Dulcimer champion in concert

March 13, 2015 at 12:05a.m.

SALEM

Acclaimed dulcimer player Hunter Walker will perform Saturday at 7 p.m. at Dale Shaffer Library, 239 S. Lundy Ave. Admission is $10 (an additional $5 will cover all children in a family). Go to dulcimore.org.

Walker, 21, has won the Mid-Eastern Regional Dulcimer Championship and West Virginia State Championship, and also plays in a band that won the neo-trad championship in 2014 at the Appalachian String Band Festival. His specialty is the music that the Appalachian settlers would have played.

The dulcimer is a uniquely American instrument. It shares similarities with instruments in the zither family, but has no known predecessors. It is believed the instrument was crafted by Appalachian settlers who were unable to build violins for lack of tools and time.