Bradley Ellis is a talented multi-instrumentalist from North Carolina whose playing style is eclectic and versatile. He is a master of the mountain dulcimer -- playing primarily a 4-equidistant chromatic instrument-- and also accomplished on baritone saxophone, piano, and guitar. He was the youngest ever National Mountain Dulcimer Champion in 2011.  Bradley is a skilled composer and arranger of music from many genres, including jazz, blues, bluegrass, gospel, and classical. He focuses is attention primarily on the technical side of playing, making sure every note rings crystal clear and the tone is crisp. Bradley is currently working on his second album, which will include all of the instruments he plays. Hear a sample here: https://on.soundcloud.com/XniC8

Erin Mae is a mountain dulcimer virtuosa who has taken an obscure American folk instrument, and with it has developed a high level of technical proficiency and musical expression. Erin has been playing for over twenty years and in that time has developed a unique and progressive style. Carrying the rhythm section with her signature percussive chop and flat-picking fiddle tunes with impressive dexterity; audiences nationwide show amazement as they watch her fingers dance over her dulcimer strings. One guitar player quipped, "Erin can do more with three strings than I can do with six."

Erin Mae received her first mountain dulcimer at the age of seven. Ten years later, in 2004, she won the prestigious National Mountain Dulcimer Championship; making her youngest winner of the award at the time. Erin went on to study classical piano at Sterling College in Sterling, KS before pursuing a degree in Commercial Music, with an emphasis in bluegrass and acoustic jazz, through South Plains College in Levelland, TX. She graduated in 2010, becoming the first mountain dulcimer player to complete the program; and began touring full-time as part of the duo Scenic Roots. Erin has participated as an instructor at children’s music camps; as well as various festivals, and providing private lessons.  

Erin Mae is a cancer survivor -- and played her mountain dulcimer through every chemotherapy treatment. Her music and story act as a beacon of light for those going through difficult times. You can hear that passion as Erin Mae culls from her instrument music which lifts the spirit and heals the soul.
Learn more about Erin Mae at www.ErinMaeMusic.com 

After years of playing piano and organ, Sue Carpenter first played a mountain dulcimer in 1981 and was immediately captivated by its simplicity and its fingerpicking possibilities. Within a year, she started playing diatonic and chromatic dulcimers with 4-equidistant strings, her instruments of choice for composing, arranging, and performing.

Her innovative fingerpicking style has won her many awards including 2005 National Mountain Dulcimer Champion at the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, KS.

As an instrumentalist, Sue is best known for her expressive style and exceptional technical ability. As a teacher, she is well known for her challenging, highly organized and intensive methods, nurturing patience, and energetic enthusiasm mixed with a healthy dose of fun.

Born and raised in Quakertown, PA, Sue likes to think that her love for the mountain dulcimer was rooted in the Pennsylvania Dutch Country even before she knew about dulcimers or their German zither heritage. After years of playing piano and organ, Sue finally felt “at home” when she picked up a dulcimer for the first time, knowing that this was the instrument she had been unconsciously searching for all her life.
Learn more about Sue at https://suecarpenter.net/ 

Cyntia Smith is a professional dulcimer player, singer, composer, music arranger and teacher. She has produced, with Ruth Barrett, five critically acclaimed studio  albums, plus most recently a debut solo release, Soul Tending.   Cyntia has been an instructor and performer at many festivals and venues including the Appalachian State University Dulcimer Workshop in Boone, NC., The Swannanoa Gathering in Asheville NC., The Great Black Swamp Dulcimer Festival in Limo OH, and the Winterfest of Acoustic Music in Irving, Texas. Cyntia and Ruth were invited to give a concert at the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics on the Cultural Heritage Stage.  The duo also helped found The Summer Solstice Dulcimer and Traditional Music Festival in southern California. Cyntia performed, toured, taught the dulcimer at festivals, and made albums with Ruth Barrett from 1979 to 2000.

Cyntia co-founded the Harvest Festival of Dulcimers and its sponsoring organization, the  Southern California Dulcimer Heritage. She served as the artistic director of the festival from 1995 to 2006.  

With master luthier Dale Emerson Foye, Cyntia co-created the Aeolus Dulcimer, a hybrid between the classical guitar and the mountain dulcimer. To this endeavor, Mr. Foye brought his expertise as a classical guitar maker and Cyntia added her requirements as a musician and her artistic aesthetic through the decorating of these instruments. She was Mr. Foye's expert assistant from 1980 to 2010 and became an accomplished inlay artist for those customers desiring something unique with their instruments. She also designed, carved, and inlaid custom sound hole designs into the sound boards of many Aeolus Dulcimers. Her abalone and Mother-of-Pearl inlay work also graced many of Mr. Foye's classical guitars.

In 1999, Cyntia  graduated from  Chapman University with a Bachelors of Music in Music Therapy. She has used the dulcimer in her music therapy work in many settings including with abused/neglected teenage girls, persons with Alzheimer's disease, and patients in a psychiatric partial hospitalization.

Cyntia received her Doctorate in World Mythological Studies with an emphasis in Depth Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute in 2011. Her dissertation, titled "Music, Myth, & Soul Tending," brought the ideas of Music Therapy into the conversation of depth psychology and the use of music to tend soul.

Since 2000, Cyntia has served as a board certified music therapist, and currently works as a program director in a non-profit fine arts program for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. She also enjoys giving private dulcimer lessons online or in studio when possible.  

Learn more about Cyntia at https://cyntiasmith.com/