Background
Schnaufer was born in Hearne, Texas, and grew up in Louisiana Marque, Texas.
Schnaufer was born in Hearne, Texas, and grew up in Louisiana Marque, Texas.
He is widely credited with restoring the popularity of the Appalachian dulcimer. 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.
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 whom was the singer Cyndi Lauper.
Schnaufer died at Alive Hospice in Nashville after a battle with lung cancer.
(2006 Includes Crump Music Box, Yarborough Music Box, Cour...)