To see my current schedule of workshops open to the public, please visit my Schedule page...
For more information on individual lessons and recorded digital workshops, please see my Private Lessons, Online Lessons, and Products pages.
The crossroads between music and education is an exciting place in my world. It is a joy to witness others developing a deepening appreciation for the mountain dulcimer, a uniquely American instrument that lends itself well to acoustic genres including folk music, traditional hymns, and international/world music. It is a bridge between the Old World and the New, the ancient and the modern.
I offer workshops, presentations, and weekend intensives on a variety of themes, including mountain dulcimer playing techniques, history of the mountain dulcimer, musical repertoire suited to the mountain dulcimer, and opening up to creativity in one's mountain dulcimer playing. I would be happy to present a mountain dulcimer-related workshop on site for your school, group, organization, club, or dulcimer festival or with a small group in my home studio.
Please contact me to find out more about the kinds of workshops I offer or to communicate with me about a particular workshop concept you would like me to address with your group.
Not only do I bring to the teaching experience my lifelong enthusiasm for literature, the arts, and the humanities, but I also bring educational background to these subjects, including the following:
My personal experience specific to the mountain dulcimer includes
receiving the following awards and prizes:
For more information on individual lessons and recorded digital workshops, please see my Private Lessons, Online Lessons, and Products pages.
The crossroads between music and education is an exciting place in my world. It is a joy to witness others developing a deepening appreciation for the mountain dulcimer, a uniquely American instrument that lends itself well to acoustic genres including folk music, traditional hymns, and international/world music. It is a bridge between the Old World and the New, the ancient and the modern.
I offer workshops, presentations, and weekend intensives on a variety of themes, including mountain dulcimer playing techniques, history of the mountain dulcimer, musical repertoire suited to the mountain dulcimer, and opening up to creativity in one's mountain dulcimer playing. I would be happy to present a mountain dulcimer-related workshop on site for your school, group, organization, club, or dulcimer festival or with a small group in my home studio.
Please contact me to find out more about the kinds of workshops I offer or to communicate with me about a particular workshop concept you would like me to address with your group.
Not only do I bring to the teaching experience my lifelong enthusiasm for literature, the arts, and the humanities, but I also bring educational background to these subjects, including the following:
- Master of Education, Curriculum and Instruction
- English/Liberal Arts, B.A.; General Communications Minor
- Florida Teacher Certification in English 6-12, Humanties K-12
My personal experience specific to the mountain dulcimer includes
receiving the following awards and prizes:
- a Youth Scholarship for WCU Mountain Dulcimer Week two years in a row (Cullowhee, NC) (2005, 2006)
- 1st place in the Louisiana State Dulcimer Championship (Port Allen, LA) (2006)
- finalist at the National Mountain Dulcimer Championship at the Walnut Valley Festival (Winfield, KS) (2007)
- 1st place in the Deep South Dulcimer Championship (Hattiesburg, MS) (2014)
- Dulcimerville (Black Mountain, NC) (2013)
- Stephen Foster Dulcimer Retreat (White Springs, FL) (2014, 2016, 2017, 2018)
- Southern Strings Dulcimer Festival (Hattiesburg, MS; Petal, MS) (2016, 2017)
- Kentucky Music Winter Weekend (Louisville, KY) (2018)
- Redwood Dulcimer Day (Aptos, CA) (2018, 2021 Online)
- Melodies and Musings (Lake Guntersville, AL) (2018)
- Kentucky Music Week (Bardstown, KY) (2019)
- Mountain dulcimer courses for Continuing Education at Pensacola State College (Oct. 2019-Mar. 2020)
- QuaranTune Virtual Dulcimer Fest 4.0 and 5.0 (June 2021, October 2021)
- Enchanted June (English and Celtic Songs about Summertime)
- A Bouquet of Songs (UK: A Sampler of Medieval, American Folk, British Folk, and Celtic Songs)
- The Rose and Heather (A Celebration of Gaelic Songs)
- Pilgrimsong (Medieval Music for Mountain Dulcimer)
- Mountain Porch Fingerpicking (Traditional Appalachian Music Played in Fingerpicking Style)
- Nautical Musical Voyage (Nautical Songs and Sea Shanties)
- Celtic Wind (Celtic Songs with Wind Motifs and References)
- Haunting Ballads and Story Songs (English, Irish, and Scottish Supernatural Ballads)
- Roving Jewels: Songs of Witty Women (Traditional Songs and Ballads)
- Irish Musical Harvest (Traditional Irish Melodies for Halloween and Samhain)
- Ancestors of the Mountain Dulcimer (Songs to Celebrate the Dulcimer's European Zither Relatives)
- Yuletide Treasure: Medieval Christmas Songs for Mountain Dulcimer
- Advent Anticipation: Music to Welcome in Christmas
- Winter Carols (A Selection of Seasonal Songs to Celebrate Christmas and the New Year)
- Colorful Fingerpicking (Fingerpicking Technique/ Hammer-ons, Pull-offs, Slides, and Harmonics)
- Mystical Fire: Medieval "Cantigas de Santa Maria" for Mountain Dulcimer
- Meet the Mountain Dulcimer (Beginner's Workshop)
- Dulcet Valentine (Celtic Songs of Love for Saint Valentine's Day)
- The Next Good Step (Novice Workshop)
- Mad March Tea Party (English Songs and Ballads/Romanticism)
- Springtime in Scotland (Scottish Songs for Springtime, Including Tannahill and Burns Pieces)
- Suantraithe: Irish Lullabies
- May Morning Music (English and Irish Ballads Set in the Month of May)
- Shady Grove: Traditional Songs about Nature
- Summertime Ballad Sampler (Ballads from England, Scotland, and Ireland)
- Renaissance Reflections (Songs from the Renaissance and Medieval Norway)
- Memories of a Bard (Irish Melodies Made Famous by John McCormack)
- Irish Immigrant Songs
- Timeless Dance Tunes (A Challenging Dance Melody from Both England and Ireland)