Rob Brereton is considered one of the pioneers in contemporary mountain dulcimer playing. His years of studying classical guitar have polished his playing style while his degree in music theory and composition has given him a fresh approach to arranging. Rob was one of the first dulcimer players to arrange extensively in the chromatic 1-3-5, and other alternate tunings. Although he specializes in the standards and early jazz tunes of Duke Ellington, George Gershwin, and the like, Rob is equally adept at playing the more traditional styles and dulcimer repertoire. He has taught all levels of dulcimer at most of the major dulcimer festivals across the country.
www.robertbrereton.com

Janet is a multi-instrumentalist instructor with Community Music School of Santa Cruz and co-founder of Redwood Dulcimer Day.   She is also a vocalist and is featured on Neal Hellman's Celtic Songs and Slow Airs for Mountain Dulcimer and other recordings. She holds a doctorate in folklore/ethnomusicology, and her playing reflects interest in American roots music and various world music traditions.  She often performs with harmony vocalist/percussionist Laura Reeve and in the Celtic trio Dance Around Molly. www.folkplanet.com/dam

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

More coming soon...

With a natural energetic ease, Bonnie Carol sings and plays hammered and fretted dulcimers as well as African marimba, bodhrán, folk drums and hand percussion. A performance is likely to encompass traditional music from North and South America, the British Isles, Caribbean rhythms, and even Tex-Mex tunes, all fitting together in that exuberant whole we call World Music.
http://www.bonniecarol.com

 

 

More coming soon...

Lance Frodsham is a nationally known mountain dulcimer player who has made several recordings. He has authored The English Dulcimer, a collection of 47 English country, Morris and sword dance tunes, and English Songs and Ballads for Appalachian Dulcimer, an acclaimed collection of traditional songs and Child ballads, both for Mel Bay Publications. Also known for his warm, friendly singing voice, Lance has taught dulcimer workshops to great reviews in North Carolina, Wisconsin, New York, California, Oregon and Washington.
www.e-z.net/~frodsham

Neal has been active in performing, writing, teaching and recording acoustic music for the past twenty years throughout the United States, Europe, and New Zealand.  He is the author of many dulcimer books, including It's A Dulcimer Life, The Dulcimer Chord Book, The Hal Leonard Dulcimer Method, Beatles Dulcimer Book and The Music of the Shakers For Mountain Dulcimer on Mel Bay Publications.
http://www.gourd.com/

Connie Allen of San Diego is a favorite workshop leader and performer at events such as Claremont Spring Folk Festival and Southern California Dulcimer Heritage Harvest Festival. Her grounding in music theory and love of diatonic diversity take dulcimer from its traditional Appalachian roots back to Rennaissance Europe and forward to hot swing tunes and original compositions.

Bing Futch of Orlando, Florida has been playing mountain dulcimer since 1985. His latest solo release is Dulcimer Rock, a collection of tunes ranging from Indian ragas, Native American rhythms and world-beat arrangements to catchy roots and pop-rock dance tracks with layered harmonies. Named “2006 Songwriter of the Year” by the Songwriters Showcases of America, Bing sings his genre-hopping songs with clear, expressive tenor vocals and is an engaging, high energy performer. He’s taught dulcimer at many festivals and also produces audio and video podcasts for Dulcimer Players’ News.
www.BingFutch.com

More coming soon...

Michael Rugg is a master dulcimer builder and co-founder of CapriTaurus Dulcimers of Felton. He served as a columnist for Frets Magazine, and has an extensive dulcimer performing background. His recordings include Rugg's Celtic Collection for Dulcimer and the classic anthology, Pacific Rim Dulcimer Project.
www.bigfootdiscoveryproject.com

Paul’s doctoral work on the Lyra Viol (a 17th-century English style of viola da gamba that uses tablature notation and variant tunings) segued well into writing finger-picking music for the mountain dulcimer. Since the 1970s he has contributed numerous articles to the Dulcimer Players News, and he currently teaches composing and theory for mountain dulcimer. 

 

 

 

 

Dulcimer Girls, aka Jayme Kelly Curtis and Laura Devine, both play dulcimer and perform originals, folk ballads, and old time spirituals in vocal harmony—their approach reflects the rhythmic influence of Laura’s first dulcimer teacher, Joellen Lapidus.  Jayme is also a singer-songwriter with two solo recordings under her belt.http://www.purrgirl.com/Dulcimer.html

Dan Daniels of Yreka, California is a performer and teacher of mountain dulcimer, claw hammer banjo and guitar, and is also a master builder of stringed instruments. His company, New Traditions Dulcimers, began in Washington State in 1982 and now serves the Northern California area of Siskiyou County and Southern Oregon and beyond. Also a local church pastor, Dan has two CD recordings of Old Timey gospel and standards: Old Country Church and When You And I Were Young.

www.newtraditionsdulcimers.com

More coming soon...

Dr. Peter (he holds a Ph.D. in Folklore Studies) has been teaching and performing on mountain dulcimer since 1977. He specializes in Celtic, Western European, and Old Time American instrumental tunes. He currently teaches at Gryphon Stringed Instruments (Palo Alto, CA), and previously wrote Teach Yourself to Play the Dulcimer (Kicking Mule). He has taught at several major festivals in California and North Carolina, and is co-founder of Redwood Dulcimer Day.  Peter often performs with multi-instrumentalist Karl Franzen in the instrumental duo Slainte and with his wife, fiddler Lee Anne Welch. http://www.harmonspeak.com/sfslainte/

Ron Beardslee has been playing mountain dulcimer for about 20 years and is the organizer of our quarterly Redwood Dulcimer Gatherings. He has produced a tab book for beginners and resides in the East Bay where he also gives mountain dulcimer lessons.

Linda Brockinton of Alexander, Arkansas began playing the dulcimer in 1988 and started teaching the instrument in 1990. In 2001 she won the National Mountain Dulcimer Championships, the first woman ever to accomplish this feat in the 30-year history of the competition! Her specialty is fingerpicking, which she showcases in her several recordings and tab books. Linda also plays flute (she played previously with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra), harp, guitar, hammered dulcimer, and bodhran. http://www.lindabrockinton.com