HANDS of Illinois

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The Gebhard Woods Dulcimer & Traditional Music Festival is sponsored by HANDS of Illinois.

HANDS stands for Hammers and Noters Dulcimer Society of Illinois, Inc. It refers to the Board of Directors and Festival Committee, who are responsible for planning and running the festival. Founded in 1988, HANDS is dedicated to preserving and promoting dulcimer music. It is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization registered with the State of Illinois.

"Hammers" refers to the mallets (hammers) used by hammered dulcimer players for striking the strings, thus setting sound waves in motion. The "noter" is a small dowel or rounded, sometimes decoratively turned on a lathe, piece of wood, 5 or 6 inches in length, moved up and down the fret board of a mountain dulcimer to change the pitch of the melody strings.

This is the origin of it all. It remains a relevant reference and a description of the instruments played by many members of the Board and Festival Committee and featured at our festival.

The Board of Directors includes:

Stephen Van Houten, President
Donna Tufano, Vice President
Marsha Jakobi, Treasurer
Jim Bond-Harris, Secretary

Diane Ippel, Director
Steve Karlovsky, Director
 

The Festival Committee includes
the Board Members plus:

Stephen Cook
Shelley Gordon
Doug Hudson
Linda Maher
Linda Melhorn
Peggy Peryam
Amy Sebastian
Marilea Zajec
 

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The 30th Festival Committee, June 9, 2019

Seated: Diane Ippel, Marilea Zajec, Debi Duggins, Bonnie Senesac, Marsha Jakobi, Donna Tufano
Standing: Stephen Van Houten, Jim Bond-Harris, Dave De Pasqua, Steve Karlovsky
Not Pictured: Diane Bruske, Peggy Peryam, Donna Sisk