Dulcimer Player Named Artist-in-Residence, Offers Public Performances

Professional dulcimer player Stephen Seifert has been named as the 2010 Artist-in-Residence at Fairmont State University and will perform in several venues this weekend.

Stephen Seifert 

Seifert will perform the first concerto written for dulcimer and orchestra, "Blackberry Winter," written by Connie Ellisor, with the Fairmont State University Community Orchestra at 3 p.m. Sunday, April 11, in the Turley Center Ballroom. Seifert recorded this piece with the Nashville Chamber Orchestra, and the recording is regularly played on West Virginia Public Broadcasting.

Seifert's teaching and playing has made him a favorite with dulcimer players all over the country since 1991. In that time, he's been a featured performer at hundreds of dulcimer festivals and other music events including Kentucky Music Week in Bardstown, Ky.; Mountain Dulcimer Week in Cullowhee, N.C.; the Augusta Heritage Center in Elkins; the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, N.C.; the Ozark Folk Center in Mountain View, Ark.; Stringalong near Milwaukee, Wis.; the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, Kansas; and The Tono American Music Festival, in Tono, Japan.

Seifert was an adjunct instructor of mountain dulcimer with David Schnaufer at Vanderbilt's Blair School of Music from 1997 to 2001. He also taught, performed, and recorded with Schnaufer as a duo throughout the country. Seifert has published 10 books, four CDs and 16 instructional videos.

Seifert will conduct workshops and dulcimer playing sessions for beginner through advanced on the Fairmont State campus from Saturday, April 10, through Tuesday, April 13. A limited number of dulcimers will be provided for playing sessions.

Following is a schedule of free events:

Beginning Mountain Dulcimer Playing
Saturday, April 10
10 a.m. to noon
229 Wallman Hall

FSUCO Orchestra performance
Sunday, April 11
3 p.m.
Turley Center Ballroom

Introduction to the Mountain Dulcimer
and its Importance/History in Appalachia
Monday, April 12
4 to 4:50 p.m.
207 Wallman Hall

Mountain Dulcimer Jam Session
Monday, April 12
7 to 9 p.m.
207 Wallman Hall

Developing a Dulcimer Playing Program
in Your School
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
3 to 3:50 p.m.
306 Wallman Hall

Mountain Dulcimer Jam Session
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
7:30 to 9 p.m.
229 Wallman Hall

The Artist-in-Residence Program at FSU is designed to enhance the academic and curricular arts programs of Fairmont State University, provide the opportunity for faculty development and growth and provide a valuable intellectual and cultural resource for the community. The program is made possible by an annual stipend from the Fairmont State Foundation, Inc.

Successful residency programs have been provided in recent years by British musician Emma Peake; stage director Jeffrey Ingman; poet Maggie Anderson; sculptor Wayne Trapp; the late local jazz legend, Johnnie Johnson; British actor Roger Jerome; freelance artist Patricia Musick; opera singers Mary Anne Talese and Stephen Lusmann; portrait artist Elizabeth McLain; writers Jaimy Gordon and Meredith Sue Willis; pianist Nada Loutfi; landscape painter Ann Templeton; and singer-songwriter Larry Groce. Residencies have included mentoring of FSU students, well-received performances and exhibitions for the college and community and workshops for public school students and teachers.

MusicStephen SeifertArtist-in-ResidenceSchool of Fine Arts