My heritage is Appalachian. Although I was born in Indiana, my family, back to the 17th century, were from Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, and some were already here in the U.S. (indigenous peoples).

My heritage is Appalachian. Although I was born in Indiana, my family, back to the 17th century, were from Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, and some were already here in the U.S. (indigenous peoples).

This heritage, as well as my Celtic DNA, inform my dulcimer music. Although I originally studied classical voice, and received my BA in Music, I felt that something was missing.

My experiences include vocal performance in operas and musicals, classical and jazz silver flute, bass guitar and vocals in a classic rock duo, Native American style flute in ensembles, then finding my way to folk music, which was the missing piece.

I received the gift of a beautiful dulcimer that kick-started my passion for this instrument. Composing all of my own tunes and songs for and with the mountain dulcimer, I share them on YouTube, and am in the process of recoding my first solo album, "Back to Blackberry Creek".

This instrument speaks to my child self, who spent many happy days at Grandma Hatfield's house in the holler of McCarr, Kentucky. There is great power in simplicity, and I find the dulcimer to represent this well. This humble instrument contains a great deal of history and music. It's my job to find it and weave it into being.