LOIS HORNBOSTEL
Lois Hornbostel, of Bryson City, NC, has been an inspiration to mountain dulcimer players for over two decades, and continues to explore and develop new music and playing techniques for the instrument. Her musical versatility and playing skills are presented in her Mel Bay Publications books, The Irish Dulcimer, Dulcimer Fiddle Tunes, Anthology for the Fretted Dulcimer, Dulcimer Duets, American Fiddle Tunes, and Cajun Favorites for the Mountain Dulcimer. Lois’ recordings include Dulcimer Jubilee, Dulcimer Enchantment, and Vive le Dulcimer!, a finalist for an INDIE award in the World Music category. She is a favorite performer at dulcimer and traditional music events across the country, known for the clarity of her teaching and the colorful music in her workshops. She stays young teaching dulcimer to schoolchildren as an artist-in-schools. Lois is the editor of www.dulcimersessions.com, a new internet ‘webzine’ from Mel Bay Publications that features articles and music for mountain and hammered dulcimer players. She has been Coordinator of Dulcimer Week since its inception, staffing the event and organizing the week’s curriculum, activities and schedule. www.loishornbostel.com

WALT MICHAEL
Walt Michael is considered to be a virtuoso of tremendous influence in the revival of the hammered dulcimer. His wide repertoire ranges from old-time southern Appalachian, to Celtic, to original compositions. Walt’s various musical incarnations, including Bottle Hill, Michael, McCreesh & Campbell and Walt Michael & Co. span almost 40 years and have taken him from the coal camps of Appalachia to the Closing Ceremonies of the 13th Olympic Winter Games. As a vocalist and multi-instrumentalist, he has recorded fourteen albums, two instructional videos on Homespun Tapes, and has appeared at the Lincoln and Kennedy Centers and toured internationally. His music has been heard on ABC-TV, NBC’s Tonight Show, Broadway, BBC, TNN, CBC and PBS. Walt has taught at numerous dulcimer events, including the Swannanoa Gathering, the Augusta Heritage Center and Common Ground Scotland. Walt is the Founder, Artistic and Executive Director of Common Ground on the Hill and the Artist in Residence at McDaniel College. www.waltmichael.com www.commongroundonthehill.org.

BILL TAYLOR
Bill has been a valuable presence on the mountain dulcimer scene for over fifteen years, when he first taught at the Mountain Dulcimer Week, when it was based in Boone, NC. Before that, for many years Bill performed at Dollywood and appeared on the Grand Ole Opry. A versatile and experienced musician, Bill’s music styles range from bluegrass and old-time to jazz, and are enriched by his expressive vocals. His teaching is inspired, organized and supportive. Bill is one of the most respected builders of quality mountain dulcimers, and his instruments can be found in the hands of many satisfied dulcimer players. During the school year, Bill teaches environmental science to sixth graders at the Eugene Huskey Environmental Center, where he also performs an “Introduction to Appalachian music” program playing dulcimer, banjo, guitar, mandolin, mouth bow and other instruments.

BILL TROXLER
Bill began teaching at the Gathering in 1994. He returns this year after teaching college courses in “How to Listen to Music” and “U.S. History as Heard through Blues, Jazz and Rock & Roll.” Hammered dulcimer players will recall Bill through the Performer’s Profile published in the Twentieth Anniversary issue of Dulcimer Players News, his series of articles about music theory published in DPN and his article on arranging techniques publish on Mel Bay’s internet site Dulcimer Sessions (www.dulcimersessions.com). Retired from the Maryland-based duo, Fulcrum Bridge and the presidency of Capitol College, Bill now manages an acoustic music concert series on Chincoteague Island, VA, teaches hammer dulcimer and produces recordings.

KEN KOLODNER
Ken Kolodner is perhaps our most experienced instructor, having taught hammered dulcimer during our Old-Time, Celtic and Dulcimer Weeks (19 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, with Helicon (with Chris Norman and Robin Bullock) and with fiddler Laura Risk, Ken has performed and taught extensively throughout North America and Europe for over 19 years. His 1999 appearance as soloist with a combined chorus (The Baltimore Choral Arts) and chamber orchestra from the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra was broadcast in an Emmy-nominated CBS-TV Christmas special. Known for his expressive and improvisational style, among his eight recordings, Ken’s first solo release in 1997, Walking Stones, hit the top of the World Music charts and was a top seller for BMG in their Classical/World Music category. Helicon’s 1999 recording, A Winter Solstice, won an INDIE award for Best Seasonal Recording. He has also been featured numerous times on radio, including nationally-broadcast concerts on NPR, German National Radio, CBC and the Voice of America, as well as on NPR’s Thistle and Shamrock and All Things Considered. www.kenkolodner.com

SUSAN TRUMP
Susan Trump has been winning fans with her singing, instrumental skill on the mountain dulcimer, guitar and banjo, and her clear, relaxed teaching style. She is a popular instructor and performer at such events as The Old Songs Festival, NY; Glen Rose and SAM Fest, TX; Appalachian State University, NC; Heartland/Heritage Dulcimer Camp, MS; The Buckeye Festival, OH; The Ozark Folk Center, AR; Kentucky Music Week and The Yellowbanks Festival, KY; and other festivals and dulcimer events nationwide. She has won awards in both banjo and mountain dulcimer competitions, and authored the books Classical Collections, and A Novice Level Chords and Fingering Book and instructional CD. She has also been published at dulcimersessions.com, and produced Volumes One and Two of the classic Masters of the Mountain Dulcimer series, featuring instrumental selections from many of the finest players in the country. She has four solo CDs to her credit, including her latest, Songs of Faith and Hope. Her latest project is Lessons in Your Living Room, a monthly subscription series of lessons which includes arrangements for novice, intermediate-plus, back-up chords, duet parts, introductions and endings, with TAB and instruction for all parts on CD. www.susantrump.com

CINDY RIBET
With a background steeped in traditional, bluegrass and gospel music, Cindy Ribet has been singing and performing most of her life. She has a lifetime of experience performing, recording, composing and teaching on piano, hammered dulcimer, fiddle, recorders and guitar. She spent ten years performing for elementary and middle schools demonstrating these, plus more obscure instruments. She has taught at many workshops and festivals, including the Upper Potomac Dulcimer festival, John C. Campbell Folk School, Winston-Salem Dulcimer Festival, and the first ever County Cork Dulcimer Festival in Ireland. Her effervescent enthusiam is evident and contagious when she teaches and plays. She appears on several other artists’ recordings as well as six of her own. She also maintains the North Carolina Hammered Dulcimer Players Email Newsletter, which informs recipients on a monthly basis of hammered dulcimer-related events taking place in North Carolina and surrounding areas. Cindy has also won awards not only for her hammered dulcimer playing but for her poetry, art, and gourd art and she has won awards for her doll-making on state, national and international levels. She also does graphic art design and duplication of CD covers, fliers and posters as well as websites for other musicians. www.cindyribet.com

JEFF HAMES
Jeff Hames is the 2006 National Mountain Dulcimer Champion and his original tune, “Music Room Rag” placed in the New Song Showcase at the Nationals. Jeff has been playing mountain dulcimer for twelve years, and for six of those, he studied with David Schnaufer at the Blair School of Music in Nashville, TN, who described Jeff’s playing with three words: “talent, touch & tone.” Jeff’s music was included in a project for National Geographic and the Mississippi Department of Education that was used as a teaching tool for schools in the state of Mississippi. He is the founder of the New/Young Dulcimer Players Forum that is hosted on his web site monthly. Jeff has also designed his forum to include schools with dulcimer programs. By using the forum, the school’s dulcimer students are able to discuss topics with dulcimer instructors and other players in the dulcimer community. Jeff is known for pushing the envelope and trying new things on the dulcimer. His workshops are technique-based, and he takes great satisfaction when someone learns a technique that makes their playing easier. www.jeffhames.com

DAN LANDRUM
Dan’s hammered dulcimer playing has taken him from street performing in Chattanooga, TN, to Olympic Ceremonies, presidential inaugurations, multiple festivals around the country and major stages in hundreds of cities from the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, to New York’s famed Madison Square Garden. Since 2003, he’s been a featured soloist in the live touring band for international recording star, Yanni. The Yanni Live tour is available as a CD/DVD and is currently airing around the nation as a PBS television special. In 2006, Dan and his wife, Angie, took over publication of the internationally distributed Dulcimer Players News magazine. In print since 1974, DPN is a full-color quarterly publication for dulcimer enthusiasts which includes a CD with each issue. Dan lives in Signal Mountain, TN, and does his best to balance a schedule of touring, teaching, writing and occasionally finding enough time to perform in the street outside Chattanooga’s famed Tennessee Aquarium. Dan will be assisted by 2007 National Hammered Dulcimer Champion Stephen Humphries.

LORINDA JONES
As a member of the Kentucky Arts on Tour Directory, Lorinda brings the roots of American music to her audiences through the music of the mountain dulcimer and folk harp. Lorinda has authored numerous books and recordings, and in addition, is a board certified music therapist. She teaches and performs at camps and festivals all over the United States, has 3 books published by Mel Bay Publications, and teaches private and group lessons on mountain dulcimer and folk harp. Lorinda has experienced a varied career in music, ranging from that of a band director, private and public school music instructor from preschool through college, to work as a music therapist. She continues to appreciate and discover her musical roots through the playing of Celtic and American folk music as a performer and recording artist.

RUTH SMITH
Ruth is known for bringing the softer side of the hammered dulcimer to life. Dirty Linen magazine said “Ruth Smith’s touch on the hammered dulcimer is absolutely magical, with exquisite phrasing, highlighting the range of the instrument, especially on her own pieces,” and Dulcimer Players News said she is “very sensitive to the nuances of the music, allowing each tune to breathe.” Ruth employs hands-on teaching techniques that place special emphasis on playing expressively. Her compositions and arrangements have been featured in Dulcimer Players News and on NPR’s All Things Considered, All Songs Considered, The Thistle & Shamrock, XM & Sirius satellite radio, Direct-TV and Dish Network, and Highlander Radio Network. A native North Carolinian and musician from a very young age, Ruth studied music education at the University of Illinois. She records and performs with her husband Steve, specializing in Celtic and Appalachian music. Their CD, An Appalachian Air was chosen in 2006 by XM Satellite Radio as “The Best Music This Week on XM” and is ranked in the top 50 best-selling Celtic folk CDs on CD Baby. www.steveandruth.com

DOUG & DARCY ORR
Doug and Darcy Orr have been performing music together for over 25 years, initially in Charlotte with their Celtic/Appalachian band, Maggie’s Fancy and during subsequent years at Warren Wilson College, where Doug served as president from 1991 to 2006. In 1992, he founded the Swannanoa Gathering, which has become one of the nation’s premier traditional music camps. Upon his retirement, Doug was recognized by the governor with North Carolina’s Order of the Long Leaf Pine, the state’s highest civilian honor. Both are vocalists, and Doug plays the guitar while Darcy performs on the mountain dulcimer and concertina. She is a previous blue ribbon award winner in the mountain dulcimer competition at the Fiddler’s Grove annual music festival. Doug is currently writing a book with Fiona Ritchie, host of NPR’s The Thistle & Shamrock, about the connection between the Scots/Scots-Irish and Appalachian music. Darcy, a watercolor painter, is the art editor. Doug helped launch The Thistle & Shamrock in 1981 at WFAE in Charlotte while serving as vice chancellor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.