Popular street minstrel doesn't pull strings

First Street has long attracted those who march to a different tune.

Now add Rick Fogel to the list.

He’s a popular waterfront musician, who fancies hard rock — when it comes to sculpting, that is.

His taste in music is much more classical. Actually more Old World than old school.

Fogel, among other pursuits, is one of the country’s few crafters of “Bones,” a simply yet delightfully rhythmic instrument dating to antiquity.

Locally, though, he is perhaps best known for his mastery of the hammered dulcimer, a percussion icon of Appalachia, whose unique sound Fogel has helped resonate with La Conner residents and visitors alike.

He takes as much pride in fashioning a dulcimer — he has built hundreds of them — as he does in playing the distinctly shaped sound board, which requires deft handling of light hammers to make the strings do their magic.

“The builder,” he explains, “must be acquainted with performing.”

That lesson was learned shortly after earning his master’s degree, about the time Fogel decided to swap protons and electrons for mahogany and maple.

That was 1975, in Charlottes-ville, Virginia.

His life has been harmonious — on many levels — ever since.

“We show our innermost feelings with every breath,” he notes, “and I’m excited to have the opportunity to display a few things for which I breathe.”

Music being one.

“I’ve been playing for 40 years now,” he told this newspaper. “I’ve been making my living playing and teaching.”

He’s done so all around the country, conducting seminars and workshops and performing at concerts and folk music festivals. His home base is now Seattle, but La Conner is a frequent and favorite venue.

For here he has discovered audiences that share his appreciation for art across the spectrum.

“Whether performing my own music on ancient instruments that I’ve redesigned and built, or creating rock sculptures from stone I’ve found while traveling,” Fogel says. “I thrive on the spontaneity of the moments when my music is a little better than usual, or find an attractive stone, or create a beautiful shape.”

Fittingly, given his previous life, Fogel has morphed the art of innovative dulcimer design work into something of a science.

“I strive to integrate ideas learned in performance into the designing and building process,” he says, “because I believe that these significant details are the difference between an adequate instrument and an extraordinary instrument.”

Fogel is widely acclaimed for being able to play three hammer dulcimers covering seven octaves. His rare skill set has earned appearances with the Seattle Symphony and on the PBS series “Craftsmen of the World.”

And, as his La Conner fans will tell you, he always nails it.