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 online and in-person workshops on a variety of themes, especially those related to world folk and medieval music for mountain dulcimer. Along the way, we work intensively on techniques and fingerings for making the music come alive, emphasizing smooth transitions and clean picking. I would be happy to present a mountain dulcimer-related workshop online or on site for your school, group, organization, club, or dulcimer festival or with a small group in my home studio.
Below I have listed some of the themes I have covered in my independent online workshops. Please contact me to find out more about other kinds of workshops I offer or to schedule a special workshop for your music club.
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:
receiving the following awards and prizes:
and providing independent live online workshops on Zoom (2020 to present):
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 online and in-person workshops on a variety of themes, especially those related to world folk and medieval music for mountain dulcimer. Along the way, we work intensively on techniques and fingerings for making the music come alive, emphasizing smooth transitions and clean picking. I would be happy to present a mountain dulcimer-related workshop online or on site for your school, group, organization, club, or dulcimer festival or with a small group in my home studio.
Below I have listed some of the themes I have covered in my independent online workshops. Please contact me to find out more about other kinds of workshops I offer or to schedule a special workshop for your music club.
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
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; Online 2021 and 2022)
- 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 '21, Oct. '21, Feb. '22, June '22, Oct. '22, Feb. '23)
- Nonsuch Annual Weekend (November 2021 Online)
- North Georgia Foothills Dulcimer Association Online Festival (November 2021 & 2022)
- Dulcimer Chautauqua on the Wabash (New Harmony, Indiana) (October 2022)
and providing independent live online workshops on Zoom (2020 to present):
- 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)
- Songs of Christmas Past
- Music for a Fresh Start (Songs for a New Year)
- Love in the Greenwood: Robin Hood Songs for Saint Valentine’s Day
- Brother Sun, Sister Moon: Medieval Meditations for Mountain Dulcimer (Selections inspired by Saint Francis and Saint Clare)
- Irish Inspiration (Saint Patrick’s Day Selections: March, Slip Jig, and Love Song)
- Springtime Bouquet (Beautiful Floral Melodies from England, Scotland, and Wales)
- Hope Springs Eternal (Traditional Hymns for Easter)
- May Festival Dance (Two Irish Slip Jigs and a Scottish Reel)
- Fanciful Fingerpicking (Folk Songs from Around the World to Practice Fingerpicking Technique)
- Border Ballads (Ballads Collected by Francis James Child from the English-Scottish Border)
- A Midsummer's Daydream (Victorian Melodies about Dreams)
- Birdsong (Songs About Birds from Appalachia, Ireland, England, and Wales)
- Stormy Seas (Celtic and Scandinavian Songs Inspired by the Sea)
- Ave Maria: Medieval Marian Melodies
- Renaissance Masque Ball
- First Candlelight (Songs for Advent)
- Pleasant Pastures (Celtic Songs with Pastoral Themes)
- The Language of Flowers (Antique Melodies with Floral Imagery)