Karen Ashbrook is considered one of the finest Irish hammered dulcimer players anywhere. She has a delicate touch, trademark shimmering lilt and ear for authentic ornamentation.  Add her wooden flute and pennywhistle playing, and you have the consummate Irish musician. Irish reviewer John O'Regan calls her recordings "Celtic music for the mind and body."

Based in the Washington, DC area, Karen teaches and performs Celtic, contra dance, and Jewish music and works teaching Irish music and culture to children.

http://karenashbrook.com

Janita Baker has been playing mountain dulcimer for over 30 years; through her recordings, books and appearances at festivals and workshops across the United States she has become well-known for her teaching skills and Blue Lion Dulcimers, which she builds with her husband Robert. As a solo performer on the mountain dulcimer, Janita presents her audiences with a wide range of musical experiences including classical, traditional, delta and country blues, ragtime, swing and original instrumental pieces. A gifted story teller, Janita delights her listeners with a warm and personal sharing of her music and introduces to her audience and her students the incredible complexity, variety and beauty of the mountain dulcimer.

http://www.bluelioninstruments.com

Cathy Barton and Dave Para have created dynamic performances acclaimed for 25 years for their variety and expertise in vocal and instrumental music. They have celebrated the musical traditions and folklife of Missouri and the Ozarks in festivals, clubs, concert halls, schools and studios across the U.S. and Europe. Their audiences are as diverse as their repertoire.

A versatile duo, Dave and Cathy play several stringed instruments including hammered and fretted dulcimers, banjo, guitar and Autoharp, as well as "found" instruments like bones, spoons, mouthbow and leaf. Their concerts present a range of music from the lively dance tunes they have collected in their home region to old ballads to new songs. They have conducted several instrumental workshops as well as those about songs from the Civil War, from American rivers, old gospel songs, children's songs and Christmas music.

http://www.bartonpara.com
 

David Brooks has played guitar and banjo since the 60's, including a season as the banjoist for The Stephen Foster Story in Bardstown.  Ten years ago, he discovered clawhammer banjo and old-time music.   He plays at local contra dances  and leads a monthly old-time jam session in Louisville.  He has written for the Banjo Newsletter.

Sue Carpenter started playing the mountain dulcimer in 1981 and has been performing and teaching since 1982.  When Sue Carpenter first played a mountain dulcimer she was immediately captivated by its simplicity and challenged by its fingerpicking possibilities.  As an instrumentalist, she is best known for her expressive style and exceptional technical ability.  She delights her audience and balances her repertoire with a wide range of styles and tempos: traditional, folk, original compositions, ragtime, fingerpicking, and strumming.

http://www.suecarpenter.net/index.htm

Mary Carty is a life long resident of Burlington County, New Jersey, and brings her Native American heritage into play with her handmade baskets. Many of her traditional baskets are shapes and styles with which her Lenape ancestors would have been familiar. She is a true artist and innovator who does not like to have her creativity stifled by following rigid set patterns. This is a concept Mary often stresses to her students. "I don't just teach people how to make baskets; I teach them how to be basket makers,” she often says. On the other hand Mary has a healthy respect for tradition. This is why she has researched and makes traditional baskets which her Lenape ancestors would have made. It is this blending of tradition and creativity that makes Mary Carty's baskets both unique and highly collectible. A talented basket weaver, Mary has won many awards for her original basket designs through the years, and has admirers throughout the world.

http://www.pinelandsfolkmusic.com/
 

Christine Carter, an up and coming artist in Humphrys County, Tennessee, discovered quilling in 2000 and wishes to teach this ancient paper art to people so it won't be lost.

Other interests include playing guitar, upright bass, lap dulcimer, hammered dulcimer, and the ukelin. Christine loves being with people who like to have fun through music, crafts, or just life.

Alan DarVeaux grew up on Long Island Sound. His interest in acoustic music started in high school and led to a college group known as the "Newcomers". The dulcimer caught Alan's eyes and ears while visiting friends at Berea College in KY in 1967. He left Berea with all the information, books and records that could be found on the dulcimer. Since then Alan has eagerly sought as much history, lore and makers of the dulcimer as can be fit into his life.

"Jean Ritchie along with George and Gerry Armstrong became my listening interests. Jean has always been in the mist of my dulcimer enchantment. Howie Mitchell became one of my building gurus and I cherish the letters from him. I began travelling and sought Homer Ledford in KY. He has been my biggest influence in building dulcimers. As I traveled throughout the Appalachian mountains I met many builders and was received with warm encouragement everywhere."

http://www.alandarveaux.com/
 

Baila Dworsky comes from a family where music was the top priority.  My parents were ‘barbershop singers’ – my brothers and I learned every part of every quartet.  Our house was filled with traveling and local musicians and all manner of instruments.   Every time we moved to a different town, my parents hired a new private instructor for whatever instrument I declared was my new favorite.  We were not rich – maybe they felt guilty for pulling me out of neighborhoods and schools.  Whatever their reasons, I was truly fortunate. 

Baila has 25 years in private and public school systems, Puget Sound guitar workshops,  and private instructor for dulcimer, guitar, bass, vocal, and piano.  
 

Sarah Elizabeth is an accomplished performer and songwriter, Sarah began her journey with music when she was just 6 years old.  She became enamored with the mountain dulcimer after hearing a concert at the Blair School of Music and started begging for lessons.  At first, the late David Schnaufer (the Professor of Dulcimer at that time), didn't know what to make of her request, but after pestering him for months, he began working with her.  After just a few short months, she earned a scholarship to the Blair School of Music.
 
Fascinated with the history of this American instrument, she quickly became knowledgeable about the traditions of Appalachian Music and at the age of nine, she became the youngest person ever to win the Mountain Dulcimer Championship at the nationally recognized contest, Uncle Dave Macon Days.

http://www.sarahelizabethmusic.com/
 

Steve Eulberg  is a national touring musician and music educator who earned his degree with a focus on developing a folk pedagogy for teaching folk music on folk instruments.  He teaches in the public school and in his private studio where students respond enthusiastically to his “toe-tapping, smile-inducing folkgrass” performances, his engaging and supportive approach to teaching and warm sense of humor, making him a favorite at festivals across the U.S.  

In addition to piano, guitar, mandolin and hand percussion, he’s been singing and playing mountain dulcimer for 29 years and hammered dulcimer since 1984, five times winning awards at the National Mountain Dulcimer championship, and three times being a finalist in the National Hammered Dulcimer contest at Winfield.

http://www.steveeulberg.com/
 

Robert Force has played the dulcimer a long time. He's taught a bunch of people, wrote books and made records and stuff. Some folks call him a living legend. He likes the living part pretty good. He won last year's cake decorating contest and that ranks right up there for him with those Grammy and Indie award things that were kind of a long time ago. He comes to KMW because he likes the people who show up for it and Nancy's a hoot, too. He says life is about love and friendship and that making music and playing the dulcimer is the best way he knows to sort of shine up to that.

http://www.robertforce.com/

Vera Frazier plays lap dulcimer, guitar and sings a mixture of music. She includes traditional, Celtic and modern tunes along with songs she writes. Through the years Vera has performed as a solo artist, with others in the Louisville Dulcimer Society and her family. Recently she has taught vocal classes at Kentucky Music Week and performed at the Highlander in Knoxville Tennessee.

Jeff Furman is an award-winning mountain dulcimer player known for his smooth and expressive style.  His gentle, humorous, and effective teaching style has made him a popular and highly-rated instructor at numerous workshops across the country.  Primarily an old-time banjo player for many years, Jeff developed a rhythmic and melodic style which has influenced his dulcimer playing.  He has an extensive repertoire of old-time fiddle music and a particular fondness for waltzes and Celtic airs on the dulcimer.  Jeff’s technical abilities and musical sensitivity can be heard on multiple recordings, including music from Ireland, Scotland, the Appalachian mountains, and American folk tunes and ballads.  Jeff describes himself as “a musician with a day job!”  He lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
 

Gary Gallier has been a cutting-edge innovator on the mountain dulcimer for fifteen years. He pioneered a progressive style of melodic flatpicking that offers improved levels of clarity, speed, dynamic range and creative potential and was the 1987 National Mountain Dulcimer Champion. Gary has taught and performed extensively throughout America's heartland, is a prolific composer of new music for the dulcimer, and has three albums to his credit, all primarily original music. His most recent "On the Wing" has been called a "landmark" dulcimer album. 

http://dulcimercentral.com/

Guy George is a rhythmic, melodic hammered dulcimer player with a definite jazz influence to his playing style. He tours throughout the United States and Canada performing and teach workshops on the hammered dulcimer, steel drums, and penny whistle. He also plays steel drum to a very high standard, often joining mountain dulcimer and other musicians, complementing their performances. Having studied at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Guy comes from a background in jazz and performance on the saxophone.

http://www.guygeorge.com

Sharrie George plays guitar, ukulele, and mountain dulcimer with her husband, Guy. She has played since her early teens and studied music at the College of Charleston in South Carolina. In her hometown of Mentor, Ohio, she has been a music and youth director for a local church and is still involved with the music program there. She and Guy play music together for weddings, private parties and events, at churches and festivals around the US.
 

Tull Glazener, from Indianapolis, IN, has been sharing the music of the mountain dulcimer through performances and workshops at festivals throughout the country since 1986. He enjoys adapting all kinds of music to the mountain dulcimer, including aires and waltzes, rag-time, traditional/old-time, contemporary, classical, and jazz. He has produced 5 recordings, is the author of 4 instruction books, and has produced a series of "learn-at-home" teaching CDs. He has served as a columnist for "Dulcimer Players News", and has been included on 2 of the "Masters of the Mountain Dulcimer" recordings produced by Susan Trump. In addition to the mountain dulcimer, Tull also plays hammered dulcimer and button accordion, and is a member of the "Family Reunion String Band" as well as the "Half Way Home" trio, both based in central Indiana.

 http://www.tullglazener.com

Dave Haas lives in Charleston, WV, and loves to perform and teach others how to play the mountain dulcimer!  He has been playing the dulcimer since 1990, and loves to share the mountain dulcimer and its history with schools, churches, and civic organizations.  He has even brought dulcimer music to those in prison!  Dave also plays the guitar, sings, and leads music on Christian retreat experiences such as Kairos Prison Ministry, The Walk To Emmaus, Cursillo, and Teens Encounter Christ.  Dave has released three dulcimer CDs, four dulcimer instruction/CD workbooks, and a popular dulcimer chord chart.

Dave also enjoys teaching science as a Chemistry Professor at the University of Charleston.  One of his favorite activities is to sing chemistry songs (some on dulcimer) with his students!

http://davehaasmusic.com/
 

Marsha Harris, from Morehead City, NC, has been playing the mountain dulcimer since 1993 and the bowed dulcimer since 2004. She also plays fiddle, tenor banjo and the Native American flute. Marsha is a member of ‘The Bogue Sounds’ playing music ranging from old time, Celtic, contemporary and her original compositions for concerts and contra dances. She also performs with two Civil War period bands, ‘The Carteret Grays’, and ‘The Crescent Moon Rounders’. She calls dances for Civil War Balls and contra dances. She enjoys attending fiddle festivals in NC, VA and WV and has received awards and the champion mountain dulcimer player at Fiddler’s Grove in Union Grove and first place and other awards at Mt Airy Fiddler’s Convention both in NC. Attending fiddle festivals gives Marsha the opportunity to learn tunes and share music with musicians from all over the U.S. as well as other countries, bringing the mountain and bowed dulcimer into these sessions. During the school year, Marsha tutors English as a Second Language (ESL) students at the local high school and takes woodworking classes at the community college.
 

LORINDA JONES. As a member of the Kentucky Arts on Tour Directory, Lorinda brings the roots of American music to her audiences through the music of the mountain dulcimer and folk harp. Lorinda has authored numerous books and recordings, and in addition, is a board certified music therapist. She teaches and performs at camps and festivals all over the United States, has 3 books published by Mel Bay Publications, and teaches private and group lessons on mountain dulcimer and folk harp. Lorinda has experienced a varied career in music, ranging from that of a band director, private and public school music instructor from preschool through college, to work as a music therapist. She continues to appreciate and discover her musical roots through the playing of Celtic and American folk music as a performer and recording artist.

http://www.lorindajones.com/

Molly McCormack of Louisville, Kentucky has enjoyed playing, performing and teaching on both the mountain and hammer dulcimers since 1992. Molly's musical interests are varied, often performing traditional, contemporary and original tunes.  Her arrangements include clear, sweet vocals, sultry blues, lively fiddle tunes and beautiful Celtic airs. 

A natural teacher with a gentle teaching style, Molly has had the pleasure of teaching at many weekend dulcimer festivals and week long dulcimer events. She is a regular teacher at Kentucky Music Week in Bardstown, KY. She has had the honor of teaching at the Augusta Heritage Center Dulcimer Week in Elkins, WV and Appalachian State University Dulcimer Week in Boone, NC.

http://www.mollymccormack.com/
 

Cheri Miller grew up in the mountains of East Tennessee where she enjoys the rich tradition of Appalachian music.  She has played rhythm guitar in a variety of bands for twenty years.  Her hard driving rhythmic playing has been the foundation for old time bands, dance bands, swing bands, and even a liturgical string band.  She has performed with her husband, Jim Miller, for thirty-five years.  She teaches guitar and mandolin to fourth and fifth grade students in the Cloudland Appalachian String Band.  She also directs the drama program at Cloudland High School in Roan Mountain, Tennessee, where her students perform broadway musicals. She is an educator serving as a high school library media specialist and  has earned a Master’s Degree in Media Services and an Ed. S. in School Leadership.   Her musical pursuits also include drumming and hand bells.  Cheri’s music can be heard on Hills and Hollers and Pretty Good Tunes.

Jeffrey Miller has been a part of the dulcimer community nearly his entire life.  Beginning as a student here at KMW so many years ago, the Bardstown, KY native has grown up with love of the dulcimer and folk music.  A former member of “Next Generation” with Katherine Lanway, he recorded his first record, “State of Mind” of original and traditional music at the age of 15.  Since he has been seen in festivals and coffeehouses around the region performing his mix of hot traditional licks and  smooth original ballads.   Jeffrey is happy to return to the folk scene after a two year lapse, while he has been pursuing his other love of theatre.  Jeffrey has been pursuing his acting career while finishing his acting degree at Northern Kentucky University. His favorite and most noteworthy credits include  performing at Pioneer Playhouse in Danville, KY for two seasons,, the regional premiere of Fat Pig in Cincinnati, and acting and co-directing On Edge in the  Cincinnati Fringe Festival.  Most recently Jeffrey has just finished a six-month tour with ArtReach of the Children’s theatre of Cincinnati, performing The Rosa Parks Story, Rumpeltstiltskin, and A Thousand Cranes and played a supporting role in the world premiere of Footprints of the Polar Bear, the winning piece at the Cincinnati Director’s Competition.
 

Jim Miller has been playing and performing traditional music for the past 35 years. An accomplished instrument builder and teacher, he has taught workshops at numerous festivals as well as won many awards for his musicianship. For twenty years, Jim was the owner of the Hampton Music Shop, in Hampton, Tennessee, where he handcrafted over 750 hammered dulcimers. He has played with Celtic, Bluegrass, Swing, Blues and Old Time bands, and has done session work on many recordings. In addition to being an accomplished performer and workshop leader, Jim also is an enthusiastic jam facilitator who likes to get everyone involved. He plays guitar, banjo, octave mandolin, bass, steel drum, percussion, hammered and mountain dulcimers as well as his own off-the-wall musical inventions, which are always entertaining. Jim holds a Masters degree in Elementary Education with an endorsement in instrumental music. He teaches 3rd grade at Cloudland Elementary School in Roan Mountain, Tennessee, where he leads an after school traditional string band program.

http://www.jimmillerdulcimer.com/
 

Karen Mueller is one of the top autoharp and mountain dulcimer players today. Her exciting and innovative performing style, featuring Appalachian, Celtic and contemporary music, has been applauded by critics and audiences from LA to Boston. Bluegrass Unlimited magazine has said "Karen Mueller's touch, timing and taste make her a true virtuoso. Her talent and clarity ... deserve a wide audience." Karen won the 1986 International Autoharp Championship and was a National Dulcimer finalist in 1985, both at the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, KS. In 2006 she was inducted into the Autoharp Hall of Fame. A native of Winfield, she first attended the festival while in high school and was inspired to learn to play the autoharp and dulcimer by the performers she saw there.

http://www.karenmueller.com/
 

Heidi Muller is an award-winning singer-songwriter, mountain dulcimer player and guitarist.  For over 20 years she has performed and taught nationwide at folk festivals and dulcimer events such as the Northeast Dulcimer Symposium, Great River Road Festival, Ohio Valley Gathering, Kentucky Music Week, Gebhard Woods, Augusta Heritage, Dulcimer Chautauqua on the Wabash, Great American Dulcimer Convention and many more.  Heidi has taught widely across the Pacific Northwest.  Described by Dulcimer Players’ News as “one of the dulcimer community’s best songwriters and performers”, her original waltz “Leaving the Methow” is featured on the Masters of the Mountain Dulcimer, Volume Two.  She enjoys fiddle tunes, singing with the dulcimer, fingerpicking and playing her 4-equidistant string Sunhearth. 

Bob Webb has played guitar and cello since childhood, and mandolin and mountain dulcimer for over 30 years.  As a member of the Mountain Stage band of public radio fame for nine years, he accompanied artists including Odetta, Tom Paxton, Shawn Colvin, Bill Staines and Arlo Guthrie.  Bob has been involved in music education and summer camps for over 20 years in southern West Virginia.  He has taught more than 700 children and adults to make and play his scheitholt-style box dulcimers. He is also a recording and live sound engineer, recording CDs for dozens of West Virginia’s best bands, songwriters, storytellers and old-time musicians, and he has helped produce several public radio documentaries.

http://heidimuller.com/heidiandbob.htm
 

Cynthia Mulliken first found KMW after she took up the hammer dulcimer in 2000 and has been a happy camper ever since, bringing her mother and daughters with her. Always looking for small creative projects that she could do in a short time and show her kids how to do them easily, Cynthia discovered beads. So far she has beaded with wire and thread, making fun art objects, jewelry, and other accessories. Come join the fun!

Jennifer Musgrave specializes in digital photography, with an emphasis on casual portrait photography as well as nature photography.  She is the owner of JAm Photography Studio and enjoys teaching others the techniques to improve their photographic skills.

http://dancingtothespiritofthewood.com/

Paul Oorts, a native Belgian performs on classical and steel string guitar, mandolin, bouzouki, banjo and musette accordion. This multi-instrumentalist and French Professor at Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore is versatile in a wide range of styles and brings an elegant European flavor to the ensemble.

http://www.pauloorts.com/Home

Martha Richard first heard the hammered dulcimer years ago at a music festival in Louisville, Ky. She was enchanted by the piano sound of this instrument. After acquiring her first hammered dulcimer she has been having lots of fun playing it. As a member of the Heartland Dulcimer Club she has learned many songs and how to play in a large group. In the last few years Martha has participated in small group ensembles and played some solo performances in central Kentucky and Indiana.

Martha has participated in several music festivals in the Midwest usually teaching the new hammered dulcimer players. She has participated in the Blue River Folk Festival in Shelbyville, Indiana, the Heartland Dulcimer Festival, Kentucky Music Week in Bardstown, Kentucky, and the Evart Festival in Michigan. She is an enthusiastic teacher and player of the hammered dulcimer. Martha is the director of a small hammer ensemble called “Foggy Dew Players“.
 

Butch Ross was given a mountain dulcimer for his birthday a few years ago, at the time the regionally touring singer/songwriter had no idea of the impact the instrument would have on his career. "I thought it's be cool to have one around the house, but I found myself playing it more and more. It had made music fun for me in a way that I hadn't felt since I first picked up the guitar."

More than "making music fun," this primitive mountain instrument began to open doors for him too. Not long after adopting the dulcimer he met Robert Force a musician, producer, independent label owner and all-around hippy who had once written a best-selling book on the mountain dulcimer. He saw in Butch "a spirit, talent and vision" that he last saw in his own idol; 60's folk-icon Richard Fariña. Almost immediately, he offered to sign him to his Blaine St. Records and produce, for free, his debut CD "the Moonshiner's Atlas."

http://www.butchross.com
 

Gary Sager began building dulcimers in 1991, and has been building, playing and teaching since then.  Gary's dulcimers carry the "prussia Valley Dulcimers" label.  Gary has taught and performed at various festivals in the Midwest. Gary with wife, Toni, own the Prussia Valley Dulcimer Shop in Waverly, OH. Gary will also serve as our "Dulcimer Doctor" during the week.

http://www.prussiavalleyduclcimers.com

Stephen Seifert's teaching and playing has made him a favorite with dulcimer players all over the country since 1991. In that time, he's been a featured performer at hundreds of dulcimer festivals and other music events including Kentucky Music Week in Bardstown, KY, Mountain Dulcimer Week in Cullowhee, NC, the Augusta Heritage Center in Elkins, WV, the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, NC, the Ozark Folk Center in Mountain View, AR, Stringalong near Milwaukee, WI, the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, KS and The tono American Music Festival, in Tono, Japan.

Stephen was Adjunct Instructor of Mountain Dulcimer with David Schnaufer at Vanderbilt's Blair School of Music from 1997 to 2001. He also taught, performed, and recorded with Mr. Schnaufer as a duo throughout the country. Stephen has authored ten books, four CDs, and 16 instructional videos.

http://stephenseifert.com/
 

Ruth Smith. Dirty Linen Folk & World Magazine says, “Ruth Smith's touch on the hammered dulcimer is absolutely magical, with exquisite phrasing, highlighting the range of the instrument especially on her own pieces.” Ruth is known for bringing the softer side of the hammered dulcimer to life. Dulcimer Players News says she is, “very sensitive to the nuances of the music, allowing each tune to breathe.” Ruth employs hands-on teaching techniques that place special emphasis on playing expressively.  

A native North Carolinian and musician from a very young age, Ruth records and performs with her husband, Steve, specializing in Celtic Appalachian music. Her compositions and arrangements have been featured in Dulcimer Players News and on NPR’s All Things Considered, All Songs Considered, Thistle & Shamrock, XM & Sirius satellite radio, Direct-TV and Dish Network, and Highlander Radio Network.

www.steveandruth.com

Steve Smith, a professional musician for more than four decades,  is an experienced fingerstyle acoustic guitarist noted for his rich guitar chords, leading patterns, and embellishments which compliment acoustic lead instruments such as wife Ruth’s hammered dulcimer. In recent years Steve has added clawhammer banjo to Steve & Ruth’s special style of Celtic Appalachian music. Dirty Linen World & Folk Music Magazine says "for the traditional, Steve Smith's clawhammer banjo adds a rich, true sound."  An ASCAP award winning songwriter and vocalist, Steve is a well rounded musician who teaches workshops in all areas of his expertise. Steve teaches recording/audio production (1997 to present) at Appalachian State University, Boone, North Carolina, and previously worked in the recording industry in Nashville, Los Angeles, and Hawaii. Steve & Ruth produce and engineer all of their CDs. Steve also teaches on music copyrights, clearance, and licensing.

www.steveandruth.com
 

Gale Sturm has been a stained glass artist for many years, and creates the individually made, one-of-a-kind, stained glass name badges that are KMW treasures given to each participant at the festival.  Gale has been teaching stained glass for several years at KMW and has taught this delightful art to many during the event.
 

LINDA LOWE THOMPSON brings a combination of warmth, humor, intelligence, and skill to all her activities with hammered dulcimer whether teaching or performing. Her instruction book and cassette, BEGINNING HAMMERED DULCIMER, has long been widely used and respected. Anyone using this, no matter what their musical background, can be playing tunes on the dulcimer in just a few minutes. The publication, in 1993, of HAMMERED DULCIMER NOTEBOOK, an encyclopedia of embellishments, was the culmination of a decade of work and experience. She followed, in 1994, with HAMMERED DULCIMER CHRISTMAS, in 1996 with CLASSICAL HAMMERED DULCIMER, and in 1999 with SACRED HAMMERED DULCIMER. Her sensitive playing can be heard on SOUNDS OF CHRISTMAS PAST. She is a frequent contributor to Dulcimer Players News.

Rick Thum taught himself to play guitar and drums at age twelve and played the trumpet in his high school band. Throughout high school and college (B. S. Industrial Administration) Rick played in rock bands, eventually playing regularly on the upper deck of the Admiral in St. Louis. While raising his family Rick directed his church choir. Rick's interest in traditional music was sparked when he bought a hammered dulcimer on a whim and found himself in a three-piece folk band. In 1991 Rick became co-owner of a large Midwestern acoustic instrument shop. In 1994 he sold his interest in the shop to devote more time to being a traveling musician. He placed first at the 1994 Southwest Regional Dulcimer Contest and third in the 1995 National Championship at Winfield, Kansas. Rick was voted Best Performer and Favorite Teacher for several years running at the prestigious Evart Dulcimer Funfest.

http://www.rthum.com/
 

Susan Trump is a singer whose gentle voice and story songs you won’t forget. For years, she has been winning fans with her singing, her song writing prowess and her outstanding instrumental skill on mountain dulcimer, guitar, and banjo.  Her audiences use phrases like “the voice of an angel, singing songs that go straight to the heart.”   She has released four best-selling solo recordings, "What the Hill People Say," "Tree of Life" and "Live at Caffe Lena" which captures the excitement of one of her  “sell- out” weekend performances. Her newest CD, “Songs of Faith and Hope,”  a collection of inspirational, uplifting  songs for everyone is being touted as her best ever!

www.susantrump.com/

Mark Wade makes a living playing and teaching trumpet and music theory. We all know that Mark has a not-so-secret life outside Denison University playing dulcimer! Mark has toured Austria, Slovakia and Hungary as principal trumpet of the "Classical Music Festival Orchestra" of Eisenstadt, Austria. On different occasions in the U.S., he has entertained notables including: Presidents George Bush Sr., William Clinton, Ross Perot, and the former U.S. Secretary of Defense, William S. Cohen. Despite all this trumpet playing, Mark is very down to earth and loves playing and teaching the hammered dulcimer with players of all levels! A former National Hammered Dulcimer Champion, Mark is a recurring columnist for the "Dulcimer Players News" journal. He has personally released six CDs and 2 popular method books. His most recent solo classical hammered dulcimer CD, "Serenade", has achieved rave reviews since its release in 2006. An avid teacher, his students consistently place at the "National Hammered Dulcimer Contest," winning 1st place in 2004 and 2007.

www.markalanwade.com/