Four inspiring performers on mountain and hammered dulcimers (and other instruments!):

Anne Lough an internationally known traditional musician who performs and teaches at schools, workshops, and festivals throughout the country. She holds a Bachelor of Music Education from Murray State University (KY) and a Master of Music Education from Western Carolina University (NC). She is well known for her artistic and sensitive style of playing, and her skill as an instructor. In addition to many recordings, Anne has published several dulcimer arrangements, including Old-time Hymns & Gospel Favorites for Mountain Dulcimer, through Mel Bay.

Sam Rizzetta is a musician and instrument maker whose many design innovations have helped to define the contemporary hammered dulcimer. The tone of Sam?s dulcimers and his heartfelt and ornamented playing style have been called ?resonantly sensual magic,? and ?awe inspiring.? His performance credits include The Kennedy Center and The National Cathedral, as well as TV and radio appearances. Rizzetta recordings include 15 CDs featuring dulcimers, and there are four book collections of his original compositions.

Madeline MacNeil is a best-selling author of mountain and hammered dulcimer books for Mel Bay Publications, and from 1978 through 2006 she was the publisher of Dulcimer Players News, a quarterly publication devoted to both hammered and mountain dulcimers. She has performed in schools for students from elementary through high school and often invited them to play a little on her dulcimers. The Barns At Wolf Trap has presented her in concert, as have arts centers, churches and universities throughout the United States. Across the Atlantic, she has performed at the O?Carolan Festival in Keadue, County Roscommon, Ireland; the Glasgow Festival of the Arts in Scotland; and for the Nonsuch Dulcimer Gathering in East Norton, Leicestershire, England.

Janita Baker has been playing mountain dulcimer for over 40 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.

https://classes.folkschool.org/class_details.aspx?pk=20759

The Moon and You is a folk/soul band based in Asheville, NC that tours the Eastern US and Western Europe. At its core are married songwriters and multi-instrumentalists Ryan Furstenberg (banjo, guitar) and Melissa Hyman (cello). The band released its debut album A White Light That Sings in June 2016, to critical acclaim. They celebrated their second full-length release, Endless Maria on March 19, 2017 with a live string quartet and rock rhythm section bringing the album to life onstage.

At once excitingly inventive and cozily familiar, the Moon & You continues to craft a compelling, acoustic Americana sound. The duo's ever-evolving output encompasses a wide range of American roots music, and is flavored by contributions from a rotating cast of super-talented friends. Their onstage synergy and warmth invite audiences in, offering a peek into a strange and joyful universe of their own.

http://www.themoonandyou.com

Lorraine was raised in rural northwestern Connecticut during a period when traditional music was a vibrant and integrated part of community life. She is a leading proponent of the mountain dulcimer and teaches classes at the Augusta Heritage Center in West Virginia, and Summer Acoustic Music Week in New Hampshire as well as the Folk School. She is also a highly skilled songwriter, banjo player and Celtic harpist with numerous recordings to her credit.

Bennett Hammond began to play traditional and original music on the guitar in high school in Vermont, and began teaching it while in college in New Hampshire. With a degree in Classical Greek, Bennett also speaks French and Spanish. "Hammond has a deft melodic sense, and a knack for transmuting traditional Irish and Appalachian motifs into thoroughly contemporary results. Hammond's great talent is that he doesn't let his skill overpower his taste and artistry." Boston Globe Since 1986 Bennett has performed, recorded and toured extensively at home and abroad with Lorraine. The couple live in an old house in Brookline, Massachusetts.

http://www.greatacoustics.org/

Steve Hickman and John Devine are well-known performers from King George, Virginia and Berkely Springs, West Virginia respectively who have served as staff musicians for a number of Folk School music and dance programs over the years. Steve Hickman has toured with numerous bands singing and playing fiddle and harmonica for more than twenty years. He is especially well-known for his mastery of the art of "hambone" or body percussion. John Devine specializes in contemporary folk songs as well as standards from the 1930's and 1940's. Together, Hickman and Devine play a wide variety of country, folk, bluegrass, Irish, swing and traditional old time music.

Lee Knight hails from the Adirondack Mountains of New York and became interested in folk music while in high school. He was introduced to traditional Southern Appalachian music while attending Wofford College in Spartanburg, SC.. As a result, Lee became interested in learning first hand from singers and musicians who carried on the traditons in their families and communities. He has studied folk music in his native Adirondacks, the southern Appalachians, Canada, Russia, Central Asia, Scotland, Colombia and Peru. He performs in community concerts, schools, camps, elderhostels and libraries around the country accompanying himself on dulcimer, guitar and banjo.

http://www.leeknightmusic.com/

Contra dance music is a joyful blend of Irish, Scottish and French Canadian jigs reels and hornpipes, Appalachian hoedowns, Scandinavian couple dance tunes and beautiful waltzes. The performers hail from different parts of the country but have performed together at various dance camps and events over the years.

David Kaynor is a fiddler, caller, dance composer, and organizer of the famous Greenfield contra dance in Massachusetts. David has made several influential recordings and has served on the staff of many dance camps and weekends.

Sue Songer is co-author and publisher of the Portland Collection tune books and plays piano on their companion CDs. She organizes and directs the 80-member Portland Megaband, which plays a large annual contra dance in Portland, Oregon.

Peter Siegel plays guitar, banjo, and mandolin with the Greenfield Dance Band and the Berwyck String Band. He also performs extensively as a folksinger/songwriter and has shared the stage with such performers as Noel Paul Stookey (of Peter, Paul and Mary), Pete Seeger and Tom Chapin.

Betsy Branch is a contra and English country dance fiddler from Portland, Oregon. She teaches fiddle privately out of her home and is associate music director for the Portland Revels® theater company, where she arranges music for chorus and instruments. She also plays in several contra dance bands, including Wild Hair and Night Owl, and her fiddling can be heard on a number of recordings - most recently "Midnight in Montague," a collection of fiddle duets with David Kaynor.

https://classes.folkschool.org/class_details.aspx?pk=19650