Published 1:14 pm Tuesday, April 16, 2019
The Community Arts Center continues its monthly Lunch with the Arts series on Wednesday, April 17, with a performance from the Danville Dulcimers. The ensemble will perform fiddle tunes, gospel songs, waltzes, and traditional Appalachian melodies. The audience will also learn more about the history and enduring appeal of this music style – and even have a chance to play a practice dulcimer!
The Danville Dulcimers Club is a group of friends who enjoy meeting weekly to play music together. The Club began about 13 years ago under the direction of Arts Citizen Award winners, Rodi and George Jackson of Danville. They were known as a “dynamic duo” who touched many with their passion for playing. Today, the group continues to flourish.
The focal instrument of the group is the Appalachian lap dulcimer, which is the Kentucky state instrument. Other featured instruments include the hammered dulcimer, ban jammer, Irish pennywhistle, autoharp and assorted types of percussion instruments.
The mountain dulcimer (Latin “dulcis” for “sweet” and Greek “melos” for “song”) produces a sweet song with a haunting, droning sound reminiscent of the Scottish bagpipes. The name of the dulcimer, found in the Bible, has been determined to be the hammered dulcimer, another instrument with an ancient past.
The mountain dulcimer is played flat on the lap with a strumming motion across the strings. Many adaptations for a pick have been, and are still, being used for the strumming action. Originally, mountain players would use goose or duck feathers with the ends tapered. Today, many people use a guitar pick or fashion one from different sources, such as collar stays, milk cartons, or other stiff materials.
The Danville Dulcimers enjoy passing on the legacy of this splendid form of traditional music. The joy they have in playing and performing together is the reason they present free programs for community and church events, children’s activities, nursing and senior citizen centers, and other area venues.
Gail Howe, long time member of the group, says, “We are so excited to have been invited to play again for the audience at Lunch with the Arts and are looking forward to our spring performance at the CAC.”
Thanks go to Stuart Powell Ford Lincoln Mazda and Direct Experience in Artistic Living, Inc. (DEAL) for their generous support of this program.
For more info:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2m1-d5nPlE8
The upcoming Lunch with the Arts calendar includes the following presenters:
May 15 – Overtones Barbershop Quartet; June 19 – 70 Years of Pioneer Playhouse; July 17 – John Bowling, model train dioramas; Aug 21 – Blue Groove Jazz
Become a Sponsor
If you would like to sponsor a Lunch with the Arts program, contact Niki Kinkead at: director@communityartscenter.net
Mark your calendar and check the Advocate Messenger or the Community Arts Center’s website for additional information as the date approaches.
