Mountain Dulcimer Player Stephen Seifert

"Renowned mountain dulcimer player Stephen Seifert, composer Conni Ellisor and artist manager Brian Horner have joined forces to rally America's dulcimer community to raise enough money to support the creation of a new piece of music for mountain dulcimer and orchestra.  "Blackberry Winter", the world's only work for mountain dulcimer and orchestra was written in 1996 by Conni Ellisor and performed by Stephen Seifert and the Nashville Chamber Orchestra and they're excited to premiere a sequel to this beloved piece." - http://dulcimerconcerto.com/.

(The following article is reproduced with permission. It originally appeared in the Winter 2010 issue of Dulcimer Players News)

Blackberry Winter: The past, the present, and the future of the Mountain Dulcimer in Classical Music

By Brian Horner, artist manager for composer Conni Ellisor

The orchestral history of the mountain dulcimer is fairly short: "Blackberry Winter" for mountain dulcimer, Tennessee music box and strings. That’s the only concerto written for the instrument. The piece was commissioned by the Nashville Chamber Orchestra in 1996 and recorded on their Warner Bros. debut CD Conversations In Silence the next year. The piece is in three movements and was composed by Conni Ellisor with invaluable consultation from the legendary David Schnaufer; the premiere and recording sessions were performed by Schnaufer’s friend and protégé, Stephen Seifert. It may have been expected that such an unusual pairing as dulcimer and string orchestra would result in a single performance and a barely noticed CD release before fading into obscurity. The journey of Blackberry Winter has been quite the opposite. Twelve years later, the piece continues to receive substantial radio play on classical stations around the country – and it earned a place on St. Louis classical station Classic99’s 2001 “Top99” list. It quickly became an NCO fan favorite and it helped the orchestra succeed in its mission to challenge listeners’ perceptions of what a chamber orchestra, and classical music itself, can be. Stephen Seifert has performed the piece steadily over the years, with orchestras all over the country including the symphonies of Nashville, Charlotte and Tucson. Conni Ellisor still receives emails from conductors interested in performing the work and classical music fans expressing their gratitude for such an exhilarating and unique addition to the orchestral repertoire. An August 2009 broadcast on Chicago’s classical station elicited the following praise from a fan who posted this review on Amazon.com after purchasing the album: “WFMT in Chicago cued up the piece today as I was leaving the bank on my way to the drugstore -- where I sat in the parking lot for at least 10 minutes listening to this wonderful composition!” Another customer reviewer, in April 2008, posted the following: “I heard Blackberry Winter half asleep on Classical 24 and knew I wanted to hear it again. I just got the CD and have only listened to B.W. so far, but if the rest of the disc is a hog calling contest held by ducks, I would still give it 5 stars.”

This kind of fan enthusiasm for a new piece of classical music simply cannot be ignored. Stephen, Conni and I sat down for coffee this past summer to reflect on “Blackberry Winter” and to brainstorm about ways to satisfy the demand for another mountain dulcimer concerto. Stephen and Conni had long discussed a second collaboration but various professional obligations consistently intervened to keep the project on the back burner. Just as the timing finally seemed right to move forward the economy faltered, orchestra endowments shrank dramatically and commissions of new pieces became vanishingly rare. Faced with the prospect of shelving the project once more, and impressed with what Stephen was telling me about the size and enthusiasm of America’s dulcimer community, I suggested that we turn to the very fans who might be most excited about a new piece for dulcimer and orchestra.

With your help, we can create this new piece of music. If requests for a small contribution toward the project are granted by even a small percentage of dulcimer enthusiasts, the project’s expenses can be covered and the world’s first fan-based consortium commission for mountain dulcimer will be born. We’re excited to announce that the Tucson Symphony Orchestra has agreed to perform the world premiere of the new dulcimer concerto with soloist Stephen Seifert during the 2011-2012 concert season if we’re able to accomplish our goals and make this piece a reality.

It was David Schnaufer’s dream to bring the dulcimer to the attention of the world and I think that many of you share that passion. One way to do that is to play it in non-traditional settings, in front of audiences who are not familiar with it – and a classical concert hall with a symphony orchestra certainly fits that description.