LOIS HORNBOSTEL
Lois Hornbostel, of Bryson City, NC, is a well-known developer of playing techniques and repertoire for the mountain dulcimer, and has set the standards in the organization of dulcimer instruction and events. Her musical versatility and playing skills are showcased in her eight dulcimer music books published by Mel Bay Publications. She has made several recordings, including Vive le Dulcimer!, a finalist for an INDIE award in the World Music category. Lois learned traditional Appalachian dulcimer playing from Stanley Hicks and Frank Proffitt, Jr., and has won the dulcimer competitions at the Galax, Mt. Airy, Fiddlers Grove, and other old-time music events. In the late 1970s in New York City, Lois was one of the first to study and apply traditional Irish music to the mountain dulcimer. Later, living in Louisiana, she learned Cajun music, which resulted in her book, Cajun Favorites for Mountain Dulcimer. Lois is the editor of www.DulcimerSessions.com, Mel Bay Publications’ webzine presenting current developments in mountain and hammered dulcimer music. She has been Coordinator of Dulcimer Week since its inception, and has created a new dulcimer event be held in June: www.Dulcimerville.com. Lois teaches and performs at dulcimer and acoustic events nationally. www.loishornbostel.com

RANDY MARCHANY
Originally trained as a classical pianist, Randy Marchany has been playing the hammer dulcimer since 1978 and is one of the founding members of the INDIE-award-winning dulcimer band, No Strings Attached. With music described as “eclectic, jazz on acoustic instruments and world beat,” No Strings Attached has shared the stage with such wide-ranging artists as Mary Wilson and the Supremes, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, Nickel Creek, Doc Watson, Turtle Island String Quartet, John Hartford, the Dixie Chicks, Alison Krauss and John McCutcheon. They have played at festivals across Europe and in U.S. venues ranging from the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to CBS TV’s Morning News program. Randy wrote the theme song for National Public Radio’s nationally syndicated radio program, World Cafe, and has taught hammered dulcimer at music camps and workshops throughout the country for over 25 years.

BUTCH ROSS
Butch Ross had been a touring singer/songwriter when he was given a mountain dulcimer as a birthday present. At first, the instrument was a curiosity but before too long it became his instrument of choice. Butch has taken a simple folk instrument and energized it with technical wizardry, inventive arrangements and a healthy dose of rock-n-roll attitude. Typically, the mountain dulcimer is used for playing simple tunes and accompanying the voice, and most people can learn a song or two within a few minutes of first encountering the instrument. So, it’s no surprise that one phrase you’ll hear a lot at a Butch Ross concert is, “I didn’t know you could do THAT on a mountain dulcimer!” It is his groundbreaking and iconoclastic approach that caused ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro to comment, “Now I know what a dulcimer is supposed to sound like.” Butch has become an in-demand performer at folk and dulcimer festivals through the US and Europe, and his most recent CD, A Long Way From Shady Grove, is an all-instrumental record that combines his bluegrass-tinged originals with re-imagined traditional tunes and a blistering version of the Beatles’ “Eleanor Rigby.” www.butchross.com

JAN HAMMOND
Jan Hammond is a lifetime resident of Ohio and one of the premier performers on the mountain dulcimer in the United States today. She is also an accomplished composer, lyricist and vocalist with four solo CDs and a duet CD with guitarist Tom Conner. Jan is a two-time winner of the Kentucky State Mountain Dulcimer Championships, the only four-time winner of the Mid-Eastern Regional Dulcimer Championship, and a 3rd Place winner at the National Mountain Dulcimer Championships held in Winfield, KS as part of the internationally renowned Walnut Valley Festival. She is also a Certified Music Practitioner and plays therapeutic music at the bedside of hospice patients. She also teaches, leads workshops and performs at a variety of venues including, festivals, coffee houses, libraries, health care facilities, house concerts, church services and various events throughout the country. Jan has presented at the Buckeye Dulcimer Festival, Dulcimore (OH), the SouthEast Ohio Dulcimer Festival, the Phoenix Folk Festival and the Kent State Folk Festival.

KEN KOLODNER
Ken Kolodner is perhaps our most experienced instructor, having taught hammered dulcimer during our Old-Time, Celtic and Dulcimer Weeks (23 weeks in all!). Recognized as one of the finest hammered dulcimer players in the U.S., Ken’s unique improvisational style has been described as “nothing short of astonishing.” Performing on dulcimer and fiddle as a soloist, and with Helicon (Chris Norman and Robin Bullock) and with fiddlers Laura Risk, Elke Baker and Jim Eagan, Ken has performed and taught extensively throughout North America and Europe for over 25 years. He is one of the most sought-after teachers at music camps and festivals across the country, including Common Ground, the Swannanoa Gathering, Meadowlark, Augusta, Kentucky Music Week, and The John C. Campbell Folk School. Ken’s credits include numerous features on NPR’s The Thistle and Shamrock and All Things Considered, the CBC, The Voice of America and German National Radio; an Emmy-nominated CBS-TV Christmas special; eleven recordings including an “Indie” winner (Helicon’s Winter Solstice for “Best Seasonal Recording”), a #1 World Music title and bestseller for BMG (Walking Stones with over 55,000 sold); six instructional CDs and three books. www.kenkolodner.com

ROB BRERETON
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. David Schnaufer called Rob’s playing “masterful...strong and innovative,” and his music is featured on his CD, Someone to Watch Over Me. Rob has taught all levels of dulcimer at most of the major dulcimer festivals across the country. He was one of the organizers of the Housatonic Dulcimer Celebration and continues to organize the occasional Dulcimer Cruise. In his everyday life, Rob teaches music in several schools and has many private students. He also composes and directs several choirs near his home in Sherman, CT. Feel free to contact him at www.robertbrereton.com

WES CHAPPELL
Wes Chappell has been playing music since he was a kid and has learned to play dozens of instruments over the years. He is a founding member of No Strings Attached, the boundary-stretching string band that dazzled audiences for over 30 years with a repertoire that included music by Dave Brubeck, Thelonius Monk, Sonny Rollins, the Chieftains, Bill Spence, Dan Hicks, and the Coasters, all reinterpreted by the hammered dulcimer. Their 1988 jazz-inflected album, Take 5, won the INDIE award for “Best Album, String Music Category.”Wes has taught at Swannanoa many times as well as the Augusta Heritage workshops and festivals around the USA and UK.

CINDY RIBET
Cindy Ribet has been singing and performing for most of her life and has over 25 years experience performing, recording, teaching, and composing for the hammered dulcimer. She also plays and teaches fiddle, recorder and guitar. She has recorded 6 CDs and has taught at the Upper Potomac Dulcimer Festival, John C. Campbell Folk School, the Augusta Heritage Festival, and the first ever County Cork Dulcimer Festival in Ireland. Her enthusiasm when she teaches and plays is evident and contagious. www.cindyribet.com

PATRICK CROUCH
Patrick is a multi-instrumentalist who plays guitar, banjo, mandolin, fiddle, dobro, bass, and pedal steel. He is the owner of Ticknock Recording Studio and known for his bluegrass, country, Celtic, old time, and jazz music with the acoustic trio, Strictly Clean and Decent, who have hosted the annual Caldwell County Traditional Musicians Showcase since 1998, and produced a ten-CD series documenting the Caldwell County Musicians Showcase and one hundred twenty eight featured artists. Patrick also performs with several other regional bands, including fiddle with the Celtic ensemble Puddingstone, banjo with the Cane Creek Band, and mandolin for contra dances with the Euphoria String Band.

MIKE FENTON
From Worcestershire, England, Mike was inspired to take up the autoharp after meeting Mother Maybelle Carter in Birmingham, England, in 1968. In 1986 he quit his job as a school principal to play autoharp professionally, and in 1987, won the International Autoharp Championship in Winfield, Kansas. He is also a three-time winner of the blue ribbon for Autoharp at the Galax Old Fiddlers’ Convention in Virginia. He has led workshops at many festivals including the Autoharp Jamboree in Mountain View, Arkansas, the Mountain Laurel Autoharp Gathering in Pennsylvania, the Willamette Valley Autoharp Gathering in Oregon, and Winfield. In 1997, Mike was inducted into the Autoharp Hall of Fame for contributions to the autoharp community. Known for the clarity and variety of his styles on the instrument, he has a particular interest in its place in the old-time setting. He is a respected teacher and jam session leader, well-known for his ability to teach large multi-level groups. Also skilled on guitar, dobro, mountain dulcimer, and jew’s harp, his ability to play fast fiddle tunes on the autoharp is legendary. www.harperscraft.com