Vici Gombaski

    I'm a life long resident of the Akron area.  My life revolves around my husband and family.  Who I am, is driven by my need for the creative arts, artistic and musical, as well as my need to have critters in my life (horses, cats, and dairy goats). More recently I've added rabbits & chickens to this list. I've always enjoyed music and was in several choirs in my early years.  

But I wanted to play a musical instrument.  You might say it was in my genes.  My Uncle Ebb Lowry played guitar and sang country music as well as having a country music radio station in Seville, OH.  My Aunt Kathleen played piano and sang.  At home my mother always had music playing, she'd sing along. Her voice was wonderful but she never had a desire to do more than entertain the family.

After High School I bought a classical guitar and took lessons.  But I never really achieved much expertise with it.  In the 70's I bought my first mountain dulcimer.  It wasn't until 1980 when Diana Bergmann started dulcimer classes through the University of Akron that I really learned to play the instrument.  It was a personal challenge I set, to see if I really could learn to play an instrument? Little could I have imagined that years later I'd be the University's resident dulcimer instructor.

John Gombaski

 My need to share the music sent me to a local high school where I asked the director to give me a chance to offer a mountain dulcimer jam.  This jam would be offered through their evening adult education school. The jam was opened to the public which brought in other area musicians, other than dulcimer players. This is why today we have such an assortment of other instruments involved with the group.

At the high school, summer recesses disrupted the group/jam meetings terribly.  That's when I moved the tiny group to our current location - the First Evangelical Lutheran Church of Barberton.  

Shortly thereafter the group chose a name, only to change it again a year later. The next name struck, in 1992, as the Mixed-Up Strings.  It's been a real struggle at times but definitely worth all the work!!!  A nicer group of folks you'll never meet! 

 Through the years I continued building my relationship with the mountain dulcimer as well as working with hammered dulcimer, guitar, banjo uke, autoharp, banjo and I've tinkered with the fiddle some, too.  But my primary love will always be the mountain dulcimer and it's many hybrids. 

 I've competed on many levels.  In 1999 I won the prestigious Mid-Eastern Regional Championship, a dream come true!  I placed third in the Championship of 1989 as well as a placing in the duets competition. I've won 1st & 2nd placings at the Great Trail Festival Dulcimer competition.  Several 1st, 2nd & 3rds at Quaker City's Annual Dulcimer competition, individual and duets.  I also won the individual competition in Fort Defiance's Old Time dulcimer competition and 2nd place in duets.  In 2001 I went to Winfield, Kansas where the Walnut Valley Festival is held.  Winfield is the national level competition for ALL string instruments; where the best of the best musicians compete.  I didn't place but it was a GREAT TIME!!! I do believe competition is an excellent exercise for all players.

 I continue to teach mountain dulcimer.  I try to steer, my students, toward the Mixed-Up Strings,  where they will experience the commradery of group music.  My classes are geared for the needs of the student.  Lessons can be one on one, semi-private lessons and larger groups.

I've also been active in the Dulcimer festival community were I've been a workshop presenter for such great events as: Kent State FolkFestival, Cook Forest Festival, Buckeye Dulcimer Festival, Central Ohio Folk Festival, Dulci-More Festival, and the SouthEast Ohio Dulcimer Festival. 

 When I began with the dulcimer I had one goal, to make music that I could enjoy listening to.  It's been a real trip as my pre-dulcimer life wasn't nearly as busy as it is now.