Saturday Evening Concert

Jeff & Janet Furman

Lois Hornbostel

The MacArthur Family - Dan, Gary, & Megan

8:00pm, at Memorial Hall on Rt. 9 in Wilmington

CONCERT FEATURED PERFORMERS

JEFF and JANET FURMAN - Jeff and Janet have been playing old-time music together for over 25 years. Performing on mountain dulcimer, fiddle, old-time banjo, bowed dulcimer, and guitar, they also have blended their vocals to deliver heartfelt and touching ballads as well as rousing songs. Jeff is a multi-instrumentalist who has been playing old-time music since 1980. Primarily a clawhammer banjo player for many years, Jeff developed a rhythmic and melodic style of playing which has heavily influenced his dulcimer playing. Jeff and Janet have performed at public and private concerts, schools, workshops, and dances throughout the Eastern US. Jeff is an award-winning mountain dulcimer player who is known for his smooth and expressive style and his gentle, humorous, and effective teaching style.

LOIS HORNBOSTEL - Lois heard her first mountain dulcimer in Pinkham Notch, NH, beginning an exciting journey with the instrument into the development of many musical playing styles. She has always played her dulcimer and learned music in settings outside the dulcimer world, starting in New York City Irish music sessíons. Her 1979 Mel Bay book, The Irish Dulcimer, pioneered Irish music on the mountain dulcimer.

Living in Louisiana after that, she adapted Cajun music to her dulcimer. That eventually led to Lois’s current book, Cajun Favorites for Mountain Dulcimer. A lover of international folk music since childhood, Lois's first recording, Vive le Dulcimer, was a finalist for an "Indie" award in the World Music Category.

Lois has lived in the Smoky Mountains of NC since the '80s. In this region her musical path led to fiddle conventions and their wealth of old-time string band music. She learned the music and has won dulcimer competitions including those at the Galax, VA, Mount Airy, NC, and Fiddlers Grove, NC fiddlers conventions. Since the '80s, Lois has delighted in developing dulcimer teaching weeks, beginning at Appalachian State in Boone, NC, then Swannanoa Dulcimer Week in Asheville, and most currently the Western Carolina University Mountain Dulcimer Week. These events have had far-reaching influence in dulcimer playing styles, repertoire, and teaching standards. During this time, Lois has taught some 18,000 children to play mountain dulcimer in her arts-in-schools persona, "Miss Lois", intrepid elementary school dulcimer lady.

THE MACARTHUR FAMILY - DAN, GARY, & MEGAN - The MacArthur family of Marlboro, Vermont are well known throughout the northeast. Their concerts are musical explorations of rural life, adding contemporary compositions to traditional songs. Their rich vocal harmonies are complimented by sensitive accompaniments on Dan’s guitar, Gary’s fiddle or home-made mandolin, and Megan’s acoustic bass.