I was Connecticut State Troubadour for 2005 & 2006 and am an award-winning, internationally recognized mountain dulcimer player, singer, poet and songwriter whose performances weave together the best of traditional and contemporary folk music. I have found that the best way to play a musical instrument is to treat it as if were part of you and have been passionate about the dulcimer ever since I encountered one in West Virginia when I was 18 years old. My four years of studies and graduation as a Facilitator of Music Improvisation with cello master, David Darling, and Music for People reaffirm my belief that music is in each one of us and just waiting for the right time to emerge.
In August 2018 I released an album titled, Parallel Universe, which I co-produced with renowned Grammy winning cellist, David Darling. It is on the esteemed Hearts of Space Records label. This eclectic collection of instrumental music includes the instrumentation of cello, mt. and hammer dulcimers, hang drum, flute, piano, percussion, bass and a host of other instruments. As Jerry Rockwell states: The instrumentation and arrangements are so colorful and happy and hopeful — just the kind of music we need RIGHT NOW in our very broken world. In December 2018, it was awarded three silver medals from Global Music Awards. In 2019, a track on it titled, Walk in Beauty, won the NAMA Award for Song of the Year.
My music is a fresh weave of traditional and contemporary folk music rooted deeply in the folk tradition. Songs I have made independently and collaboratively have been aired in over twenty countries across the globe. Chasing Cloud Shadows has been described as “pure sunlight, a dazzling marriage of new and traditional folk music, jazz, country and bluegrass that makes for an hour of joyous listening.” A song I co-wrote with Joan Spear titled Out of Many We Are One, received the 2011 NAMA Award for Best Song/Single of the Year. Click Here to listen!
My newest album, Parallel Universe, is a testament to the joy that results from the collaborative process when artists are allowed to create and express themselves through the enigmatic power of music.
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