About Us
Our first holiday jam at Trish and Bob Hackett’s in December 2019. About half our group was able to attend.
The Grand Old Dulcimer Club is special. One of the first fretted dulcimer clubs in Nashville, it has a long and treasured history and possesses some unique characteristics.
In 1998, a group of mountain dulcimer students met occasionally to jam in a Nashville church on an informal basis. Their leader was musician/composer and Vanderbilt professor David Schnaufer, about whom you can read more under the Homepage “David Schnaufer” link.
By January 1999, the small group was meeting regularly on the third Sunday of the month; they referred to the gathering as "Dulcimer Sunday." By June of 2000, after meeting for a year and a half, the group put on a first for Nashville: The Grand Old Dulcimer Day—a celebration of all things dulcimer—held at Two Rivers Mansion. With the goal of sharing the joy of old time music, over thirty members lent their enthusiastic support. The Club took off as many new members joined.. Over the years, the Club’s “home” changed location from time to time, but the format we follow today is the same: members meet on the third Sunday of the month for two and a half hours to play music together, and occasionally perform by invitation in and around Nashville. Most of our members belong to other local clubs they attend weekly in the greater Nashville area. Members drive into Nashville from as far away as Bowling Green in South Central Kentucky to play with their friends and colleagues..
Above: a group of our members played at the Music and Molasses Festival, one of a number of venues the GODC played at in 2017.
Click on the Gallery photos above to see some 2017 moments from GODC sponsored workshops.
Despite the passing of David in 2006, the Club continued thanks to the efforts of his former students and other Club members dedicated to keeping the tradition alive. The GODC meetings have taken a variety of formats over the years, but the democratic nature of the Club has remained the same with a focus on fun, skill development, and a welcoming atmosphere. It has been blessed with members who stepped up to the leadership plate when needed. The Club might have ended in 2006 if it weren’t for the leadership of Sandy Conatser, who was followed by Judy Beier, Ethan Chastain, Judy Pass and Marvin Farris. We currently have rotating leaders on a voluntary basis, and, starting in February 2020, have a new home and partner with the Tennessee State Museum, the home of David’s historic dulcimer collection.
Some of David’s original students have been playing with the GODC for over twenty years now.
Three of David Schnaufer's students who regularly play today in the GODC: Judy, Carolyn and Nancy. Carolyn and her late husband helped host the first meetings in their church twenty years ago.
The Club is also fortunate to have regular visits from Stephen Seifert, David's protege. Stephen became a virtuoso dulcimer player and master teacher in his own right as well as a close collaborator of David's.
Stephen at his concert with the Gateway Chamber Orchestra at the Franklin Theater. You can read more about Stephen and go to his website on our "Friends of the GODC" link on our homepage.
Since David's death, Stephen has been the Club's patchcord to the best dulcimer playing, teaching and performing. Despite his busy schedule and travels around the world, Stephen manages a visit occasionally to help us become more skilled and experience the excitement of playing with one of the best dulcimer musicians in the world.. Stephen, along with those who were originally David Schnaufer's students, share their passion for the music and the mountain dulcimer with new members who are drawn to the fold. We play traditional songs and, thanks to our veterans, we learn to play the musical treasures that David composed, along with original tunes and arrangements from current and previous members.
In the early days, the students never turned away a stringed instrument, so it was common to hear guitars, bass and other instruments playing along with the dulcimers. If you attend our monthly get-togethers nowadays, you’ll see we continue that tradition: some of our members play other instruments such as guitar, fiddle, banjo, penny whistle, banjammer, bass, or psaltry. We welcome new members who play any instrument that contributes to the sound of old-time music and who enjoy growing their skills while playing in the group.. The only prerequisite to belong is to share our love for old time tunes. We welcome players young and old who are just learning to play an instrument or who are advanced players and everything in between.
In addition to our monthly meetings, volunteers from our group regularly play by invitation in and around the Nashville area and host internationally recognized music teachers for workshops from time to time. Most of our members also play in smaller groups in Tennessee and Kentucky on a weekly basis, but reunite once a month in the Grand Old Dulcimer Club.
We still treasure David’s legacy, and hope you will consider joining us no matter your skill level or instrument. If you love Americana music with an occasional world music song, we’d love to have you as part of the Grand Old Dulcimer Club tradition.
There are many mountain dulcimer clubs throughout the United States, but Nashville has the grandest, Grand Old Dulcimer Club. For more information, go to our Contact page and send us a note. We’ll respond back to you within 24 hours.
Click the images below to get a peek at players past and present.
