Buckeye Dulcimer Festival

  Make plans now for Buckeye #22 ... March 6 - 10, 2013

 

March 7 - 11, 2012

Pictures and reflections ... Buckeye Dulcimer Festival 2012
Hope you had a great time!  

 

If you would like to be added to the Buckeye Dulcimer Festival mailing list (email or snailmail), click here.

 

Check out this information from BDF 2012 for future reference.

Both the Extended (Wednesday - Friday afternoon) and Weekend/Saturday Schedules have been updated. 
Extended, click here.           Weekend/Saturday, click here.

Check out the menu for the festival.  Email us with a special needs and we'll do our best to make accommodations for you. 
If you need to supplement, we have several refrigerators in the cabins that are available for your use.
For menu as PDF, click here.
 

 

Just an idea of what to expect at Buckeye 2012 ....

What can't be expressed by looking at a schedule is the atmosphere of family and friendship.  We feature the finest of instructors, yes, but we look for staff who are willing to  give of their time and talent for our participants.   Finally, we have worked with Recreation Unlimited to keep prices as low as possible.   I'm not sure that there are many 4-day events that have kept the overall cost including all program, lodging, and food for under $300.  We hope this all sounds great and that you'll join us for the 21st year of the Buckeye Dulcimer Festival. 

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For the 2012 festival brochure, click here.  (includes a tentative schedule)        

BDF Registration form as pdf, click here.               BDF Registration form as a webpage, click here.

If you would like to request a brochure and registration form through snail mail, click here.   Be sure to include your mailing address.

 

T-SHIRT DESIGN 2012

 

Each year, Jan Hammond designs the Buckeye Dulcimer Festival t-shirt. She has really outdone herself.  We really like it and we hope you do, too.  The t-shirt will be brown.

On the BDF schedule that you receive at the festival, you'll find her thoughts on the design and how it came to be.

Be sure to include your t-shirt or sweatshirt size information on the registration form.

 

 

 



The Buckeye Dulcimer Festival  is held at Recreation Unlimited, 'Unlimited dreams for Individuals with Disabilities,' Ashley, Ohio, which is about 30 miles north of Columbus not too far off I-71.  RU is a fine full-service facility used for handicapped "campers" in the summer and for groups and meetings throughout the year.   Proceeds from this festival go directly to RU to help defer the costs of campers. 

RU a nonprofit organization providing programs in sports, recreation and education for individuals with physical and developmental disabilities.  In addition, the beautiful campus and facilities are available for a variety of other activities including school group outings, corporate team building, conferences and workshops.

Camper Scholarship Program!  Fifty percent of those we serve require some form of financial aid to attend summer residential camp.  Through generous donations and fund-raising events such as the Buckeye Dulcimer Festival, Recreation Unlimited is able to provide financial assistance for qualifying campers.                       

For much more information on Recreation Unlimited, go to their website, http://www.recreationunlimited.org/ .

Location:  Recreation Unlimited is located on Piper Road, 3 miles south of SR 229 between Ashley, Ohio
and I-71 north of Columbus, Ohio.    See map at the end of this page.

 

Instructors for Buckeye Dulcimer Festival '2012' 
 

MOUNTAIN DULCIMER

HAMMERED DULCIMER

Beginners -- Diane Hochstetler (Millersburg, OH)

DESCRIPTION:  Ready to dive into the world of dulcimers??? This beginner class will provide life jackets & basic skills. For non-swimmers only."  In other words... this is the place to start.  We'll learn our fretboard, how to strum, find melodies on the dulcimer, basic chords, and read dulcimer tablature.  In the process, we'll be building our list of tunes.

 

When it comes to the Hochstetler family, there is truly "music in this house."  Diane has taught piano to many students in her area, but also finds it very comfortable to pickup the guitar or mountain dulcimer in a jam session or group.  Diane has been a supporter of the BDF for many years.   We watched several of her children grow up at Buckeye.  For several years, Diane could be seen supervising her daughter, Joanna, until she was old enough to be in her hammered dulcimer class on her own.  We have watched three generations of this family (with mom, Adelene)come to Buckeye year after year.

This year, Diane will be working with beginner mountain dulcimers students encouraging them musically and helping them to relax and enjoy making music.
 

Beginners -- Karen McCurdy (Medina, OH)

DESCRIPTION:  We will start at the very beginning in this class. Learn all about the anatomy of your instrument, how to set it up to the correct position, how to tune each string, the musical layout of the strings, holding and using your hammers properly. We'll practice playing scales SLOWLY, changing octaves, and even learn a few beginning level dulcimer tunes! If you have an electronic chromatic tuner, please bring it.

Karen has come to the Buckeye Festival for many years as a participant.  We welcome her to our staff this year as the instructor for the beginner hammered dulcimer students.

Almost everyone in her family plays an instrument and since early childhood, frequent family "jam sessions" were common.  So, it's no surprise that Karen now keeps folk music alive in her performances of folk, Celtic, and original music on the Hammered Dulcimer.

Karen performs regularly throughout northeast Ohio along with her Celtic harper partner, Karen Babb, under the duet name of MacKaren.  For more information on Karen, MacKaren, and their CD, go to CDBaby and read their bios.  Fascinating ...  Click here
 

Past Beginners -- Louise Ziegler (Ashley, OH)

DESCRIPTION:     Don't be afraid--you will learn to play your dulcimer with ease.  We will take a familiar song and work on making you a less stressful player.   We will explore fingering, and different positions of the fretboard and some strumming. We will do some chord work also.  We'll be building songs by using left hand technique to improve your playing, exploring your fret board, and learning different hand positions, and chord fingering by using all five fingers (well...you know).  We'll explore how to learn a song by memory and without tab.  

Louise has been the director of Buckeye Dulcimer Festival for the last 20 years and has passed the leadership baton to Shari and Joyce. She had a great time in accomplishing her 20-year goal.

Now, as Director Emeritus, Louise is ready to return to her true love of teaching the mountain dulcimer.  She has been playing the mountain dulcimer since the early 80's.  She is a well-known workshop instructor and has seized every opportunity to take her dulcimer to all types of people.  She has taught all levels of mountain dulcimer all over the mid west. 

She deals with technique and repertoire for the Mountain Dulcimer at many levels and is known as a very smooth player.

She has been a staunch supporter of Recreation Unlimited (see below) since its inception.  Participating in this gathering is a beautiful blend of these two loves.

Louise will be helping players to build skills on the past beginner level by blending technique and repertoire.

Past Beginners -- Chris Cooperrider (Findlay, OH)   

Description:  My favorite quote right now is by William Wordsworth and it says, “What we have loved, others will love, and we will teach them how.” So that is my goal for the extended past beginner class….to learn to love your dulcimer. Well, if not “love” it, to at least understand it better! We will spend a large portion of our time learning basic chords… how to find them, how to play them, when and where to play them as part of a melody, and how to use them to play backup.
     I’ll teach you my “Idiots Guide to Playing the Hammered Dulcimer” version of finding your way around your dulcimer. No paper cheat sheets needed in my class!!  We will learn several tunes with a basic melody line and play backup chording along with the melody as a group.  Printed music will be handed out, but probably won’t be needed! You’ll learn to memorize tunes in small snippets.
     My goal is for you to be able to play along in any group jam, even if you don’t know the melody line and don’t have the music. And to have FUN and LOVE doing it!

Chris fell in love with the hammered dulcimer in 1997 and has been performing and teaching ever since.

In addition to private lessons, workshops, and jams, Chris conducts workshops and performs at several festivals and venues yearly. Along with assisting with in-school music clubs and programs, she conducts workshops for school teachers for Bluegrass in the Schools in conjunction with the International Bluegrass Music Association in Nashville. This program promotes old time and bluegrass music as part of a standardized school curriculum.

For the past three years, Chris and Joe Steiner assisted Joyce Harrison and Shari Wolf with the DULCIMERS IN THE CORNFIELD Festival in late April. Sadly, that festival has gone into the history books.  This festival had some pretty unique aspects that just might show up, again, someday.

Chris Cooperrider is one-half (the better half, she says!) of the Chris and Joe - Old Time Duo. Chris’ instrument of choice is the hammered dulcimer, but she can also be found playing upright bass for the Old Peculiar String Band.  To go to Chris & Joe's website, click here.

Intermediate 1 -- Jan Hammond (Wadsworth, OH)

Description:  Build repertoire and skills at the same time. We’ll explore alternative strumming patterns and some basic finger picking styles. Learn tunes that take the melody to the middle and bass strings. We’ll play songs in parts and talk about using chord back-up in group situations or to accompanying vocals. Find out how to smooth out your playing in regards to both right and left hand techniques and maybe even visit some different modes. It’ll be fun!

Jan Hammond is a lifetime resident of Ohio and one of the premier performers on the mountain dulcimer in the United States today. She is also an accomplished composer, lyricist and vocalist with four solo CDs and one duet CD with guitar master Tom Conner.

Jan is a two-time Kentucky State Mountain Dulcimer Champion, the only four-time winner at the Mid-Eastern Regional Dulcimer Championships, a Top Five Finalist and a 3rd Place winner at the National Mountain Dulcimer Championships held each year in Winfield, KS as part of the internationally renowned Walnut Valley Festival.

She is also a Certified Music Practitioner and plays therapeutic music at the bedside of hospice patients. Jan also teaches, leads workshops and performs at a variety of venues including, festivals, coffee houses, libraries, healthcare facilities, house concerts, church services and various events throughout the country. Jan has presented at the Buckeye Dulcimer Festival, Dulcimore (OH), the Southeast Ohio Dulcimer Festival, the Phoenix Folk Festival, the Kent State Folk Festival and The Swannanoa Gathering."


I can't begin to to express how much the class meant to me. It was truly a privilege to have you as a teacher. I learned so much and had such a good time too!" - Workshop Student

Intermediate 1 -- Joyce Harrison (Houston, OH)

Description:    We will discover clever little tricks such as flams, slides, bounces, turn-arounds, chords, arpeggios, etc., that can transform a simple one-note melody line tune into an interesting and exciting tune for both the player and the listener.   
    First we’ll learn three tunes that will be used as examples…a cute dance tune that we will use two note chords, simple arpeggios and a couple of other “tricks” to dress it up.  The second tune will be used for right/left hand independence.   The third tune allows us to discover the interesting use of the major, then minor chords for the same phrase.    We’ll have plenty of practice time for the “tricks of the trade,” and time to experiment on a tune you might want to embellish.  With practice, we can all learn someone else’s arrangement.  My goal is not to turn you into a “Joyce Harrison clone” but to give you the tools you will need to start making that tune your very own. Whether you know it yet or not, inside every one of us is a desire to play that tune the way we feel it in our heart.      

 

Joyce Harrison has been teaching at festivals, and privately, for the past 12 years.  Being a part of the Buckeye Dulcimer Festival has rewarded her many times as she watched her students grow and advance their playing abilities.

Although learning to play beautiful arrangements by many artists is delightful, Joyce’s  approach to teaching is that by the time her students reach the intermediate level, it is time for them to develop their own identification and playing style and not become a ‘Joyce Harrison clone’.  So she introduces them to the “Tricks of the Trade”… tools to use to for embellishment.   The student will learn a variety of ornamentations, then try them out on single note melodies ultimately resulting in arranging tunes and making them their own.

The Intermediate players at the 21st annual Buckeye Dulcimer Festival, 2012, will learn these “Tricks of the Trade” and at the same time learn how to apply them to their own favorite tunes.

To learn more about Joyce and get music for her tune, TEXALOUSASIPPIBAMA Rag, click here.
 

Intermediate 2 and Advanced  --  Linda Brockinton and Dave Haas

 

CLASS DESCRIPTIONS
INTERMEDIATE 2
(5 hours with each instructor)		 ADVANCED
 (5 hours with each instructor)

Linda: 
We will focus on the chord- melody style playing in the fingerpick or flatpicking style.  Left and right hand technique is the aim here giving you the tools to play what you need to play better on your own. Understanding what you are doing and why makes playing more fun. See you there!

Dave: 
Arrangements that Sparkle! 
WOW!    Create performance-ready arrangements of slow and fast songs on the mountain dulcimer. Learn about the process of arranging, introductions and endings, incorporating melody and chords in a second position on the dulcimer, and special touches that will make your arrangements sparkle.  Performance tips will also be discussed. Bring a smile and a “we can do it!” attitude. DAD

Dave: 
Be A Smooth Operator!
Build your repertoire of popular hymns, fiddle tunes, and celtic music while learning to play the dulcimer more smoothly and confidently. Learn left and right hand to facilitate smooth play and allow your left hand to glide effortlessly along the fretboard. Learn the names and position of chords along the entire length of the fretboard. Improve your backup accompaniment of both slow and fast songs. Bring a capo, smile, and be ready for some fun! DAD

 

 Linda: 

Here we will focus on arranging, multipart playing, and polishing techniques that help you play more musically.  We will focus on finger and flatpick tabs... See you there!!
 
 

LINDA BROCKINTON (Little Rock, AR) ... has become one of the most requested mountain dulcimer instructors of the Buckeye Dulcimer Festival.  In addition to being a fine, well-organized instructor, she has a warm and encouraging manner and welcoming personality.   She returns to Buckeye for her 4th time with new materials, books, recordings, and her award-winning fingerpicking style. 

Linda Brockinton started playing flute at age eleven and has played flute and piccolo previously with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra. As a music major in college, she won First Chair in several regional orchestras. Linda began playing mountain dulcimer in 1988 and she has taught dulcimer lessons since 1990.

Turlough O'Carolan and Celtic music are favorites of Linda Brockinton and her fingerpicking style of playing the mountain dulcimer bring these songs to life. Linda has a CD of her favorite Turlough O'Carolan tunes and several Celtic mountain dulcimer tablature books.

An award-winning dulcimer musician, Linda formed the Heartstrings group with some of her music students and also plays harp, guitar, hammered dulcimer, and bodhran with the group. Linda continues to teach flute and private dulcimer lessons as well as teaching at numerous venues across the country.

Linda has produced several mountain dulcimer tablature books and CDs that contain original compositions and tablature arrangements. The combination of the tablature books & CDs along with teaching mountain dulcimer at festivals, clubs, and privately allow Linda to follow the folk music tradition of passing on songs and the playing of mountain dulcimers to all who want to share in the adventure.

Learn even more about Linda from her website, www.lindabrockinton.com . 

DAVE HAAS (Charleston, WV)

... loves to perform and teach others how to play the mountain dulcimer! He has been playing the dulcimer since 1990, and loves to share the mountain dulcimer and its history with schools, churches, and civic organizations. He has even brought dulcimer music to those in prison! Dave also plays the guitar, sings, and leads music on Christian retreat experiences such as Kairos Prison Ministry, The Walk To Emmaus, Cursillo, and Teens Encounter Christ. Dave has released three dulcimer CDs, five dulcimer instruction/CD workbooks, and a popular dulcimer chord chart.

We met Dave at the Shady Grove Dulcimer Camp back in the mid-90's and knew he would add so much to Buckeye.   His day job as a chemistry professor at the University of Charleston has made it challenging to come to Ohio in March, but this year ... success!

For more information on Dave, go to his website, http://www.davehaasmusic.com

YouTube Videos at:    http://www.youtube.com/user/davehaasmusic

Intermediate 2 and Advanced  -- Cathy Barton and Tina Gugeler

 

CLASS DESCRIPTIONS
INTERMEDIATE 2
(5 hours with each instructor)		 ADVANCED
 (5 hours with each instructor)

Cathy:

"Having Great Fun Playing For Dances" ... featuring dance tunes and types from all over the US and Canada, such as hornpipes, waltzes, reels, marches, jigs, etc. There will be several sub-themes to this class

--- How to make a tune "your own", how to vary a tune, how to put together medleys, how to give a tune "bounce" and "lift". We will do lots of playing together, and students will come away with lots of tunes.

Tina:
”Chromatic notes” find chromatics on your dulcimer (even if you don't have a so called “chromatic” dulcimer). If you do not know all the names of your strings, you will after this class! We'll learn a classical tune and a tune from Brazil that has a lot of half step movements. We'll learn an exercise to find those pesky chromatic notes. You can do the chromatic exercises on a smaller instrument but you will have an easier time playing the tunes on a 16/15 size instrument

Next (time permitting):
We'll explore tremolos:  "Is that one hammered dulcimer or two??" Using a Chinese tune, we'll explore playing a melody against the back drop of tremolos to create a "2 dulcimers" sound, each hand will be doing something different! We'll do an exercise where you do a tremolo with your left hand and do some arpeggios with your right hand while sustaining the tremolo.

Tina: 
Hand independence and Creativity
     Play simple "music box" style back up with one hand and melody with the other, then take that tune and make it your own with some rhythm changes (4/4 to 3/4 etc),   Also make the tune your own by exploring improvisational skills and create an intro/interlude for the tune. Next migrate to a more complex, syncopated style of melody and back up, such as a “3 against 2” type rhythm and 4/4 rhythm accented to make it feel like there are 3 pulses in the tune instead of 2 pulses.

If time permits, For more creativity, we'll take a waltz and try different arrangements and back up ideas.

 
 Cathy: 

I will be exploring the various musical currents that eventually became ragtime, such as cakewalks, bamboulas, Creole and Caribbean traditional music. I will emphasize how to play syncopated rhythms, variations, chords, etc.

But the main purpose of this course will be adding to repertoire and playing tunes, lots of them, with guitar and percussion accompaniment.

CATHY BARTON (Boonville, MO)  is a recognized master of the frailing banjo style, and the late Roy Acuff, remembering the sounds of early country music,  often called her his "favorite banjo player." Cathy also contributed to the revival of the hammered dulcimer in the Midwest. In the mid-1970s, she introduced it to the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, Kan., and has since provided a number of current players with their first hearing of the instrument.

 While earning college and graduate degrees in humanities and folklore, Cathy worked as an assistant folklorist at the Ozark Folk Center in Mountain View, Ark.

A versatile duo, Dave Para and Cathy play several stringed instruments including hammered and fretted dulcimers, banjo, guitar and Autoharp, as well as "found" instruments like bones, spoons, mouthbow and leaf. Their concerts present a range of music from the lively dance tunes they have collected in their home region to old ballads to new songs. They have conducted several instrumental workshops as well as those about songs from the Civil War, from American rivers, old gospel songs, children's songs and Christmas music.

We are thrilled that Cathy and Dave are joining us for Buckeye.  They will presenting a program of Civil War music during the festival.

For more information on Cathy Barton and Dave Para, check out their website, http://www.bartonpara.com/ .

TINA GUGELER


We welcome back Tina and will hope for better weather this time around.  She was here during our 'memorable' blizzard year in 2008. 

When she arrived here at BDF, she was relatively unknown here in Ohio. Her teaching approach and refreshingly new approaches to bringing out the most on her hammered dulcimer, produced glowing comments on our festival evaluations.

first heard a hammered dulcimer in 1986 while living in Ketchikan, Alaska. It quickly became her passion and soon it seemed everyone on the island had heard Tina and her band, BearFoot. She played on the docks for cruise ship tourists, for weddings and dances, and at the Alaska Folk Festival in Juneau.

Since moving to the Denver area in Colorado in 1990, Tina has become a full time musician; performing solo and in small combos with fiddle, guitar or piano, and in several local contra dance bands. Along with her busy performance schedule, she teaches students on the dulcimer and bodhran.

Over the years, Tina has won many local and regional competitions and in the year 2000 she won the U.S. National Hammered Dulcimer Championship.
She appears on recordings by Denver's High Strung and the dance band Contrafusion.

For more information about Tina and some nice music samples, check out Tina's website, http://tinagugeler.com/index.php .

Wonderful YouTube Video and introduction to Tina and her style:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMxjanb86Ps

 

 

OTHER INSTRUMENTS

These classes are designed for players who have some experience i.e. past beginners and above.
 

Cindy's autoharp class will be geared to the intermediate player working on skills and repertoire.


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Band-It! class is open to all acoustic instruments in a dulcimer-friendly environment.
 Players of past beginner level ability and above are welcome.
Autoharp (beyond basics) -- Cindy Harris (Pittsburgh, PA)
 
DESCRIPTION:    This 10 hour class over two days is intended to expose intermediate autoharpers to a variety of techniques and repertoire that can be used to lift their skills to "the next level." The class will focus in three major areas:
          - Listening: learning a melody "by ear," figuring out chord progressions, analyzing style, noticing rhythm
          - Techniques: rhythm backup for a variety of repertoire styles, melody "picking" (strum-up-to-the-note, pinch, pinch-
                    pluck, cross-picking/thumb lead)
          - Arrangement: choosing and applying techniques to create attractive renditions of a variety of tunes and songs

Students will be asked to come prepared with (1) a song or tune they are comfortable playing and that demonstrates their current level of ability and (2) a recording of a song or tune they would like to learn to play by the end of the weekend. Everyone who enrolls will also be asked to fill out a questionnaire that will help Cindy plan to address the needs of all students. Since we won't be able to cover the entire autoharp universe, repertoire and skills for the class will be tailored to the interests and skills of the students.


MEET CINDY:

Cindy Harris from Pittsburgh, PA, has been playing and singing with autoharp, fiddle, and a variety of other instruments for as long as she can remember. Her repertoire includes instrumentals and songs ranging from old English ballads and Irish jigs to more contemporary material.

For the past decade or more she's been performing and teaching autoharp workshops at festivals and weekends from Pennsylvania to Seattle and even across the pond in England and Australia, and she's been a finalist in the Mountain Laurel Autoharp Gathering Championship three of the last four years.  She is also a well known caller and teacher of American contradances and square dances and an accomplished Appalachian "old time" fiddler.

Check out Cindy's YouTube videos at http://www.youtube.com/user/cah329a.


 
Band~It! (multi-instrument class)  -- Joe Steiner (Findlay, OH)

Complete Description:  The theme for Band-It this year will be "Beyond Technique". We are going to study ideas which can be learned quickly to help musicians find the "comfort zone" and "get in the groove" (much as an actor puts himself "into character" for a performance). The objective is to show participants how to add energy, excitement, and creativity to their music through tasteful application of phrasing, rhythm, and scales. All musicians need to devote time to learning technique, but we will focus on how to use that technique to advantage rather than being bogged down by it.
    We will largely focus on helping participants use what they already know, but I'll have on hand to share, based on the level of the participants, a few examples of fills and chord theory which have wide general application. The examples will be in mountain dulcimer tablature (with chords) and music notation, but most will be simple enough to be learned by ear also. I'll also bring a few simple tunes written out at the beginner and intermediate levels, with a few examples thrown in.

 

Joe Steiner has been an instructor at Buckeye for many years.  He has taught clawhammer banjo, mountain dulcimer, and the "Band It" class.  Joe is one half of the "Chris and Joe" Old Time Duo.  Joe is deeply involved in old time and bluegrass music and brings many music arrangement tools to his teaching.

In addition to teaching, you'll see Joe at those late night jams and also running the sound system during the concerts and open stage.

This year marked the 3rd year of the DULCIMERS IN THE CORNFIELD Festival  in late April that Joe and Chris Cooperrider assist Joyce Harrison and Shari Wolf in making happen.  It was a very unique festival and we are sorry to see it go into history.  

For more information about Joe, click here.

 

 

SATURDAY INTENSIVE SESSIONS (Intermediate level)

This year we are offering two intensive 4-hour classes on Saturday.
 
Dave Para - Intermediate Guitar


Dave studied guitar at the Old Town School of Folk Music in his hometown Chicago where the folk revival continued unabated. While attending college in Cathy's hometown of Columbia, Mo., Dave managed the Chez Coffeehouse, an active center for folk music in Central Missouri for 20 years. There he started accompanying several fiddlers and began playing in local string bands. He has since been noted often for his expert and distinctive back-up guitar style.



 Dave will be challenging our intermediate guitar students for a three - session period of time on Saturday morning and early afternoon. 

Welcome Dave and Cathy!


Enjoy Barton and Para on YouTube:

 www.youtube.com/watch?v=YShe69kAjnY
www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDluw_-EPvQ

 

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Just a little about the Saturday
Intermediate Guitar Workshop:

This is primarily a class for techniques and concepts of back-up guitar playing for old-time fiddle tunes and songs. It's the most improvisational playing I do.

I don't expect people to play like me, but I can show them the stuff I use. Anyone who knows a handful of chords can make their accompaniment more exciting and more fun with easy bass lines, a little diversity in right hand technique and some basic chord inversions.

We might explore my favorite alternate tuning, Drop D, which is a natural for dulcimer club guitarists, and perhaps some old-time styles of playing melody.

This class will emphasize a flat-picking approach, but not exclusively. Thumb-and-finger players can do most of this.  (Posted:  12/31/11)

 Karen Babb - Intermediate Harp

Karen (aka “Kep”) has been surrounded by music throughout her life.  Her father played violin with the Big Bands, her mother and aunt sang on the radio (as well as while doing the dishes), and she studied vocal music at Kent State University as an undergraduate.   

She says: “Music is one of the most important aspects of my life.  It keeps me sane and fills my soul.  Whatever the mood, there are always tunes that fit.  Sharing music is an almost universal need.  Every milestone throughout life, be it a wedding, a birthday, a holiday celebration, a funeral, or a simple gathering of friends, is marked with music.” 

Although she plays several instruments, for the last 15 years, her mainstay has been the Celtic Harp.  Of the harp, she says:  “It’s almost an addiction.  You start with one, then, before you know it, you have, ummmm, multiples.  They all have such interesting personalities!” 

She is on the Board of the Scottish Harp Society of America and has been involved with the Ohio Scottish Arts School in Oberlin for 12 years.  For the last 6 years, she has been the Harp Steward for the Scottish Harp Competition at the Ohio Scottish Games.  She is also a long-time member of the International Society of Folk Harpers and Craftsmen.

She teaches harp in the folk tradition, helping her students learn by ear as well as by paper.   She performs with MacKaren, a harp/hammered dulcimer duet, as well as with various pick-up groups throughout the Ohio area and into Pennsylvania.  She is often asked to sit in with others because the harp brings a richness that enhances many types of music…and because she considers playing with others so much fun. 

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Just a little about the Saturday Intermediate Harp Workshop:

Workshop participants should be able to:

  • Play comfortably with both hands

  • Understand basic chord structure and rhythm

  • Determine fingering without too much difficulty

WORKSHOP TOPICS

·        Harping with other instruments:

o   Fearless Faking for jam sessions – simple patterns and techniques
that make playing with others easier

o   Creating accompaniments that will enhance what others are doing

·        Tune-up for Harpers

      What’s your challenge? Placing? Playing fast tunes? Memorizing? Learning by ear?  Reading base clef?  Harmonics? Coupled hand?  (What’s that!?)

      Bring your challenges and we’ll share tips and tricks to work on them!

·         Variations on a Theme

o   Tune extensions

o   Riffs and bridges

·         Some simple tunes to apply all of the above!

 

 

ALSO JOINING US FOR SATURDAY WORKSHOPS

 

Steven K. Smith from Newark, OH, will join us for the weekend and will teach three past beginner mountain dulcimer sessions.

We hope that Steven's smooth playing style and sensitive interpretation of music will serve to provide the platform for the past beginner mountain dulcimer student to not only improve playing skills, but focus on which skills to use to bring out the most in a tune.

Steven has been playing since the mid 80's and has brought many fine English and Celtic tunes to the world of the mountain dulcimer.

He has recorded several Cds and tablature books and has taught at WCU, Kentucky Music Week, National Trail Dulcimer Festival, Harmony Harvest, and Southeast Ohio Dulcimer Festival.

Get to know Steven better by going to his website, http://www.sksmithmusic.com/ .

Enjoy Steven's playing by going to ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3E7jI8N0oJg .

 

 

 

As the Buckeye Dulcimer Festival has grown, the 'behind the scenes' work and details have grown. 
With so many 'extras' planned for this year, look for these folks helping to make this year the BEST ever.

Director - Shari Wolf

... has been involved with the Buckeye Dulcimer Festival all twenty years in helping Louise start and organize the festival.   Musically, she was a founding member of Sweetwater.  The Sweetwater group was a cornerstone of the festival until their group finale' in 2008. 

Since that time, Shari has been involved with her educational materials business, Country Strings, manages websites for a wide variety of music-related groups, and is president of the Dayton Dulcimer Society.

She also manages the website for the Famous Old Time Music Company music store in Wapakoneta, Ohio, and is involved with many 'live' music events there including running the 'sound'.  During 2011 marked the 3rd year of the DULCIMERS IN THE CORNFIELD Festival in late April that she, along with Joyce Harrison, plan, organize and make happen.

She'll join Country Strings in  kicking off Friday night's concert and in leading the Sunday morning Gospel Sing.  In addition to being involved with Buckeye, she helps with the organization of the Old Time Gospel Music Retreat as a member of Country Strings.   For more information about Shari and duo with Joyce Harrison (Dulcdaze), click here.

For many years, Shari worked with the 'Band Together' now known as the Band It! group.  Welcoming a group of folks playing a wide variety of instruments at many levels has served to be an exciting challenge.  During the past several years the "Band It!" group serenaded our festival during Friday lunch and open stage.  Now Shari's duties as director has made it necessary to pass the leadership of the "Band It!" class to Joe Steiner.   Thanks Joe ... and have a blast.

 Assistant Director - Joyce Harrison

... has been actively involved in the Buckeye Dulcimer Festival for the past 18 years, first as a participant, then in 1997 as an instructor, and in 1998 assisting Louise Ziegler and Shari Wolf in the organization of the festival.  She has researched and made the initial contacts for the hammered dulcimer instructors.  She also revised the design of the brochures and registration forms along with creating name tags, schedules, and other various office duties.  She worked as office manager/computer nerd/copy chief behind the scenes during last year's 20th anniversary celebration. 

This year, along with teaching the Intermediate I hammered dulcimer players, Joyce will be now working in a leadership role of the festival as Assistant Director.   She'll join Country Strings in  kicking off Friday night's concert and in leading the Sunday morning Gospel Sing. 

In addition to being involved with Buckeye, she organizes the Old Time Gospel Music Retreat as a member of Country Strings.  Joyce and Shari Wolf organized the DULCIMERS IN THE CORNFIELD Festival held in April, and they have been involved with many other 'live' music events at the Famous Old Time Music Company in Wapakoneta, OH, where Joyce also teaches the hammered dulcimer. 

For more information about Joyce and the duo with Shari Wolf, (Dul-C-Daze), click here.

Director Emeritus - Louise Ziegler

.....of Ashley, Ohio, has retired as director of the Buckeye Dulcimer Festival for the past 20 years, but she isn't going anywhere.  She'll be returning to her students as extended session past beginner mountain dulcimer instructor.  

Louise has been playing the mountain dulcimer since the early 80's.  She is a well-known workshop leader and has seized every opportunity to take her dulcimer to all types of people.  She has been a staunch supporter of Recreation Unlimited (see below) since its inception. 

As many festivals come and go, it is clear that leadership and organization are critical to success.   But, from the very first year of the festival, it has been the sense of "family" that has allowed BDF to grow and continue.   Don't expect that to change as Shari, Joyce, and Louise move our festival forward.

 

 

     

DOROTHY BUCHANAN has been with this festival since the very first year.  After running a successful festival in Pennsylvania for several years, she added her thoughts to the formulation of BDF.  She served as a hammered dulcimer instructor for many years and now serves as our music advisor.  During the Extended session, Dorothy will serve as music tutor for folks that need some 'extra' attention.  You'll also see Dorothy as emcee of our Open Stages.  Folks, she collects those jokes all year long. 

DEBBIE & BRIAN DOGGETT have handled the registration and performers' sales table for many years.  This all consuming job can be stressful at times, but every year they show up with smiling faces ready for the challenge.

MIKE & MARY JO LEPAGE have been wonderful supporters of Buckeye for many years.  You'll see Mike driving the golf carts from early Wednesday until the last person leaves on Sunday.  Mary Jo does so many things that we know, but many things we don't even know to help make BDF a success.   

There will be instructor-led jams on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings and great food the entire time.  
Friday at 3 p.m. starts the weekend festival with concerts, mini workshops on Saturday, jam sessions, open stage, Civil War music program, and Sunday's Gospel Sing.  

 

Saturday's Festival Schedule

In addition to the wide variety of mini sessions on Saturday for all levels of mountain dulcimer, hammered dulcimer and intermediate autoharp,
there will be all-day beginners sessions for the following instruments: 

Saturday Beginner Sessions
 9:00 am to 2:15 pm

Mountain Dulcimer - Louise Ziegler
Hammered Dulcimer - Janet Harriman
Autoharp - Phyllis Davis

Just note on your registration form that your are interested in one of these Saturday "Beginner Sessions." 
Please let us know which beginner session (mountain dulcimer, hammered dulcimer or autoharp) that you will be attending. 
If you need a loaner instrument, let us know.  
Plan on coming to registration early (opens at 8:00 am) and get checked in so that you can get help in tuning to be ready for classes to begin at 9 am.

Nearby Motels 

The motels on this list from Delaware and at I-71/US 36 are about 12 miles from the festival.  
The motels in Marion are about 20 miles from the festival.

There will be a map included with your confirmation. 

2012 Buckeye Dulcimer Festival - Hotel Information
(Updated: Jan. 17, 2012)
           
Hotel Name - Delaware / Sunbury   Hotel Name - Marion  
Holiday Inn Express - Sunbury  $          70.00   Comfort Inn - Marion  $          76.49  
7301 East State Route 37   256 James Way  
Sunbury, Ohio 43074     Marion, Ohio 43302    
(740) 362-3036   (740) 389-5552  
           
Hampton Inn - Sunbury  $        101.00   Country Inn - Marion  $          98.00  
7329 State Route 36 & 37   2091 Marion-Mt Gilead Road  
Sunbury, Ohio 43074     Marion, OH 43302    
(740) 363-4700   (740) 386-5451  
           
Best Western - Delaware  $          76.49   Holiday Inn Express - Marion  $          93.60  
1720 Columbus Pike   1842 Marion-Mt Gilead Road  
Delaware, Ohio 43015     Marion, OH 43302    
(740) 363-3510   (740) 389-4300  
           
Comfort Inn - Delaware  $          67.99   America's Best - Marion  $          53.00  
1251 Columbus Pike   1952 Marion Mount Gilead Rd  
Delaware, Ohio 43015     Marion, OH 43302-5828    
(740) 363-8869   (740) 389-4671  

 

               

 

RECREATION UNLIMITED and the Buckeye Dulcimer Festival is located just northeast of Delaware, OH.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


If you are not currently receiving BDF info and would like to be included on our mailing list, click here. 
Please include your name & address for snail mailing.

 *********
 **In the last several years, we have found ourselves being asked to make special adjustments to our pricing packages. 
Due to our current policy changes, we are unable to make any special exceptions in our pricing packages. 
Thanks for your understanding, and we sincerely hope that you will still be able to attend the Buckeye Dulcimer Festival.
 

 

During the 2009 Buckeye Dulcimer Festival, Chris Cooperrider and Joe Steiner included in their set a song parody honoring the BDF Blizzard of 2008.

                               

 

Come to the Buckeye Dulcimer Festival and have a great time and know that you are also helping a fantastic cause.  


Look for frequent updates to this page.  
Last updated,  3/15/2012

Webmatician: Shari Wolf