Monday, April 20, 2015

Karen in the Duluth News Tribune 4-19

http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/pursuits/3722101-five-questions-karen-mueller-fancy-dulcimers-leads-international-acclaim

Five Questions with Karen Mueller: Fancy for dulcimers leads to international acclaim

By Mike Creger at 12:00 a.m.
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Karen Mueller of Minneapolis is returning to the Northland on Saturday as part of the annual Dulcimer Day in Duluth at Coppertop Church. Mueller is one of the top mountain dulcimer and autoharp players in the world. She has won international competitions and is sought after for concerts across the country. We asked Mueller five questions about her craft and the festival that takes place 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., followed by a dinner and 7 p.m. concert. For more information, visit dulcimersinduluth.com or call (218) 525-5098.
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Q: How did you get your musical start?
A: I started taking piano lessons when I was 7 and kept on into high school, doing lots of recitals and contests. In high school, I also started playing guitar, and by my junior year, I decided to focus on that, and gave lessons as well. My hometown, Winfield, Kan., hosted (and still does) a major national bluegrass festival called the Walnut Valley Festival. When
I started going to that when I was in high school, I found out about dulcimers and autoharps, and began playing them and joining in the welcoming jamming groups.
Q: When people ask you what a dulcimer is, what do you tell them?
A: I usually get out my phone and show them a picture, and then say it’s like a long, skinny three-stringed guitar with the fretboard sitting directly on top of the body, played on the lap. It has a sweet, warm sound, with some strings tuned as drones, making it like a string version of the bagpipe. While it’s best known in the Appalachian mountain states, it is actually played everywhere, and for any type of music. Cyndi Lauper is one of the more mainstream singers who has played it for a long time.
Q: Is there a reason you keep returning to Dulcimer Day in Duluth?
A: There are a couple of main reasons. First, festival director Wendy Grethen does a super job of organizing it, and hires top-notch performer/instructors from all over the country. I’m always happy to be asked back. Among performers especially, it’s a small world, and we all
know each other, so it’s a great time to connect with friends. Second, it is the only dulcimer festival in the region, and to find another one, folks will have to drive quite far!
Q: You’ve received plenty of accolades for your talent. Which one means the most to you?
A: I would say it was when I won first place in the International Autoharp Championship in 1986 at the Walnut Valley Festival. It felt like a solid recognition of all the work I had been doing to develop my own arrangements and techniques, and opened the door for me to perform and teach in new places nationwide when I was just out of college.
Q: You are having a dinner party and can invite any three people — alive or dead, famous or not. Who would they be and why?
A: There are lots of famous people that I would love to meet, but I would go for a sentimental answer and say my mom, aunt (Mom’s sister), and grandmother, who have all passed away. It would be fun to have a reunion with them and hear their stories and ask them questions about their lives that I never got to ask when they were alive.
Posted by Wendy Up North at 6:51 PM

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