August 25, 2005
Lyme resident and Clark University student uses Anton Fellowship to become familiar with the hammer dulcimer
WORCESTER, Mass. - Ms. Elizabeth A. Waste of Lyme, New Hampshire, is one of ten Clark University undergraduates who is returning to campus after conducting research this summer with support from the Anton Fellowship Program.
Ms. Waste researched the history of the hammer dulcimer-a musical instrument that's a member of the zither family-and took lessons to learn to play it. The hammer dulcimer is used in folk music traditions in Europe, Asia and the United States, and in particular as an accompaniment to contra dancing. She used her Anton Fellowship to purchase the instrument and music. She plans to perform with the instrument sometime this fall.
Ms. Waste has studied classical piano since the second grade. In the past few years, she taught herself to play the guitar, the appalachian dulcimer and the mandolin.
According to Katherine FitzGibbon, director of choral activities at Clark, Elizabeth has “remarkable maturity, focus, organization and personality.” Waste worked as tour manager of the Clark Concert Choir’s tour to Spain this past spring.
“The hammer dulcimer is an instrument that very few people know how to play these days,” said FitzGibbon. “It is a beautiful instrument that is in danger of being lost if people do not learn to play it.”
A geography major and member of Clark's Class of 2007, Waste is the daughter of William and Kathleen Waste. She is a graduate of Thetford Academy.
This is the fifth year of the Anton Fellowship Program, which was created by a gift from Barbara ’56 and Thomas ’56 Anton to give undergraduates more opportunities to explore their intellectual interests. The fellowships range from $500 to $2,500. Recipients also become members of the Society of Anton Fellows, which meets with faculty mentors at special gatherings throughout the year to share their research experiences. The Anton Fellowship Program is directed by Professor Sharon Krefetz.
Krefetz said this year's fellows were “a terrific group of students.”
“They’re pursuing a wide range of topics for their projects and are traveling all over the world--from Africa to South America and Worcester to San Francisco--to do them,” she said. Krefetz said all of the students “have a genuine passion for their projects and a keen desire to share what they learn with each other and with the Clark community.”
Clark University is a private, co-educational liberal-arts research university with 2,000 undergraduate and 600 graduate students. Since its founding in 1887 as the first all-graduate school in New England, Clark has challenged convention with innovative programs such as the International Studies Stream, the Strassler Family Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies and the five-year BA/MA programs with the fifth year tuition-free for eligible students.
Angela M. Bazydlo
Associate Director of Media Relations
Clark University
Worcester, Mass.
phone: 508-793-7635
www.clarku.edu
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