Old Songs, Kentucky Music Week, Appalachian State University and the Ozark Folk Center.

Trump is the producer of the Masters of the Mountain Dulcimer CD series, with instrumental selections from the finest players in the country.

Heidi Muller & Bob Webb have taught and performed at numerous folk and dulcimer festivals nationwide. They have also spent significant time teaching dulcimer to children in southern West Virginia. An award-winning songwriter, Muller performs original and traditional music with Webb on guitar, dulcimer, mandolin and electric cello.

Muller lived in Seattle in the ‘80’s and ‘90’s, and her song “Good Road” is the theme song of NW Public Radio’s Inland Folk show. Webb was an original member of the Mountain Stage house band, also heard weekly on public radio. They have recently moved to Enterprise, where they will be working with the Wallowa Valley Music Alliance.

The mountain dulcimer is an Appalachian folk instrument developed in the 1800’s. It is easy to learn for all ages, with three strings that run over a fretboard on an hourglass or teardrop-shaped body. For more information, please visit www.wvmusicalliance.org.

Related posts:

1. Heidi Muller, Bon Wenn and Stephen Seifert in concert during Dulcimer Week in the Wallowas
2. Spring Dulcimer Class for Kids
3. Wallowa Valley Music Alliance presents music at 7th Annual Watershed Festival
4. 8th Annual Mountain High Broncs and Bulls featuring fast action Rodeo and a chance to win FREE Vacation Package
5. 29th Annual Wallowa Valley Festival of Art First Weekend in June