David Schnaufer

Who was David Schnaufer?

David Schnaufer was an American folk musician. He is widely credited with restoring the popularity of the Appalachian dulcimer.

Schnaufer was born in Hearne, Texas, and grew up in La Marque, Texas. Schnaufer was an award winning dulcimer player and session musician. He moved to Nashville, Tennessee during the 1980s, and in 1995, accepted a position at Vanderbilt University's Blair School of Music, where he taught dulcimer as an associate adjunct professor. He established himself as one of the country's premier dulcimer players. He played the dulcimer on recordings with The Judds, Emmylou Harris, Johnny Cash, and Chet Atkins, among others. One of his earliest recordings was on Mark O'Connor's 1988 album Elysian Forest. O'Connor had initially sought out Schnaufer after hearing him play an instrumental version of the Joni Mitchell song "Both Sides Now." Schnaufer also released several solo albums of dulcimer music.

He had many students, one of which was the singer Cyndi Lauper.

Schnaufer died in Nashville, Tennessee at Alive Hospice, after a battle with lung cancer.