Mick Doherty

Based in Portland, Oregon, Mick Doherty is known as a specialist in the hammer dulcimer.  As a solo performer and ensemble member he has performed from coast to coast and from Europe to Japan, and on one long strange trip in North Korea. 

Mick teaches hammer dulcimer lessons, and is also director of the Hammer Dulcimer Rendezvous, in Sandy, Oregon. (The Rendezvous is a an annual festival for hammer dulcimer players, and is a hoot.) He has composed music for film, video and theatre projects, and works as multi-instrumentalist, composer, voice actor and sound effects specialist with the Oregon Shadow Theatre.

In 1979 Mick began making his living as a musician, first as a busker, later as a concert stage and recording artist.  He busked from Washington, D.C. to Boston to Chicago to San Diego, and on one memorable tour from Paris to Munich. Concert and theatrical engagements have ranged from the Smithsonian Institution in D.C. to theaters and concert halls in Canada, not to mention lots of fun gigs in venues of all types including amphitheaters, convention centers, pre-schools, elementary schools, high schools, colleges, classrooms, auditoriums, barns, living rooms, dining rooms, nursing homes, hospitals, folk clubs, critter clubs, taverns, coffeehouses, dance halls, VFW Halls, Parrish halls and grange halls. 

Aside from “for hire” gigs, Mick has volunteered his services for non-profit, charitable and political events, both as musician and as MC, and has served on a number of not-for-profit boards and panels on matters related to the arts.