Dulcimer Festival offers two days of workshops, concerts
The eighth annual New Mexico Dulcimer Festival will be taking place this month at Albuquerque Academy. The festival offers two full days of music instruction and social activities, with concerts open to the public each night.
Irma Reeder, New Mexico Dulcimer Festival director, said there are 80 dulcimer festivals in the middle and eastern regions of the country.
“Before we started the New Mexico festival in 2010, there were only four such festivals in the entire western United States,” Reeder said. “Some New Mexico residents have never seen dulcimers here at home; more have never even heard of the instruments. Local organizers of an annual music festival seek to display the wonderful
versatility of both dulcimer types which are not constrained to purely traditional folk music repertoires, and to educate and motivate beginning and experienced musicians alike.”
Half the participants come from all corners of New Mexico.
There will be 46 daytime workshops — not only for mountain and hammered dulcimers, but also Celtic harp, bowed psaltery, banjo, guitar, percussion, pennywhistle, harmonica, ukulele, and clogging.
Concerts will present such diverse music styles as traditional, Celtic, hymns, jazz, pop, rock and world.
According to organizers, an impressive instructor/performer lineup is planned for the festival, including two national dulcimer champions.
Other teachers come from Albuquerque, Bosque and Colorado.
The festival is sponsored by the New Mexico Dulcimer Association, Apple Mountain Music folk music store in Albuquerque, and the city of Albuquerque Urban Enhancement Trust Fund.