Stothers Concert Dedicated in Memory of David Schnaufer
Tom and Missy Strothers, College Hill, will dedicate their September 30 performance at the College Hill Coffee Company to David Schnaufer. David passed away on August 23. Donations will be accepted and given to a local hospice in David’s honor.
David Schnaufer, a musician who revived the use of the dulcimer in country music and taught the instrument to many students, died of cancer at a local hospice. He was 53.
Schnaufer recorded with The Judds, Johnny Cash, June Carter Cash, Kathy Mattea, Mark Knopfler, Emmylou Harris, Chet Atkins and many others on dulcimer, a gentle stringed instrument used in Appalachia since the 1800s, derived from zithers brought into North America by German immigrants in the 17th and 18th centuries.
"Anybody can make beautiful music in five minutes of playing the dulcimer," Schnaufer often said. "It's the simplest of all the stringed instruments, but can be as complex as anything else."
The Strothers who, have been playing dulcimer together since 2000 as a husband-wife duet, have been significantly influenced by the music, style and teaching of Schnaufer. In 2003, when Schnaufer was featured by the Cincinnati Dulcimer Society, the Strothers played their arrangement of Schnaufer’s composition "When Silence was Golden." After their performance Schnaufer in his usual Texas manner said, "It brought tears to my eyes."
It is appropriate to celebrate Schnaufer at the College Hill Coffee Company. David loved a good cup of java along with reading the NY Times. Recently Schnaufer was served an espresso. When asked how it was he replied with a thumbs up, "Fit for the Times." David Schnaufer was also fit for the Times along with newspapers and magazines coast to coast including Cincinnati where Schnaufer has inspired many musicians.
Details of the Strothers' tribute concert can be found at
http://www.collegehill-arch.org/calendar.htm .
Schnaufer had been an adjunct associate professor of dulcimer at Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music since 1995.
"David was one of the first teachers in the Blair School’s folk music program, along with Mark O’Connor and Butch Baldassari,” said Mark Wait, dean of Blair School of Music. "He was a wonderful artist and teacher, one whose influence will be felt for many, many years."
Schnaufer was born in Hearne, Texas, and grew up in La Marque, Texas. As a child, he experimented with mouth harp and harmonica. As a young man, he came across a display of dulcimers in Austin, Texas, and bought one for $40.
Schnaufer soon began winning dulcimer contests and moved to Nashville in the 1980s.
He progressed from playing in restaurants for tips to backing The Judds and other country music acts. He recorded and released solo dulcimer records and collaborations with other artists. For several years he was a member of the country-rock band The Cactus Brothers.
Wait recruited Schnaufer to the Blair staff after hearing him perform at a dinner party. Singer Cyndi Lauper was among his students.
"David was an amazing musician--that hardly needs to be said," Wait said. "But those of us fortunate to know him as a friend know that he was also an extraordinary and wonderfully generous human being. He treated everybody he worked with--students, colleagues, children, adults--with gentleness and respect. "
Services were held Saturday, Aug. 26, at 10 a.m. at Vanderbilt’s Dyer Observatory in Brentwood, Tennessee. Attending were the Strothers and two to three hundred friends of Schnaufer including recording artists such as Emmylou Harris, J. D. Crowe, and the Cantrells. Schnaufer’s brother, Reverend Eric Schnaufer performed the services. Wait delivered a moving eulogy – both humorous and poignant.
The ever present cicadas grew increasingly louder as Wait delivered the final remarks of his eulogy. Schnaufer loved the sounds of nature and included the sound of cicadas on his CD "Delcimore." The spirit of David Schnaufer was certainly present among those blessed by his life.
This article includes excerpts from the Vanderbilt News Service.
