Album Notes

Lorinda Jones

Performer, composer, teacher, band director, author, and certified music therapist – Lorinda Jones’s love of music has led to a tuneful life, indeed.

Nationally regarded as an American roots-music expert on the mountain dulcimer and folk harp, Lorinda’s own roots are in a South Central Kentucky musical family. She began performing on the piano at an early age, and soon progressed to other instruments including years of classical music study on the oboe.

But it was at a folk performance where Lorinda’s own music found its voice. Inspired by the experience, she’s dedicated her career to “where American music comes from,” which covers everything from the ancient Celtic lands to the 19th-century Appalachian mountains, from ragtime to contemporary folk music. Along the way, she’s become fluent in a wide range of folk instruments including the Irish tin whistle, recorder, autoharp, and guitar – and her expertise in the mountain dulcimer and the Irish harp have made her a much-sought-after teacher and performer at festivals and camps across the United States.

Lorinda has also produced numerous books and recordings, including a dulcimer tutorial accepted as a standard for learning the instrument.

When she’s not traveling the U.S., Lorinda performs as a member of the Kentucky Arts on Tour Directory. She is also a practicing certified music therapist, a director of the Heartland Harp Ensemble, a member of the Heartland Dulcimer Club, and appears as a solo performer or with ensembles ranging from classical to medieval-music consorts.