Matthew Abelson is an American

hammered dulcimer The hammered dulcimer (also called the hammer dulcimer) is a percussion-string instrument which consists of String (music), strings typically stretched over a trapezoidal resonant sound board (music), sound board. The hammered dulcimer is set bef ...

player. Originally from

Princeton, New Jersey The Municipality of Princeton is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton, New Jersey, Borough of Princeton and Pri ...

, he lives in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. Abelson performs in a variety of styles from classic

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

tunes to Folk-Rock. His audiences have included President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

, Vice President

Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American former politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. He previously served as ...

, author Anne Rice and others,Matthew Abelson
/ref> and he has played over 1,000 shows throughout the continental

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. Abelson has presented workshops on aspects of being a performing musician and on the history of the dulcimer at the

Starwood Festival The Starwood Festival is a seven-day New Age Modern paganism, neopagan and world music festival. It takes place every July in the United States. The Starwood Festival is a camping event which holds workshops on a variety of subjects. There are ...

, Sirius Rising,Witchvox Article
/ref> Wellspring Gathering, and other events in the festival circuit. He has released three full-length CDs on his own label, Flying Dulcimer Recordings. Abelson is now performing, recording, and teaching full-time. He appears extensively at colleges, universities, major festivals and coffee houses throughout the Mid-Atlantic region, Michigan and his home state of

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. In May 1999, Abelson took first place at the Mid-East Regional Hammered Dulcimer Competition.

Discography

*''The Flying Dulcimer'' (Flying Dulcimer Productions) * 1997 - ''From Here To There'' (Flying Dulcimer Productions) * 2001 - ''Perspective'' (with Sam Bush, Vassar Clements, and others) (Flying Dulcimer Productions)

Notes

References

*. *. *. American hammered dulcimer players Musicians from Princeton, New Jersey Living people Year of birth missing (living people) {{US-musician-stub