2025 Featured Performers
* Click on each performer's name or image for biographical information
2025 WORKSHOP LEADERS:
Melanie Johnston
Melanie Johnston has been playing mountain dulcimer since 2001. While living in Connecticut, she and her husband Mack co-founded the Northeast Dulcimer Orchestra and the Connecticut Mountain Dulcimer Gathering. Since moving to Asheville, North Carolina in 2017, they have continued extensive teaching and performing, founding the Black Bear Dulcimer Gathering and the Asheville Dulcimer Orchestra. Along with Kirk and Judy House, they also co-lead the First National Dulcimer Orchestra (FNDO). Melanie and Mack perform together on dulcimer, guitar, and mandolin.
Melanie is a graduate of the Dulcimer University / Western Carolina University certification program for teaching mountain dulcimer. She teaches private students, classes, and festival workshops throughout New England, New York, and North Carolina. She is also the author of TablEdit for Mountain Dulcimer Arrangers, available through Folkcraft Instruments.
Sandy Lafleur
Known for her fun-loving and relaxed teaching style, Sandy Lafleur from southern New Hampshire has been playing the dulcimer for more than 25 years. She teaches out of her home and at festivals around New England.
Also a contra dance caller, Sandy enjoys a wide variety of music, much of it played for contra dancing. She encourages students to express themselves musically while learning new tunes and having fun. Her arrangements are accessible and highlight the natural beauty of the Appalachian mountain dulcimer.
Bonnie Leigh
www.bonnieleigh.com
Bonnie Leigh, CMP — Certified Music Practitioner, performer/teacher, and singer-songwriter — performs and teaches her gentle style of mountain dulcimer across the Northeast. She has taught at numerous dulcimer festivals and has been giving lessons, teaching workshops, and performing since 1991.
Bonnie has performed at historical villages, libraries, coffeehouses, clubs, and nursing homes. As a Music Practitioner, she played dulcimer and small harp at the bedside of hospice patients.
Her original songs about life and family appear on three recordings and accompanying dulcimer songbooks. Bonnie has also written three poetry books and a booklet titled From My Heart to Yours – Thoughts and Experiences of a Music Practitioner Intern. She co-coordinates the New England Dulcimer Days festival in Vermont with Ellen Pratt.
Contact: [email protected]
Ellen Pratt
ellenprattdulcimer.com
Ellen Pratt has been playing dulcimer for more than twenty-five years and began writing her own music in 2004. She has performed at open mics and taught at festivals throughout the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic region, and online festivals. Her playing blends traditional and contemporary styles.
Since 2018 she has composed and arranged multi-part pieces for dulcimer ensembles. Ellen played with the Northeast Dulcimer Orchestra and now serves as a composer and host for the First National Dulcimer Orchestra’s Tuesday night online rehearsals. She writes and conducts music for FNDO concerts at festivals across the country.
Ellen has published thirteen dulcimer books with more in development. She also creates glass dulcimer jewelry and metal-stamped pieces for her festival vending table.
During the school year, Ellen plays dulcimer and banjo in the elementary school where she teaches second grade. She has guided students and families in building cardboard dulcimers and teaches after-school dulcimer programs. Ellen co-coordinates New England Dulcimer Days with Bonnie Leigh.
Contact: [email protected]
Carol Walker
www.MusicLadyCarol.com
Carol Walker is known for her expressive style of playing the traditional Appalachian mountain dulcimer and often hears the comment, “I never knew a dulcimer could sound like that!”
Originally from Colorado, Carol has lived in the Northeast since 1963. She holds a degree in Music Education with majors in piano, harp, and voice. For 32 years she served as a high school choral director in northern New Jersey and was named New Jersey Governor’s Teacher of the Year in 2003.
After retiring in 2008, Carol launched a second career teaching and performing on the mountain dulcimer, an instrument she first picked up in 1999. She now leads workshops at festivals across the United States and has also taught at several online festivals.
Carol was a Top Five Finalist in the National Mountain Dulcimer Contest in Winfield, Kansas in both 2014 and 2016. She has published seven dulcimer arrangement books used throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia. Her work includes Americana favorites, hymns, Manx tunes, and classical repertoire. She has also released two CDs and an instructional DVD produced by Homespun Tapes.
Norm Williams
www.awayfarer-normw.com
Norm Williams is co-founder of the Pocono Dulcimer Club and Pocono DulcimerFest in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, and a co-founder of the Maiden Creek Old Time Music Festival.
He began teaching dulcimer in 2002 and has served as a performer and instructor at festivals throughout the Northeast, including the DAA Mountain Dulcimer Music Fest, August Dulcimer Days, French Creek Music Retreat, Maiden Creek Old Time Music Festival, and Ashokan Music & Dance Camps.
Norm offers private instruction in person and via Zoom. In addition to mountain dulcimer, he plays guitar, ukulele, and banjo.
He performs solo and with several groups including Wayfarers & Company, Tom and Betty Druckenmiller, and the Dulcimer Boys with Cliff Cole and Rob Yoder. Norm has several recordings and is also a radio host at WDIY 88.1 FM in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. He currently lives with his wife Erin in Emmaus, Pennsylvania.
Nina Zanetti
www.ninazanetti.com
Nina Zanetti is the 2008 National Mountain Dulcimer Champion. Her musical background includes choral music, violin, viola, piano, and shape-note singing.
She performs regularly at churches, historic sites, and community events and is a popular dulcimer instructor. Nina has taught workshops across the country, including programs at Western Carolina University, the John C. Campbell Folk School, and Kentucky Music Week, as well as numerous online festivals.
Nina specializes in the “softer side” of the dulcimer. She has produced several books of solo arrangements and co-authored the Tunes for Two or More duet and ensemble series with Beth Lassi.
Her interest in American folk hymns appears in her book Glories Immortal: A Collection of Hymns from America’s Past and in the Shaker music collection The Humble Heart (with Bill Collins). Her love of early music is featured in her book Heart’s Ease.
Nina appears on Masters of the Mountain Dulcimer Play Music for Christmas and recorded The Sum of the Parts with Bill Collins, along with her solo recording Beside Still Waters. Her newest album, Winter’s Light, and companion book Winter Variations celebrate the quiet beauty of winter.
Melanie Johnston
Melanie Johnston has been playing mountain dulcimer since 2001. While living in Connecticut, she and her husband Mack co-founded the Northeast Dulcimer Orchestra and the Connecticut Mountain Dulcimer Gathering. Since moving to Asheville, North Carolina in 2017, they have continued extensive teaching and performing, founding the Black Bear Dulcimer Gathering and the Asheville Dulcimer Orchestra. Along with Kirk and Judy House, they also co-lead the First National Dulcimer Orchestra (FNDO). Melanie and Mack perform together on dulcimer, guitar, and mandolin.
Melanie is a graduate of the Dulcimer University / Western Carolina University certification program for teaching mountain dulcimer. She teaches private students, classes, and festival workshops throughout New England, New York, and North Carolina. She is also the author of TablEdit for Mountain Dulcimer Arrangers, available through Folkcraft Instruments.
Sandy Lafleur
Known for her fun-loving and relaxed teaching style, Sandy Lafleur from southern New Hampshire has been playing the dulcimer for more than 25 years. She teaches out of her home and at festivals around New England.
Also a contra dance caller, Sandy enjoys a wide variety of music, much of it played for contra dancing. She encourages students to express themselves musically while learning new tunes and having fun. Her arrangements are accessible and highlight the natural beauty of the Appalachian mountain dulcimer.
Bonnie Leigh
www.bonnieleigh.com
Bonnie Leigh, CMP — Certified Music Practitioner, performer/teacher, and singer-songwriter — performs and teaches her gentle style of mountain dulcimer across the Northeast. She has taught at numerous dulcimer festivals and has been giving lessons, teaching workshops, and performing since 1991.
Bonnie has performed at historical villages, libraries, coffeehouses, clubs, and nursing homes. As a Music Practitioner, she played dulcimer and small harp at the bedside of hospice patients.
Her original songs about life and family appear on three recordings and accompanying dulcimer songbooks. Bonnie has also written three poetry books and a booklet titled From My Heart to Yours – Thoughts and Experiences of a Music Practitioner Intern. She co-coordinates the New England Dulcimer Days festival in Vermont with Ellen Pratt.
Contact: [email protected]
Ellen Pratt
ellenprattdulcimer.com
Ellen Pratt has been playing dulcimer for more than twenty-five years and began writing her own music in 2004. She has performed at open mics and taught at festivals throughout the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic region, and online festivals. Her playing blends traditional and contemporary styles.
Since 2018 she has composed and arranged multi-part pieces for dulcimer ensembles. Ellen played with the Northeast Dulcimer Orchestra and now serves as a composer and host for the First National Dulcimer Orchestra’s Tuesday night online rehearsals. She writes and conducts music for FNDO concerts at festivals across the country.
Ellen has published thirteen dulcimer books with more in development. She also creates glass dulcimer jewelry and metal-stamped pieces for her festival vending table.
During the school year, Ellen plays dulcimer and banjo in the elementary school where she teaches second grade. She has guided students and families in building cardboard dulcimers and teaches after-school dulcimer programs. Ellen co-coordinates New England Dulcimer Days with Bonnie Leigh.
Contact: [email protected]
Carol Walker
www.MusicLadyCarol.com
Carol Walker is known for her expressive style of playing the traditional Appalachian mountain dulcimer and often hears the comment, “I never knew a dulcimer could sound like that!”
Originally from Colorado, Carol has lived in the Northeast since 1963. She holds a degree in Music Education with majors in piano, harp, and voice. For 32 years she served as a high school choral director in northern New Jersey and was named New Jersey Governor’s Teacher of the Year in 2003.
After retiring in 2008, Carol launched a second career teaching and performing on the mountain dulcimer, an instrument she first picked up in 1999. She now leads workshops at festivals across the United States and has also taught at several online festivals.
Carol was a Top Five Finalist in the National Mountain Dulcimer Contest in Winfield, Kansas in both 2014 and 2016. She has published seven dulcimer arrangement books used throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia. Her work includes Americana favorites, hymns, Manx tunes, and classical repertoire. She has also released two CDs and an instructional DVD produced by Homespun Tapes.
Norm Williams
www.awayfarer-normw.com
Norm Williams is co-founder of the Pocono Dulcimer Club and Pocono DulcimerFest in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, and a co-founder of the Maiden Creek Old Time Music Festival.
He began teaching dulcimer in 2002 and has served as a performer and instructor at festivals throughout the Northeast, including the DAA Mountain Dulcimer Music Fest, August Dulcimer Days, French Creek Music Retreat, Maiden Creek Old Time Music Festival, and Ashokan Music & Dance Camps.
Norm offers private instruction in person and via Zoom. In addition to mountain dulcimer, he plays guitar, ukulele, and banjo.
He performs solo and with several groups including Wayfarers & Company, Tom and Betty Druckenmiller, and the Dulcimer Boys with Cliff Cole and Rob Yoder. Norm has several recordings and is also a radio host at WDIY 88.1 FM in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. He currently lives with his wife Erin in Emmaus, Pennsylvania.
Nina Zanetti
www.ninazanetti.com
Nina Zanetti is the 2008 National Mountain Dulcimer Champion. Her musical background includes choral music, violin, viola, piano, and shape-note singing.
She performs regularly at churches, historic sites, and community events and is a popular dulcimer instructor. Nina has taught workshops across the country, including programs at Western Carolina University, the John C. Campbell Folk School, and Kentucky Music Week, as well as numerous online festivals.
Nina specializes in the “softer side” of the dulcimer. She has produced several books of solo arrangements and co-authored the Tunes for Two or More duet and ensemble series with Beth Lassi.
Her interest in American folk hymns appears in her book Glories Immortal: A Collection of Hymns from America’s Past and in the Shaker music collection The Humble Heart (with Bill Collins). Her love of early music is featured in her book Heart’s Ease.
Nina appears on Masters of the Mountain Dulcimer Play Music for Christmas and recorded The Sum of the Parts with Bill Collins, along with her solo recording Beside Still Waters. Her newest album, Winter’s Light, and companion book Winter Variations celebrate the quiet beauty of winter.