AFP Guest Artists
(Yes, Lucille has registered "The Dulcimer
Lady" as her trademark. See her show, and you'll understand.)
Lucille Riley is a champion at two folk
instruments, the hammered dulcimer (that's the instrument she seems to
be studying in the photograph above) and the autoharp. Lucille now lives
in Colorado, but her connection to the Arizona Folklore Preserve came via
a former state of residence, Pennsylvania, where she became friends with
a couple who eventually moved to Green Valley. Bill and Marjorie
Tyndall are now two of the most loyal of AFP fans, and you can read about Marjorie on
a separate page on this site.
Lucille visits Bill and Marjorie once
every year or two, and the Tyndalls told Dolan  about
her a few years ago, and got a copy of her CD, "Thus Sings My Soul,"
to him. Dolan
listened and loved the CD, but thought there had to be some overdubbing in
order for that much music to come from just one person playing just one instrument
at a time.
As soon as Dolan brought Lucille to
the Moffett House for her first AFP appearance, he realized he was wrong
about the overdubbing (and besides, he had already asked her by that time
and she told him it was all her, all in one take, and of course nobody who
plays folk instruments would tell a lie).
That CD, as indicated by the photograph
on the cover, includes songs played on each of the two instruments. That's
just like her stage show, although her shows at the AFP include more
secular songs and fewer of the spiritual numbers.
Lucille's first AFP stage show must
have come as a surprise to Dolan for
another reason: she is a really funny lady! Audiences are completely
enchanted by he r music, but she brings them back to reality between songs
as she tells them stories about the music and the instruments, and even teaches
them the concepts of the instruments, mixing in funny comments and movements
all along.
The championships: Lucille was National
Hammered Dulcimer Champion in 1997 and she was International Autoharp
Champion in both 1995 and 2003. Additionally, she won the Mountain
Laurel Autoharp Championship in 1995 and the National Autoharp Championship
in 1994.
Lucille has played the most prestigious
of venues, including a sabbatical at Yellowstone National Park. She
has authored several books, and offers her music transcription services. And
of course she teaches, because her knowledge needs to be passed on to future
generations.
Lucille holds a distinction that nobody
else can claim: she was the first "regular"  guest
artist to appear at the AFP's New Folklore Center. Others had been
part of the Dedication Ceremony and the Grand Opening, but it was not until
September 2001 that Dolan brought in a guest artist for a regular weekend
show; and of course that was Lucille Riley. Lucille
also started a tradition that continues to this day: guest artists signing
the backstage wall. Dolan also signed the wall that day, but he signed
after Lucille. Now
the wall has many signatures.
You can learn more about Lucille on
her Web site, www.thedulcimerlady.com. If
you take the time to browse there, you can learn a lot about the instruments
she plays and about music in general.
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