Mel Bay's Favorite Old-Time American Songs for Dulcimer
Mark Nelson is considered one of the nation's premier mountain dulcimer players. Winner of the 1979 National Mountain Dulcimer Championships in Winfield Kansas, he is equally at home playing soulful Celtic airs or lightning-fast fiddle tunes on numerous members of the dulcimer family, including the Swedish hummel, Appalachian dulcimer and Hungarian cittera. In addition, he is an accomplished multi-instrumentalist and composer who has recorded with musicians as diverse as Irish fiddle master Kevin Burke, steel pan virtuoso Andy Narel, and jazz vibraphonist Fred Raulston.  With a recording and touring career that encompasses some twenty years, ten recordings, three videos and numerous books, Mark remains active in both the dulcimer and new acoustic music worlds. He has performed at festivals, colleges, workshops, and concerts across the United States and Canada. Recent projects include a children's book and CD for Mel Bay Publications called You Can Teach Yourself to Make Music with Homemade Musical Instruments and Mel Bay's Complete Book of Celtic Music for Appalachian Dulcimer. His brand new CD has been released on the Wizmak label; Entitled Autumn, it is an evocative recording of original solos on dulcimer, hummel, guitar, MIDI guitar and acoustic and MIDI dulcimer. This fall marks the release of Mark's latest Mel Bay book and CD: Scottish Airs and Ballads for Appalachian Dulcimer.  Mark lives in Southern Oregon's beautiful Applegate Valley, where he spends his time maintaining a small digital recording studio, playing, and composing. Most of the time, he hangs out in the hammock and amuses the dogs, but last July 4th he marched in Ashland Oregon's Independence Day Parade, playing his electric dulcimer through a battery powered amplifier.