Don Pedi

Don Pedi started playing the dulcimer in 1968.
Self-taught, he plays the dulcimer in a unique style developed through decades of sharing tunes with a vast number of traditional musicians. Most notably, Old-Time fiddle players in Southern Appalachia.
Don plays fiddle tunes up to speed, including all the notes, with a fiddle shuffle feel and the dynamics
of the best fiddlers. This musical sensibility carries over into Don's approach to playing Old-Time songs and traditional mountain ballads.
Don won first place in the first contest he ever entered at the 1974 Fiddler's Grove Festival in Union Grove, NC. At Fiddler's grove, he won with such consistency that he was declared "Master Dulcimer Player" and removed from future competitions. Before retiring from competitions in 1984, don had won over forty first place ribbons, both as a solo performer and as a featured member of an Old-Time Band.
In August of 1989 Don was proud to receive the  "Most Outstanding Performer" Award at Asheville, North Carolina's Mountain Dance and Folk Festival, the oldest ongoing festival of its kind, in the country.
In 1996 Don was elected chairman of the Folk Heritage Committee of the Asheville area Chamber of Commerce. The Folk Heritage Committee oversees the Mountain Dance and Folk Festival (started in 1928) and the Shindig on the Green in Asheville, NC. Don has released thirteen recordings of his music and has been a guest artist on many others. He's authored five books of traditional music and released an instruction video on how to play the dulcimer.
A prolific artist, don has dozens of music related art prints and note cards in his catalog. He's been featured on national television and radio and appears in the motion pictures "The Songcatcher" and "The Journey of August King".
At present, Don continues to perform and lead workshops at various festivals and concert venues throughout the country. Since 1985 Don has been an on-air host on National Public Radio. His weekly radio show "Close to Home" features traditional and eclectic music from local hollers and around the world. The show airs and streams on NPR affiliate WNCW 88.7, Spindale, NC, and also on Athlone Community Radio in Athlone, Ireland.