Dulcimer concert, workshops rescheduled
SYKESVILLE — Due to unforeseen circumstances, the concert and musical lessons scheduled to be held by mountain dulcimer player Butch Ross on Feb. 16 have been postponed. The event is rescheduled for Saturday, Feb. 24.
Ross, a nationally known performer on mountain dulcimer, will conduct three workshops and perform in concert at 4 p.m. at Bethel Baptist Church, 100 E. Main St., Sykesville. The workshops are:
• 10:30 a.m. Just Five Notes. For novice and up. These five basic notes appear in almost every song. Use this as a starting point for learning new music, playing along in jams, and quickly picking up classic tunes.
• 1 p.m. “A” Tunes, or How to Make Friends with the Fiddler. For novice/ intermediate. Fiddle players love to play in A. Learn some good ones with this workshop. A capo is needed.
• 2:30 p.m. Working Backwards. For most levels. Learn how starting at the end can help you learn songs better, faster and be more enjoyable in the process.
Ross will perform in concert at 4 p.m. open to everyone. The cost for the workshops is $25 for one workshop, $40 for two workshops and $60 for all three workshops. All price levels include admission to the concert. A pass-the-hat is scheduled for walk-ins to the concert.
Advance reservations may be made by email at ginnyschott@gmail.com or by telephone at 814-3714627. Walk-ins are welcome. For those who are interested in learning to play a mountain dulcimer, practice instruments will be available for use during the lessons.
Ross, born in Meadville and raised in Falls Creek, graduated from DuBois Area High School in 1986. Now based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Ross has tackled everything from Radiohead to Bach and come away with a renewed appreciation for what the dulcimer is capable of. No genre is off-limits, nor is there a limit to what Ross has envisioned for this specific instrument.
The dulcimer is an unassuming thing, with a handful of strings and a history that feels embedded in the lineage of countless Appalachian musicians. Ross’s music is born from his respect for its abilities, a respect born from the years he’s spent prying apart its pieces and discovering new sounds where none existed before. It is this groundbreaking and iconoclastic approach that caused ukulele-virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro to comment, “Now I know what a dulcimer is supposed to sound like.”
Ross became intrigued with the instrument when he was given a mountain dulcimer as a birthday present. At first, the instrument was a curiosity, but before too long it became his instrument of choice. A chance meeting with musician, author and producer Robert Force (himself a dulcimer icon) led to the 2005 release “The Moonshiner’s Atlas” and a complete change of focus.
Since then, Ross has become an in-demand performer at folk and dulcimer festivals throughout the U.S. and Europe. He’s performed and instructed at such festivals as Kentucky Music Week, the Central Ohio Folk Festival, Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, the Lancaster (UK) Music and the prestigious Philadelphia Folk Festival.
Ross’ recent release, “Found Objects,” is a collection of original compositions, outside-thebox covers, original tunes, mashups and arrangements of traditional songs. It’s an eclectic mix that led TimesFree Press reporter Joshua Pickard to call it “a sound both experienced and timeless, a result of its celebrated past and boundless future.”