Ellen has been playing dulcimer for twenty-one years. She began writing her own music in 2004 and has performed at numerous open mics and taught at festivals throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states. Ellen’s style of playing is a mix of traditional and contemporary. She enjoys the hard, fast strumming of old-time music and jam tunes with both the dulcimer and banjo but also enjoys the quieter, more contemporary chord melody style with fingerpicking on dulcimer. Recently, she has been arranging and composing multipart pieces for ensembles. She currently has three books of ensemble music.

Ellen plays dulcimer and banjo for students in the elementary school where she teaches second grade. She has worked with students and their families to build cardboard dulcimers so that students could learn to play them.

Besides music, Ellen has many artistic endeavors that fill her time. She builds Crankies -- old fashioned “moving pictures” made from cloth or paper that are hand-cranked through a wooden box. Ellen also works with dichroic glass making dulcimer (and non-dulcimer) jewelry, hand carved/stamped cards, anondized aluminum earrings, beaded jewelry, felt and jute ornaments, dyed silk scarves, and many other creations.
Ellen played with the Northeast Dulcimer Orchestra in Connecticut for several years. She also co-coordinates Vermont‘s August Dulcimer Daze festival with George and Mary Haggerty.

If you would like to contact Ellen, she is available here or at [email protected]