A Fan's video of me at Dickens on the Strand in Galvaston, TX in 2006.
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My Story:
Let me give you a little background about how I got interested in playing the dulcimer:Chuck and I were living in Houston in the ‘60’s, and on a vacation trip to Chuck’s hometown, Asheville NC, we attended the Bascomb Lamar Lunsford Folk Festival and I was absolutely captivated by the music of the mountains! I met Jean Ritchie and Homer Ledford and bought my first Appalachian dulcimer. It had wooden friction tuning pegs, only 3 strings, and wire frets that were only under the melody string. On the train trip back to Houston, I learned to play with a noter and a turkey quill, and I performed this style of playing for the next 5 years.
In the 70’s we left Houston and moved to Asheville, NC where I became Choral Director at North Buncombe High School and began playing solo performances with the mt. dulcimer for churches and community events including Shindig-On-The-Green. We attended the Southern Highlands Handicraft Guild Fair and somewhere in the distance I heard the most intriguing sound I’d ever heard. Following the sound I discovered Jerry Read Smith and the hammer dulcimer. Jerry explained the basics and soon I was playing a few simple tunes and of course we placed an order for a hammer dulcimer before we left. Within a few months I was playing a beautifully crafted instrument which Jerry designed and built, with carved cardinals (the North Carolina State bird) in the sound holes, and mother-of-pearl dogwood blossoms (the North Carolina State flower) surrounding the sound holes. The soundboard is spruce and the body is “flame†koa. I believe it is the most beautiful dulcimer I have ever seen. A curator from The North Carolina State Museum saw it while it was still in Jerry’s shop and asked if he would make another just like it to place in the Museum. You can see it on my home page.
Western North Carolina had a big influence on my musical development with many rich experiences listening to and playing with some excellent old time players, including Chuck’s Uncle Elmer Carter who played the fiddle and his cousin Bo Carter who played banjo.
I enjoy playing many solo performances, and with an ensemble, â€The Merry Waits of Windsor†... We play dance music for Ceilidhs, Socials, Balls and Festivals in and around Houston. We’ve been featured on stage at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, the Texas Folk Life Festival in San Antonio and the Kerrville Arts & Crafts Fair. In addition we’ve performed at several Ranching Heritage Festivals and Country Peddler Shows throughout Texas and Louisianna. For ten years we’ve performed on stage at Home-For-The-Holidays in Old-Town Spring, Dickens-On-The-Strand in Galaveston, TX and other festivals.
I've had SO much fun playing the dulicmer.... I spent a week in Ireland learning the Irish style at the Boghill Music Centre in County Clare, and it was so great I returned a couple of years later and brought a group of 22 with me. We performed together at pubs, churches and hotels. I love to travel and put together a Dulcimer cruise a couple of years ago and sailed with about 30 players from Galveston to Cozumel and back, jamming and performing on the ship.
During the past couple of years I've taught workshops and performed at dulcimer festivals, traveling from Texas to Idaho, Colorado, California, Missouri, Iowa, Michigan, Kentucky, Arkansas, Tennessee, Louisianna. and North Carolina. Coming up in the near future are concerts and festivals in Oregon, Alabama and Florida. Hope to make many new friends!
