Steve Eulberg: What's New?

The Flash Mountain Dulcimer Brigade will re-muster on Thursday, Sept 14 for a 3-day tour of duty at the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, Kansas.

Under the command of Brigadier General Eulberg (who formed his brigade in the time-honored tradition: calling together and equipping his own brigade to get his commission) the mountain dulcimer brigadiers will make several "flash" appearances throughout the festival, playing a few tunes and melting into the crowd to re-unite and play again later.

Designed to help bring mountain dulcimer players together for the joy of group playing, the Brigade also helps raise the profile of the instrument for the 18,000 attendees of this annual festival.

Reports and photos of past appearances can be found in the photos section of this website and at: http://www.owlmntnmusic.com/flashmdbrigade.htm

Upper Room Ministries in Nashville, Tennessee has released a new worship resource, "Upper Room Worshipbook: Music and Liturgies for Spiritual Formation."

3 of Steve Eulberg's compositions were chosen for inclusion: "Come, Bless the Lord" and "Let My Prayer RIse as Incense (from "Dulcimer-Friendly Evening Prayer) and "Esta Es Mi Cuerpo (This Is My Body)" (from "St. Thomas Blessing and Praise.")

Steve's music for worship can also be found in collections by Augsburg-Fortress (Minneapolis-ELCA), and Chalice Press (St. Louis-Disciples).

The drive from Ft. Collins to Mountainview, Arkansas is about 17 hours or so...with lots of waving wheat fields, smiling sunflowers, inky black sky studded with diamond stars, flint hills, granite bluffs, Branson road construction and the rich greenhills of the Ozarks in Missouri and Arkansas.

This was my first time to teach at Mountainview (Advanced Hammered Dulcimer) and performing in the Wednesday night concert was like playing the Grand Old Opry of the Ozarks--a real hoot!

Teaching with talented colleagues Victoria Johnson and David Moran is also an opportunity to treasure! It was typically hot and humid, but delightful none-the-less. A stop to see Jim and Betty Woods and Lawrence Chapman at the Dulcimer Shoppe, some tasty BBQ and ribs at Tommy's and adding my Ben Seymour Galax dulcimer to the pickin' on the courthouse square are all highlights.

I stayed an extra day to poke around in the archives (what a treasure-trove! typically underfunded, but dutifully cared for by Trish.

Then a short (6-hour!) jaunt up to Lee's Summit for a pack-the-house concert at JP Coffee Company beside Longview Community College. Thanks to Mike, Kay and Devon Connelly for their hospitality and for setting this up!

Audio books and some cd releases of old 70s music made the driving more enjoyable...and duct tape helped the plastic dragging piece under my bumper!

I do enjoy mountains of all kinds, but when I cross the Colorado border my heart starts to quicken as my eyes strain to see the first blue shadows of the front range. They sit, majestically waiting, welcoming me back and pointing me to where my family and pup are at home.

I love going out and sharing the music, but it sure is great to be home again!

The first tour is in the can, so to speak.

Shady Grove, in Urbana, Ohio, was sweltering until the "natural" fireworks during the faculty concert on 4th of July--hearing the crackle through the sound system while Janita Baker was playing was just a wee bit freaky! Then the weather became positively balmy with cool breezes and nice sunshine--terrific backdrop for classes of eager and able dulcimer students to hone their craft!

After visits to family and friends in Ohio, I headed north to the Evart Funfest in the middle of the mitten (Michigan).

This is the largest hammered dulcimer festival in North America and was no disappointment. Something grabbed me and I ended up teaching 9 classes, as well as vending, jamming with Oldtime and Celtic players and having two stage appearances with Marcille Wallis (Celtic HD player from North Carolina) as well my vending and camping neighbors.

This was followed by a day of Hammered Dulcimer workshops for students of DeeDee Tibbits in Oscoda, Michigan, hosted by Margaret Rush. The girls had a slumber party, complete with a real, live ghost story and I got the cottage ready for my family who arrived later in the day.

Lake Huron showed all of its glory and with the sugar sand beaches, the calm ripples and boisterous waves for body surfing, was judged by all to be a "great" lake!

Now, I'm in Springfield, Missouri, en route to a week of teaching Hammered Dulcimer at the Ozark Folk Center in Mountain View, Arkansas. I am truly humbled and blessed by these opportunities to share music far and wide!

I'm off on a tour of Ohio and Michigan today. First stop, the home of good friends and our godson, Aaron in Firth, Nebraska.

The Shady Grove Dulcimer Camp in Urbana, Ohio is the location of a week-long mountain dulcimer camp, sponsored by those Sweetwater gals (Shari, Cindy and Shelley) of sweetwaterfolk radio on Live 365.

Then on for some other family and friends visits before the Evart FunFest in Michigan.

Following will be a day of Hammered Dulcimer Workshops in Oscoda, Michigan, along Lake Huron and family vacation.

A concert in Midland, Michigan, at the Creative Spirit Center rounds out the tour before the trek back across I-80.

See you soon!

In the Rockies at 9,500 feet, at the foot of Mount Meeker is a great location to share with my family and some longtime friends for 2 weeks.

For the 10th year I led the Children's Program for this Pastor's Continuing Educaiton event with my creative colleague, Pam González. The 32 4-11 year olds were a blast and a blessing!

Highlights include: visiting with my Internship Supervisor, Fritz Fritschel, from Avondale in Denver; and

singing "We Are An Answer to Prayer" with my daughter, Kaitlin for the annual talent show. (She sings it with me on the recording as well!)

Special thanks to the Deaver's for their warm (as usual) hospitality.

Special thanks to Connie Allen for her persistance in getting me to come and share music at the California Traditional Music Society's Summer Solstice Festival this weekend in Calabasas, California!

Set on the amazing and spacious campus of Soka University I thoroughly enjoyed my workshop students (very accomplished!--including the teenager whose mother bought the dulcimer for her 3 minutes before she stepped into class!)

One of the best round robin mountain dulcimer demonstrations I've been a part of and a concert set that was great fun.

Add the chance to jam with amazing instrumentalists, see and talk with good friends and this is a recipe not to be missed.

[The mis-adventure with my baggage, courtesy of United and Frontier Airlines, AeroExpress Delivery and the festival Operator who didn't know I was there is one I would gladly avoid in the future!]

Thanks to Leela and Ellie Grace for dedicating "Black Socks" to those us [me] without clean clothes, and my driving hosts Mary Ellen and Judy!

Roadtrip Nation is a PBS show which outfits RVs and fills them with 3-4 end-of-college age young people who are searching for how to make a difference with their gifts and talents. Launched from LA, they travel the USA, following different routes, stopping to interview people along the way by whom they are inspired.

They ask questions of poets, artists, entrepreneurs, skateboard builders how they chose to do what they do, and what kind of advice they would offer to young people like the interviewers.

"Soaring" the title track from my 2001 CD was chosen for the soundtrack of episode 10.

Since our local PBS stations did not carry this show, I was eager to see where they used my music.

They paired it with Sam Adams Beer! (The students were preparing to interview the man who started the micro-brewery) and were driving through Boston.

[Aside: Boston University is where I'm currently enrolled as a Master of Music Education candidate!]

Of course, I had to go out and buy a Sam Adams beer to taste and see if it goes well with the music.

It does.

[The 12-episode DVD is available for purchase from the RTN Store: www.roadtripnation.com/productions]

The soundtrack project that I was working on last Fall is finally available!


Mountain and Hammered Dulcimers and Native American Flute provide the primary accompaniment for stunning videography in the year of the life of Canadian Geese.

Filmed by Kay Bolick for Positive Communications, this 27 minute DVD is made for calming the harried soul.

Follow the geese from late Fall, to "skating" on Winter's ice, through the green and brown gosling's of Spring, the energetic antics of the Summer, back to the tranquil impressionistic settings of Fall.

Available now at: <http://www.relaxationvideos.com/whatsnew.htm>
I'll have copies on the road with me this summer, too!

We've received the encouraging report from the Acoustic Rainbow Sampler. I Celebrate Life! is being played in new markets including: Scotland (Shetland); Estonia; Hong Kong; Japan; Several new locations in Australia (New South Wales, Queensland); France, Denmark, several new stations in Italy and The Netherlands; England and more. This feedback from DJs and listeners is great to receive.

Prepare the Royal Highway from "Hark, the Glad Sound!" was chosen as the pick of the day by Whole Wheat Radio for its daily podcast. You can download it for free here: http://www.podcastalley.com/podcast_details.php?pod_id=130
Scroll down the page to April 23, 2006 and have fun listening and preparing!

I'm excited to host JOE JENCKS, my friend, talented songwriter and fellow Local 1000 member in concert on April 23rd, 7:30 pm at St. Thomas Chapel, LCM/CSU, 805 S. Shields in Fort Collins.

Joe merges musical beauty, social conciousness and spiritual exploration. Don't take my word for it! Here's what others say:

“The key to the future is people joining in. The music of Joe Jencks captures this essential spirit. Joe is a fantastic singer who carries on the traditions.” --Pete Seeger

“Joe Jencks is the type of musician that will cause you to drop that morning newspaper or pull your car to the side of the road when you hear his songs. He is the type of artist that will turn heads in his direction when he walks onto a stage. His voice will instantly draw you into his passionate songs. He is the type of musician whose music will become part of you. His craft and artistry will remind you of the best efforts of Phil Ochs, Stan Rogers, and Woody Guthrie. The troubadour tradition is alive and well in the 21st century with the music of Joe Jencks.”
-Ron Olesko, WFDU –FM Teaneck, NJ

“I find that Joe embodies the spirit of Pete Seeger. In much the same way, Joe has his finger on the pulse of our grassroots social conscience, and passes it on for us to scrutinize. Every generation needs a voice for social justice and Joe Jencks is one of those very important voices.” -Judy Matzen, Off the Square Concerts, Woodstock, IL

If you are someone whose spirit is flagging under the weight of the worries of the world, you don't want to miss this concert!

A tour of Berlin, Germany this past March was a life-enriching time. Steve travelled with his family and students from the Lutheran Campus Ministry at Colorado State Unversity to study churches' response to the Holocaust (Shoah), and to visit Wittenberg--where Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses (debating points).

We lived in the Martin Niemöller Friedenzentrum (peace center) in Dahlem-Dorf (Berlin) which had been his parsonage before his arrest by the Gestapo. We made a pilgrimage to Sachsenhausen, which Himmler proudly described as a "model concentration camp: modern and infinitely expandable."

Steve played 3 concerts, including a benefit for the youth music program at the John F Kennedy (bi-lingual) School. (A review of that concert is available at the Press link to the left.)

Another concert was at a church in Spandau and in St. Annen-Kirche, a church built in the 1200s, the parish from which Niemöller was arrested in 1937. (Click Photos for images from the trip.)

Other highlights include: an exhibit of "Melancholie" at the New Berlin Museum and the Instrument Museum [I saw and photographed (1) hackbrett--hammered dulcimer and (4) helmzitters --mountain dulcimer cousins.]

In thanks for the benefit concert for the school, we were given a tour of the Berlin Philharmonie by violist Matthew Hunter and the entire group was able to attend the dress rehearsal (and recording session) of Holst's "The Planets"--complete with the additional work by a British composer for Pluto--and 4 brand new commissioned works entitled "Asteroids" as they were premiered with the composers hearing them played by the orchestra for the first time!

Larry Conger's gentle playing and delightful wit; Maggie Sansone's Celtic ensemble, complete with Scottish small pipes; Tina Gugeler's lyrical hammered dulcimer; Bonnie Carol's aural Moons and Tunes reviews; the subtle harmonies of Jubilant Bridge;

The inspired Open Stage, the tasty food, the overstuffed brains of workshop participants...

What a success! Over 80 registered participants joined over concert attendees (125 a night!), many of whom were eager elementary, junior high and local high school students--to inspire another generation to play dulcimer music!

Watch for next year's festival:
Feb 2-3, 2007

Photos (from the camera and eye of Cheyenne Wills) are posted in the Photo Gallery to the left.

Peggy Carter hosted Steve Eulberg for a weekend of dulcimer workshops, a concert and some amazing jamming in Houston this past weekend. (Photos are posted in the gallery.) Peggy is a terrific teacher, as evidenced by the level of skill and willingness to learn and re-tune that her students showed me.

Peggy will be coming to Colorado next fall to reprise the event for Colorado Dulcimer players. Watch for details!

[** A side note about this workshop weekend from Suzanne Campling:

What a BLAST!!! Not only did we have our noses to the grindstone to learn tons of new and intense information about how to become better players of mountain and hammered dulcimers, we also had one of the most fun jams that I have ever attended!!! Just ask me about "Old Jig Clark" and "Bile that Borscht"!!!

If ya'll haven't had the pleasure of meeting, learning from and jamming with Steve Eulberg, you have missed out, now couple his sense of humor and intelligence with that of Peggy Carter, and you can't match such a fun learning and laughing experience!!!]

Byword Tower, from the 2005 release, I Celebrate Life! has been chosen by peer review for the top 10 in the World genre at the Broadjam website.

Composed in 2000 along the River Thames in front of the afore-named tower at the Tower of London, this tune evokes an earlier age and inspires many to dance. To listen to it at Broadjam follow this link: www.broadjam.com/topten/ and choose "world" under genre.
--Or, you can choose the music link to the left and hear it right here!

Tim Van Schmidt, local music guru and concert reviewer, stopped by Steve's Noontime Notes show at Deja Vu Coffeehouse on Dec. 7 and captured a close-up of his flying hands and hammers.

The photo and a plug to attend more lunchtime performances at Deja Vu Coffeehouse are featured on the www.kingkoncert.com website.

Owl Mountain Music, Inc. is now a distributor of Dusty Strings Hammered Dulcimers. "When the Northern Rose closed, northern Colorado was left without a way for people to play and purchase hammered dulcimers without heading to Denver or Estes Park," Steve Eulberg explained. "Therefore, I contacted Sue Mooers at Dusty Strings and made the request."

Dusty Strings is a Seattle-based company that is known for its hammered dulcimers and harps. Steve has performed on a Dusty Strings instrument since 1997.

The current plan is for some instruments to be available on a rent-to-own basis, with orders for purchase of any of their models also available.

Contact Steve at Owl Mountain Music, Inc. for more information or to set up an appointment.

"Pining Hearts" a waltz with a mountain dulcimer duo accompanied by a dulci-bro, has been included at cut #14 on the Oasis Acoustic Sampler, Vol. V Number 6, DIsc 2. This track is from Steve's I Celebrate Life! release from earlier this year.

The webzine, www.dulcimersessions.com, has published another article by Steve--this time about minor mode music for Mountain Dulcimer.

Minor Modes for Mountain Dulcimer explores and explains the minor modes and how they typically work. Also included is the history, transcription and sound-file of the oldest known North American Christmas carol "’Twas in the Moon of Wintertime". Visit: http://www.dulcimersessions.com/dec05/minor.html
dulcimersessions is a bi-monthly journal sponsored by Mel Bay Publishing and is edited by Lois Hornbostel.

Thanks to the work of Derek Sivers of cdbaby, all the tunes currently available for digital downloads through cdbaby's contracts will also be available at BestBuy.com.

For example, the in-store kiosks will also list Steve Eulberg recordings and then encourage the browsing customer to go on line to purchase.

Currently, Steve's tunes can be purchased individually or as whole albums from over 39 internet digital download sites.

Direct links to some of them are available on the BUY (products) page on this site.

Volume 24 of the Acoustic Rainbow Radio Sampler includes a cut (#7) from Steve Eulberg's new CD, I Celebrate Life!

"One Sweet Sabbath Breath", a hammered dulcimer instrumental, was chosen, along with fifteen songs from other artists, to be part of a compilation CD sent out to acoustic radio stations worldwide.

The Acoustic Rainbow Radio CD Sampler is a co-op venture between no more than 16 artists per sampler, designed for use by labels and artists to reach acoustic music directors for radio airplay only. The sampler is shipped to nearly 1,300 radio shows on over 1,000 stations in North America, England, Australia, Europe, Ireland, Asia and South America who specifically program acoustic music.

Other artists on this latest volume include Ricky Scaggs and John McEuen.

Steve recently finished a commission from Kay Bolick of Positive Communications for a soundtrack for their latest video release: "Serenade to the Canada Goose."

Positive Communications produces and markets relaxation videos to senior citizen homes, hospitals and hospices.

"Serenade" follows the lives of northern Colorado Canadian Geese through a one-year cycle.

Ms. Bolick specifically requested flute and hammered dulcimer music for the soundtrack.

"It was a fun and different kind of composition project for me," stated Eulberg. "There were parameters for the actual pitches and dynamics that could be used, but within those boundaries, telling the video story through music was very rewarding. Kay's video is simply stunning--and that itself was an inspiration."

The instrumentation for the soundtrack built on some Native American Flute themes, with hammered and mountain dulcimer motifs, supported by mandolin, guitar and banjammer.

The project is now in post-production for release later this year.

At the Far-West Regional of the Folk Alliance last weekend I was thankfully surprised to meet so many angels!

First my luggage (including my hammered dulcimer flight case) did not arrive with me. After I waited up until 11:30 pm, it was finally delivered after midnight to the bellhops of the Woodland Hills Marriott. When I retrieved them the next morning, I discovered that one of the wheels on my flight case had taken flight and was completely gone!

I asked the Bellhop for a recommendation and he sent me to a nearby luggage repair shop, whose owner sent me to a hardware store, whose staff sent me to the internet to find the manufacturer.

Back at the hotel, in the busines-user's office I made contact with Colson, the maker of the wheel, which is in Arkansas. They gave me the telephone number for a distributor 15 miles East of Los Angeles in South El Monte. After my workshop at the conference, the Hertz staffer in the hotel guided me away from the freeways ("they'll be crazy today!") to take Topanga Canyon road to the Pacific Coast Highway--a beautiful canyon, and a beautiful ocean, too!

The trip took a long time, but I got to hear the whole press conference and punditry about the Libbe indictment along the way.

At Linco, in South El Monte, they found the wheels in no time--and wouldn't let me pay for them! They didn't have the correct bolt however, and directed me to Nomad Fasteners where amid the thousands of bolts in stock, they didn't have the right one, either. However, the owner found one that was close match and "made" it fit by cutting and filing off the extra. Then, she wouldn't let me pay her, either!

Back at the hotel, I asked the front desk if one of the Maintenance Engineers had the correct tools to tighten the two bolts--in no time there was a knock at the door and a quick twist of the screwdriver and wrench and the flight case was again "wheelable."

My roommate helped me load my rental car in the wee Sunday Morning hours so I could return it before my 7:40 am flight home. When I arrived at the car rental location it was locked up tight, despite the assurances I received before renting that staff would be present at 6:30 am so I could make my flight on time.

Frantic telephone calls to their 1-800 number, interrupted by much number-punching to find the correct options led me to the Emergency Roadside Assistance option where the operator informed me that the office would open at 7 am. There was no lock-box for the keys or check-in, but Steve, who pulled up behind me and was waiting to drop off his car also, volunteered to drive me to the airport. So I unpacked my car, packed his and off we went. I made it to the tarmac and the movable stairs at Bob Hope airport in time to catch my flight, thanks to all the angels in Los Angeles!

The webzine, www.dulcimersessions.com, has published an article by Steve about Colorado Dutch Hop for the Hammered Dulcimer.

The article traces the historical background of the dulcimer-playing Germans-from-Russia, or Volga Deutsch who settled in eastern Colorado and western Kansas. A transcription and sound-file of the tune "The Wooden Heart Polka" are included. Visit: www.dulcimersessions.com/oct05/colorado.html
dulcimersessions is a bi-monthly journal sponsored by Mel Bay Publishing and is edited by Lois Hornbostel.