GENERAL MEETING: Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Presenters: The Harmony Grove Dulcimer Ensemble
The Harmony Grove Dulcimer Ensemble was formed in 2004. The musicians first met each other at the Winston-Salem Dulcimer Festival and discovered that they all had hammer dulcimers and needed help in perfecting their skills. Some of the members have come and gone, but the group still has four charter members: Polly Caudle, Angie Hobbs, Glenda Beauchamp, and Lynette Harper. Carol Leinbach and Anne Carter are newer members of the group.
The Harmony Grove Dulcimer group plays primarily for charitable organizations, such as churches and nursing homes. But they also played at the Dixie Classic Fair, where they won a blue ribbon. They played prelude music for the High Point Theatre last year, and were featured on Lanie Pope’s Backyard BBQ last spring.
The hammer dulcimer is an old instrument dating back to biblical times, being mentioned in the book of Daniel. The dulcimer soundboard is similar to a piano soundboard, but the musicians strike the strings with a hammer rather than pressing keys as on a piano. The hammer dulcimer is much older than the more common mountain dulcimer and has more strings. The mountain or lap dulcimer is a product of the Appalachian mountain people and is made similar to a guitar.
We can look forward to a delightful musical performance.