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A Weekend with
Rick Thum on Hammered Dulcimer
In Concert with Bruce Ling
Hammered Dulcimer Workshops
November 12-13, 2004
Rockford, MI (a little north of Grand Rapids)

Rick Thum is an award-winning, master hammered dulcimer player, builder, and teacher. His specialty is old-time style, and he performs solo and with his band at major festivals, concerts, and contra and square dances. Rick has recorded three CD?s, has published a book, and has taught classes all over the country - at The Augusta Heritage Center (Davis & Elkins College, Elkins, WV), The Swannanoa Gathering (Warren Wilson College, Asheville, NC), The Ozark Folk Center (Mountain View, AR), and more. Rick was voted favorite teacher in 1995, ?96, and ?97 at the nation?s largest hammered dulcimer gathering, The Original Dulcimer Players? Club?s Annual Funfest (Evart, MI), where he consistently draws about a hundred or so hammered dulcimer players to his workshops. For more information about Rick and his dulcimers, visit www.rthum.com.

Bruce Ling , a multi-talented, multi-instrumentalist, fronts his own band, Hawks and Owls , which plays a mix of old-time, bluegrass, country, Irish, and more. He has won a number of area fiddle contests and has performed on stage for concerts and dances, radio and television programs, and stage productions. He produced a CD that sounds like a five-person, old-time string band, but it's all Bruce. Thanks to the wonders of modern technology, Bruce did fiddle, mandolin, viola, guitar, and cello tracks, all himself, and then combined them to make "a band" on the CD. He also multi-instrumentally records and produces sound-beds for corporate DVD?s, commercial radio spots, and video soundtracks. For more information about Bruce, visit www.hawksandowls.com.

Rick Thum in Concert with Bruce Ling

Friday, November 12, 7:00 p.m.
Rockford Community Cabin
220 N. Main Street, Rockford, MI
Admission: $10 per person

Join us for an uplifting evening of toe-tapping old-timey dance tunes, gospel songs, stories, and fun. Don't be surprised if some of the audience gets into a bit of spontaneous clogging and dancing in the background.

Rick Thum Hammered Dulcimer Workshops

Two one-and-one-half hour workshops
Saturday, November 13, noon until 4:00, at Jim Rathbun's Home.
Call Jim, 616-490-9103, for reservations/directions.
(Because of limited space, this is a rare opportunity for a small workshop with Rick.)
Admission: $15 per workshop

  • 12:00 noon - "Chording and Embellishments." An easy way to play chords with one set of patterns. Learn to use the chords for back-up, jamming, variations, embellishments, and arrangements. All levels.

  • 2:00 p.m. - "North Carolina Breakdown." This is an old-time fiddle tune that is a lot of fun to play and for dancers to dance to. Learn the basic tune, and then learn ways to make it fancier, faster, and even more fun to play. All levels can play this tune.

    Stay for jamming after the workshops if you would like!