Brightest & Best Christmas with The Druckenmillers and Norm Williams

Join us for a magical acoustic holiday show featuring the captivating old-time music of The Druckenmillers, including fiddle tunes, parlor songs, and more. Special guest Norm Williams will add his mountain dulcimer, guitar, and vocals. Don’t miss this Sunday matinee of a heartwarming Christmas concert!

Tom and Betty Druckenmiller, accompanied by Norm Williams, are renowned for their captivating old-time music performances. A lifelong musician, Tom discovered his passion for this genre and the clawhammer banjo style over 40 years ago. He draws inspiration from esteemed mentors and shares his deep appreciation for music through teaching and radio production. Betty’s fiddle journey began with a transformative experience at the Augusta stage, and she continues to explore unique tunes and harmonies while delighting audiences at farmers’ markets and dances.

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Tom and Betty Druckenmiller
tomandbettymusic.com

Tom and Betty play old-time music – the dance tunes, fiddle music, and parlor songs that people used to entertain themselves and their neighbors before the time of recorded music or radio.

Tom has been a musician for nearly all of his life. As a guitar player he played in a number of Lehigh Valley bands, but around 40 years ago he discovered old-time music and the clawhammer style of banjo playing he’s known for today. His first learning experiences at the Augusta Heritage Center Workshops included working with Craig Johnson, Gerry Milnes, and Dwight Diller. They shared their music with him and also the history of the music and the people who played it, giving Tom the strong appreciation for both music and musicians that he passes along to his students today.

Tom also creates and produces radio programs, including “In the Tradition” for WDIY, the National Public Radio station in Bethlehem Pennsylvania, and The SingOut! Radio Magazine, which is nationally syndicated and also available on podcast.

Betty began playing fiddle as a direct result of hearing J.P. Fraley play “Margaret’s Waltz” on the Augusta stage one summer evening. In following years, she learned from Rachel Eddy, Dave Bing, the late Bill Hicks, James Bryan and Mike Bryant. Luckily enough, she also spent two master class weeks with West Virginia fiddler Wilson Douglas before his passing in 1999.

Betty has especially enjoyed learning unusual older tunes and those with great stories which may or may not be true. She enjoys playing for farmers’ markets and dances, as well as singing songs with great harmonies.

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Norm Williams
awayfarer-normw.com
Norm Williams is a performer/teacher of the mountain dulcimer who also plays guitar, banjo, ukulele, native flute and vocals. Old-Time Appalachian fiddle and gospel songs and tunes as well as other folk styles influence his playing and singing. In 2017 he released a solo recording entitled “…a wayfarer; songs of hope and encouragement.”

He is a co-founder of The Pocono Dulcimer Club and a coordinator of their DulcimerFest held annually in Stroudsburg, PA: a co-founder of the Maiden Creek Old Time Music Festival held annually the 2nd weekend in July. Norm began teaching mountain dulcimer in 2002 and has been faculty at festivals throughout the Northeast (including the Pocono DulcimerFest; Maiden Creek Old Time Festival, the French Creek Music Retreat, DAA Mountain Dulcimer Music Fest, August Dulcimer Days, Ashokan Music Camps & Augusta Heritage Center, WV). Additionally, he coordinates music for Quiet Valley Historical Farm & Living History Museum in Stroudsburg for their annual Harvest Festival in October, Old Time Christmas caroling in December and their Music in the Valley program in July.

Norm also performs & records with the bands Wayfarers & Company, Tom & Betty Druckenmiller, with Cliff Cole & Rob Yoder in the band, Dulcimer Boys, on occassion with his good friend Russ Rentler …and in lots of informal old time string bands who jam at Farmers Markets and the like throughout the Lehigh Valley. He is also a volunteer host for news and folk programming at WDIY 88.1FM, Lehigh Valley Community Public Radio.