Featured Performers
* Click on each performer's name or image for biographical information
2021 WORKSHOP LEADERS:
Laurie Alsobrook has had a full career in elementary education, and turned her attention to sharing the joy of playing the dulcimer at festivals, workshops, and retreats from Florida to the UK. What a perfect blending of her two passions – working with learners and playing the dulcimer!
Beginning in 2020, Laurie’s online instructional credits included the QuaranTUNE Dulcimer Festival (both 3.0 and 4.0), the 2020 NGFDA Virtual Fall Festival, Nonsuch Spring Fling, and Dutchland Dulcimer Gathering in both 2020 and 2021. She was also the co-director of “Dulcimers Do Digital,” the online version of the Stephen Foster Dulcimer Retreat.
Prior to the necessity for online festivals, Laurie has anchored the beginning instructional track at the Stephen Foster Dulcimer Retreat since 2013 and taught a week-long skills session for advancing beginner at Dulcimer U along with other workshop opportunities. At Dulcimer U, Laurie is known for her quirky evening jam sessions.
An avid jammer, Laurie hosts a weekly Friday afternoon Zoom-Jam and is a weekly song leader for another virtual jam session, Send in the Music. Laurie is known as an enthusiastic and engaging teacher and jam leader.
Carolyn Brodginski, CMP discovered the dulcimer at the ago of 19 when she heard Sally Rogers perform at a folk venue in Connecticut. An accomplished folk guitarist at the time, she just couldn't figure out what to do with this beautiful, sweet sounding instrument with so few strings. More than 30 years later, she found the CT Mountain Dulcimer Gathering, and has been playing ever since. She loves the many voices of the dulcimer, playing roots, blues, classical, ethnic music, lullabies, as well as the music of contemporary musicians. As a performer, songwriter, teacher, member of the Northeast Dulcimer Orchestra, and Certified Music Practitioner, she is passionate about "spreading the dulcimer Gospel," taking great joy in introducing this beautiful original American folk instrument to others.
Sam Edelston believes that dulcimers are among the world's coolest musical instruments, and is on a mission to make them as well-known to the general public as harps and ukuleles. He draws his musical inspiration from rock bands, symphony orchestras, modern a cappella, and anything else that crosses his path. His mountain dulcimer repertoire ranges from Gilbert & Sullivan to Sousa, African to Andrews Sisters, bossa nova to bluegrass, and especially all over the rock & roll spectrum. On acoustic and electric dulcimer, his music videos have garnered over 550,000 views and been watched in more than 190 countries. He has performed or taught at a variety of festivals and other venues around the northeast United States. and as far away as Kentucky, Minnesota, and Louisiana (with Colorado, Mississippi, and California coming in 2020). Sam also is chair of the Nutmeg Dulcimer Festival, which is held in Milford, Connecticut, USA, every October.
George Haggerty is an accomplished dulcimer builder, teacher, and player. His enthusiasm for this versatile instrument is apparent in his workshops which build a solid foundation for even the most inexperienced player. His love of old-time music and his creative nature bring out feeling and expression in his music whether it is in his workshops, recordings or performances. George has taught students from first grade to senior citizens. He owns and operates a music shop, Folk Craft Music, in Jacksonville, CT, where he sells hand crafted dulcimers and other related musical items. His CDs, Just Friends One More Time and The Best of Just Friends, a compilation of George's 2 cassettes Just Friends and Just Friends Again, are dulcimer instrumentals. He is director of his annual festival in Vermont, August Dulcimer Daze, now in its 30th year.
Lori Keddell has been playing the dulcimer since 1985, and has taught classes and workshops for both children and adults in building and playing cardboard dulcimers. She was instrumental in organizing the first Mountain Dulcimer Music Fest in 1989 and has been the coordinator since 1991. She was on the staff of the Cranberry Dulcimer and Autoharp Gathering from 1987 to 2016 and has been an instructor at August Dulcimer Daze since its first year in 1992 as well as at numerous festivals in New York, Vermont, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Connecticut. With George Haggerty, she taught a week-long Dulcimer Elderhostel class in Vermont for many years. She has published 4 books of arrangements for the mountain dulcimer with accompanying CDs, including her newest book, "A Mountain Dulcimer Sampler - 50 Songs in DAD for Beginning and Novice Players." She has also contributed many pieces of music to the monthly newsletter of the Dulcimer Association of Albany.
Ellen Pratt has been playing the dulcimer since 1999. She began writing her own music in 2004 and has performed at numerous open mics and festivals in the northeast and southeast. She recently began writing ensemble pieces for dulcimer groups and published her first book of tab of ensemble arrangements in August 2019. She is currently working on her seventh book of ensemble arrangements. Ellen's style of playing is a mix of traditional and contemporary. She enjoys the hard, fast strumming of old-time music and jam tunes with both the dulcimer and banjo but also enjoys the quieter, more contemporary chord melody style using finger picking. Ellen is an elementary school teacher. She has taught dulcimer, banjo, and crankie classes at the Mountain Dulcimer Music Festival in NY, the Pocono Dulcimer Festival in PA, the Nutmeg Dulcimer Festival in CT, and she co-coordinates and is an instructor at the Vermont August Dulcimer Daze festival with George and Mary Haggerty. Ellen was a member of the Northeast Dulcimer Orchestra in Connecticut for several years and is a current member and ensemble book contributor for the First National Dulcimer Orchestra.
Carol Walker’s formal training includes a degree in Music Education, with majors in piano, harp, and voice. For 32 years Carol was a high school choral teacher in northern NJ, with an active and successful program. In 2003 she was honored to receive the NJ Governor’s Teacher of the Year Award, and in 2008 retired after deciding it was time to let someone else have all the fun!
She branched out from her formal classical training after purchasing her first mountain dulcimer in 1999, and a folk harp in 2001. It wasn’t long before she found a way to combine her love of teaching with her new direction in folk music, and has been a popular workshop leader at festivals across the United States. In 2014 she ventured for the first time to the famous Winfield Dulcimer Championship where her performance placed her as one of the Top Five Finalists. A second trip in 2016 resulted in another placement in the Top Five.
Carol has made two trips to the Isle of Man where she has done extensive research into traditional Manx music, producing two books of arrangements for mountain dulcimer (Tailless Tunes and Tailless Tunes 2) and a CD (Alas! The Horse is Gone), all exclusively devoted to this delightful Celtic-flavored music. Carol has also written three other instructional dulcimer books (DNA* Dulcimer Ditties), each with accompanying CDs. In 2015, Carol released her first instructional DVD (Exploring the Beauty of the Appalachian Dulcimer), produced by Happy Traum of Homespun Tapes. Her long-awaited book of classical melodies appeared in 2017: Classical Dulcimer - Cwassical Favowites awwanged by Cawol Walker.
Since 2002 Carol has been performing with Wayfarers & Company, a Pennsylvania-based eclectic, old-time gospel folk group for which she adds vocals and also plays dulcimer, upright bass, piano, melodica, and harp.
Norm Williams is co-founder of The Pocono Dulcimer Club, a coordinator of the Pocono DulcimerFest to be held in April in East Stroudsburg, PA, and co-founder of the Maiden Creek Old Time Music Festival. Norm began teaching in 2002 and has been faculty/performer at festivals throughout the Northeast since (including the Pocono DulcimerFest; DAA Mountain Dulcimer Music Fest, August Dulcimer Daze, Music by the Bay, French Creek Music Retreat, Cranberry Dulcimer Gathering, Maiden Creek Old Time Music Festival, MadCap Music Camps, Ashokan Music Camps & Augusta Heritage Center, WV). He also has several individual students. In addition to dulcimer he plays guitar, ukulele and banjo. Norm is a lover of Old Time music and performs solo and with the bands Wayfarers & Company, Tom & Betty Druckenmiller, and the Dulcimer Boys with Cliff Cole & Rob Yoder. Norm is currently semi-retired and resides with his wife, Erin, in Breinigsville, PA.
Laurie Alsobrook has had a full career in elementary education, and turned her attention to sharing the joy of playing the dulcimer at festivals, workshops, and retreats from Florida to the UK. What a perfect blending of her two passions – working with learners and playing the dulcimer!
Beginning in 2020, Laurie’s online instructional credits included the QuaranTUNE Dulcimer Festival (both 3.0 and 4.0), the 2020 NGFDA Virtual Fall Festival, Nonsuch Spring Fling, and Dutchland Dulcimer Gathering in both 2020 and 2021. She was also the co-director of “Dulcimers Do Digital,” the online version of the Stephen Foster Dulcimer Retreat.
Prior to the necessity for online festivals, Laurie has anchored the beginning instructional track at the Stephen Foster Dulcimer Retreat since 2013 and taught a week-long skills session for advancing beginner at Dulcimer U along with other workshop opportunities. At Dulcimer U, Laurie is known for her quirky evening jam sessions.
An avid jammer, Laurie hosts a weekly Friday afternoon Zoom-Jam and is a weekly song leader for another virtual jam session, Send in the Music. Laurie is known as an enthusiastic and engaging teacher and jam leader.
Carolyn Brodginski, CMP discovered the dulcimer at the ago of 19 when she heard Sally Rogers perform at a folk venue in Connecticut. An accomplished folk guitarist at the time, she just couldn't figure out what to do with this beautiful, sweet sounding instrument with so few strings. More than 30 years later, she found the CT Mountain Dulcimer Gathering, and has been playing ever since. She loves the many voices of the dulcimer, playing roots, blues, classical, ethnic music, lullabies, as well as the music of contemporary musicians. As a performer, songwriter, teacher, member of the Northeast Dulcimer Orchestra, and Certified Music Practitioner, she is passionate about "spreading the dulcimer Gospel," taking great joy in introducing this beautiful original American folk instrument to others.
Sam Edelston believes that dulcimers are among the world's coolest musical instruments, and is on a mission to make them as well-known to the general public as harps and ukuleles. He draws his musical inspiration from rock bands, symphony orchestras, modern a cappella, and anything else that crosses his path. His mountain dulcimer repertoire ranges from Gilbert & Sullivan to Sousa, African to Andrews Sisters, bossa nova to bluegrass, and especially all over the rock & roll spectrum. On acoustic and electric dulcimer, his music videos have garnered over 550,000 views and been watched in more than 190 countries. He has performed or taught at a variety of festivals and other venues around the northeast United States. and as far away as Kentucky, Minnesota, and Louisiana (with Colorado, Mississippi, and California coming in 2020). Sam also is chair of the Nutmeg Dulcimer Festival, which is held in Milford, Connecticut, USA, every October.
George Haggerty is an accomplished dulcimer builder, teacher, and player. His enthusiasm for this versatile instrument is apparent in his workshops which build a solid foundation for even the most inexperienced player. His love of old-time music and his creative nature bring out feeling and expression in his music whether it is in his workshops, recordings or performances. George has taught students from first grade to senior citizens. He owns and operates a music shop, Folk Craft Music, in Jacksonville, CT, where he sells hand crafted dulcimers and other related musical items. His CDs, Just Friends One More Time and The Best of Just Friends, a compilation of George's 2 cassettes Just Friends and Just Friends Again, are dulcimer instrumentals. He is director of his annual festival in Vermont, August Dulcimer Daze, now in its 30th year.
Lori Keddell has been playing the dulcimer since 1985, and has taught classes and workshops for both children and adults in building and playing cardboard dulcimers. She was instrumental in organizing the first Mountain Dulcimer Music Fest in 1989 and has been the coordinator since 1991. She was on the staff of the Cranberry Dulcimer and Autoharp Gathering from 1987 to 2016 and has been an instructor at August Dulcimer Daze since its first year in 1992 as well as at numerous festivals in New York, Vermont, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Connecticut. With George Haggerty, she taught a week-long Dulcimer Elderhostel class in Vermont for many years. She has published 4 books of arrangements for the mountain dulcimer with accompanying CDs, including her newest book, "A Mountain Dulcimer Sampler - 50 Songs in DAD for Beginning and Novice Players." She has also contributed many pieces of music to the monthly newsletter of the Dulcimer Association of Albany.
Ellen Pratt has been playing the dulcimer since 1999. She began writing her own music in 2004 and has performed at numerous open mics and festivals in the northeast and southeast. She recently began writing ensemble pieces for dulcimer groups and published her first book of tab of ensemble arrangements in August 2019. She is currently working on her seventh book of ensemble arrangements. Ellen's style of playing is a mix of traditional and contemporary. She enjoys the hard, fast strumming of old-time music and jam tunes with both the dulcimer and banjo but also enjoys the quieter, more contemporary chord melody style using finger picking. Ellen is an elementary school teacher. She has taught dulcimer, banjo, and crankie classes at the Mountain Dulcimer Music Festival in NY, the Pocono Dulcimer Festival in PA, the Nutmeg Dulcimer Festival in CT, and she co-coordinates and is an instructor at the Vermont August Dulcimer Daze festival with George and Mary Haggerty. Ellen was a member of the Northeast Dulcimer Orchestra in Connecticut for several years and is a current member and ensemble book contributor for the First National Dulcimer Orchestra.
Carol Walker’s formal training includes a degree in Music Education, with majors in piano, harp, and voice. For 32 years Carol was a high school choral teacher in northern NJ, with an active and successful program. In 2003 she was honored to receive the NJ Governor’s Teacher of the Year Award, and in 2008 retired after deciding it was time to let someone else have all the fun!
She branched out from her formal classical training after purchasing her first mountain dulcimer in 1999, and a folk harp in 2001. It wasn’t long before she found a way to combine her love of teaching with her new direction in folk music, and has been a popular workshop leader at festivals across the United States. In 2014 she ventured for the first time to the famous Winfield Dulcimer Championship where her performance placed her as one of the Top Five Finalists. A second trip in 2016 resulted in another placement in the Top Five.
Carol has made two trips to the Isle of Man where she has done extensive research into traditional Manx music, producing two books of arrangements for mountain dulcimer (Tailless Tunes and Tailless Tunes 2) and a CD (Alas! The Horse is Gone), all exclusively devoted to this delightful Celtic-flavored music. Carol has also written three other instructional dulcimer books (DNA* Dulcimer Ditties), each with accompanying CDs. In 2015, Carol released her first instructional DVD (Exploring the Beauty of the Appalachian Dulcimer), produced by Happy Traum of Homespun Tapes. Her long-awaited book of classical melodies appeared in 2017: Classical Dulcimer - Cwassical Favowites awwanged by Cawol Walker.
Since 2002 Carol has been performing with Wayfarers & Company, a Pennsylvania-based eclectic, old-time gospel folk group for which she adds vocals and also plays dulcimer, upright bass, piano, melodica, and harp.
Norm Williams is co-founder of The Pocono Dulcimer Club, a coordinator of the Pocono DulcimerFest to be held in April in East Stroudsburg, PA, and co-founder of the Maiden Creek Old Time Music Festival. Norm began teaching in 2002 and has been faculty/performer at festivals throughout the Northeast since (including the Pocono DulcimerFest; DAA Mountain Dulcimer Music Fest, August Dulcimer Daze, Music by the Bay, French Creek Music Retreat, Cranberry Dulcimer Gathering, Maiden Creek Old Time Music Festival, MadCap Music Camps, Ashokan Music Camps & Augusta Heritage Center, WV). He also has several individual students. In addition to dulcimer he plays guitar, ukulele and banjo. Norm is a lover of Old Time music and performs solo and with the bands Wayfarers & Company, Tom & Betty Druckenmiller, and the Dulcimer Boys with Cliff Cole & Rob Yoder. Norm is currently semi-retired and resides with his wife, Erin, in Breinigsville, PA.
