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Dulcimer string band opens farmers' market

| 11 Jun 2018 | 03:07
    PHOTOS BY JANET REDYKEMembers of the Skylands Dulcimer String Band perform at the Farmers’ Market at the Sussex County Fairgrounds.
    PHOTOS BY JANET REDYKEMembers of the Skylands Dulcimer String Band perform at the Farmers’ Market at the Sussex County Fairgrounds.
    Donna Traylor plays the enchanting dulcimer.
    Donna Traylor plays the enchanting dulcimer.
    Lew Schafer strums the mandolin and sings a touching folk ballad.
    Lew Schafer strums the mandolin and sings a touching folk ballad.

AUGUSTA — The Latin and Greek cultures and languages both translate the word dulcimer to mean sweet tunes.
The music from dulcimers evokes a soothing, folksy twang that causes one to think of a country day in the Appalachian Mountains even though the instrument has a history dating back to ancient classical music in Europe, Persia (the Middle East) and China.
Today, we tend to think of the dulcimer used in America’s folk country ballads.
The Skylands Dulcimer String Band performed an array of songs on Saturday June 9 at the opening of the Farmers’ Market at the Sussex County Fairgrounds. Band members included husband and wife Donna and Don Traylor, Lew Schafer, Bob Taylor and George Nixon playing guitars, mandolins, mountain dulcimers, Celtic harps, bodhrans and other stringed instruments. The group strummed nostalgic tunes as background mood music while shoppers enjoyed the quaint country atmosphere.
The Skylands Dulcimer String band will perform again at the market on Saturday July 14 and then again in September and October.