Dulcimer champion Larry Conger presents workshops, concert at Renaissance Center

Release Date: 2/9/2005. Expired: 2/19/2005

Former national champion mountain dulcimer player Larry Conger returns to The Renaissance Center for a concert and two workshops on Feb. 19.

The Paris, Tenn., resident is a builder, player and teacher of the Appalachian mountain dulcimer and won the prestigious National Mountain Dulcimer Championship at the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, Kan., in 1998.

Conger will offer workshops for beginner and intermediate dulcimer players prior to his performance.

The Beginning Dulcimer Workshop will offer instruction in basic tuning and strumming skills along with elementary flat-picking techniques. The reading of dulcimer tablature will be discussed in detail. The workshop is 10-11:30 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 19, and tuition is $40.

The Intermediate Dulcimer Workshop will focus on various strumming/picking hand techniques as well as fretting hand embellishments and will use an assortment of tunes in teaching these skills. The workshop is 1:30-3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 19, and tuition is $40.

Tuition for both workshops is $75.

Conger will then present a dulcimer concert in the Performance Hall at 7 p.m. Tickets for the performance are $12 for adults, $10 for seniors and $6 for children under 13.

Conger operates a private music studio in Paris, teaching piano and guitar as well as mountain dulcimer. He is an active participant in the Tennessee Arts Commission’s Arts in Education program and the Kentucky Arts Council’s Teacher Incentive Program, presenting several dulcimer programs in public schools each year.

A graduate of the University of Mississippi with a Bachelor of Music, Conger has been involved with music as a vocation for more than 25 years. In addition to performing and offering workshops at various dulcimer festivals around the country, he also has served as a music director for several Baptist churches.

Conger won the Southern Regional Mountain Dulcimer Championship at the Ozark Folk Center in Mountain View, Ark, in 1995. He teamed with Jim Curley of Kansas City to win the Southern Regional Dulcimer Ensemble Championship at the center in 1996 and went on to win the national championship in 1998.

He has authored several dulcimer books and made several recordings, including contributions to Great Players of the Mountain Dulcimer and Masters of the Mountain Dulcimer II, compilation CDs featuring many of today’s top dulcimer players. He also has been featured on three Japanese compilation recordings of international acoustic music.

“The mountain dulcimer is a unique and traditional instrument and we are fortunate to have a player of Larry Conger’s caliber to present workshops and perform for us,” said Elaine Sherrill, senior director of Music at The Renaissance Center. “His previous appearances at the center have been very popular and we are happy to be able to bring him back.”

For more information on Conger’s workshops or concert, call Sherrill at (615) 740-5545 or visit The Renaissance Center’s Web site at www.rcenter.org. To register for a workshop, call (615) 740-5533. To purchase tickets for the performance, call (615) 740-5570.

The Renaissance Center is an arts and technology education and performing arts center at 855 Highway 46 South in Dickson, just 35 miles west of Nashville on Interstate 40 at exit 172.

Visit the Events - Concerts and Recitals page for more about musical performances.

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