Lowell Schreyer

On May 23, 2002 in Guthrie, Oklahoma, site of the National Four-String Banjo Hall of Fame Museum, Lowell Schreyer was inducted into the Banjo Hall of Fame in the category of �Instruction and Education�. He was honored for his work to enlarge the body of information about the banjo�s history, literature and potential.

Schreyer first heard the banjo in the early 1940s while listening to Eddie Peabody play on the WLS National Barn Dance radio show from Chicago. He bought a second hand tenor banjo, learned to play, only to discover four years later that to get the Peabody sound, he had to play a plectrum. When he discovered BMG, the British publication for banjo, mandolin and guitar, he became aware of the international scope of the banjo.

He has continued to play through the years with cowboy and polka bands, Dixieland/ragtime groups and symphony orchestras. However, it is the historical research and writing about banjos for which he is most recognized. He contributed articles to BMG and currently writes the �Banjo World� column for FIGA, publication of the Fretted Instrument Guild of America. He contributed a chapter on �The Banjo in Ragtime� for the 1985 book, Ragtime: Its History, Composers and Music; he contributed �The Banjo in Phonograph Recording History� to the 1993 banjo discography book, The Banjo on Record. In 2000 he published THE EDDIE PEABODY STORY which grew out of articles he wrote for BMG and FIGA. Schreyer is currently doing research for a comprehensive history of the banjo, America�s only native instrument.