CD Review: Karen Mueller, Accent on Dulcimer: A Retrospective
by Steve Eulberg for DPN Fall 2019.
Karen Mueller’s Accent on Dulcimer is a 15-track retrospective from a storied performing, recording and teaching career. I own and listen to all of her music, but this is a masterful culling from 3 of her releases [Clarity (1993), Stillpoint (2000), Landscape of the Heart (2007)] + one new track of a courting dulcimer duet with the late David Schnaufer.
First I must say, this is an entrancing recording…
Student Wins National Championship!
Karen's longtime dulcimer student Grant Olson has won first place in the National Mountain Dulcimer Championship in Winfield, Kansas. The talented 17 year old has been studying with Karen for six years. He played arrangements of classical, ragtime, and old-time fiddle music, and wowed the judges and crowd with his fine performance. Congratulations to him!
Farewell to the West Bank School of Music
The West Bank School of Music was a staple of the Twin Cities music scene since the 1970s, and sadly closed its doors at the end of March, 2018. Karen had been on the faculty there since 1989, when she first moved to Minneapolis. She has been able to find a new studio space to teach her students from West Bank and anyone preferring a more north/east metro location, near the University of Minnesota. Email Karen for more information on this new studio.
Interview on John C. Campbell Folk School blog
Following Karen's January teaching week at the Folk School, she talked with host Leah Dolgoy about her musical past and teaching philosophies. See the full interview here:
Great Review of "Solo Autoharp" CD
Review of “Solo Autoharp”
Autoharp Quarterly, Winter 2013
By Stew Schneider
In the unlikely event there is anyone
connected with the autoharp who has not
heard of Ms. Mueller, this much be said:
she is either the most talented performer
on the autoharp who regularly teaches,
or she is the most gifted teacher who
actively performs.
It is not only her technical perfection
that makes her playing so riveting. It is
her impeccable control of timing and
dynamics, the downright musicality of
her playing and…
Read moreMPR Interview
Minnesota Public Radio has run a nice story + audio interview with Karen that you can find here:
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2013/03/15/arts/dulcimer-virtuoso-karen-mueller
Karen awarded McKnight Fellowship
MacPhail Center for Music recently awarded four $25,000 McKnight Artists Fellowships to Minnesota’s finest performing musicians. For the 16th year, MacPhail administered the competition, a component of the McKnight Foundation Artist Fellowships program, which is intended to provide recognition and financial support to Minnesota musicians as they explore and develop their skills. The fellowships ultimately serve to enrich Minnesota’s cultural community. Of the 94 soloists and ensembles that applied for the…
Read more