Hammered dulcimer virtuoso Joshua Messick at White Horse, July 18

From a press release:

Hammered dulcimer virtuoso Joshua Messick at White Horse, July 18

Acoustic World Fusion with Joshua Messick, James Kylen and Friends
Friday, July 18, at 8 p.m. $20 advance/$22 at the door

Hammered dulcimer virtuoso Joshua Messick is no stranger to the White Horse stage, but his creative spirit and wide ranging musical interests ensure that no two shows are ever alike. His most recent project pairs his instrument and compositions with percussion and influences from around the world. He’ll be joined by multi-instrumentalist James Kylen, Bob Hinkle and other guest musicians adding the sounds of flute, didgeridoo, hand drums, vibraphone, tabla, bongos, djembe, lap dulcimer and more.

Upon first hearing the hammered dulcimer at age four Joshua Messick promised his mother he would learn to play the multi-stringed instrument. He more than made good on his promise, becoming the 2003 National Hammered Dulcimer Champion at Winfield, Kansas at age 18. Messick’s current dulcimer was made by Black Mountain master luthier Jerry Read Smith, who also helped convince Messick that the Asheville area was the place for him. Dazzling as his playing is, Joshua is foremost a composer using the hammered dulcimer as his sound palette. The cinematic sweep of his work draws on Celtic, Indian, Japanese, Appalachian, hymn tune, classical and New Age influences. “I’ve put my entire life into this music”, says Messick. “Music is the sound of the human spirit and for me is prayer without words.”

Collaborator James Kylen plays melodic percussion, world percussion and drum set with an intuitive sense of the music’s requirements. He’s also a gifted composer who is currently co-writing with Messick. James plays drums with BJ Leiderman and Jeff Thompson, and recently recorded with David Wilcox.