QDF Irish Concert
Sunday, March 15th • 6:30pm EDT / 5:30pm CDT / 4:30 pm MDT / 3:30 pm PDT
Don't miss this unique opportunity to experience the magic of Irish music from the comfort of your own home. Join us for an extraordinary evening of traditional music performed by world-class musicians and connect with others, sharing in the joy and camaraderie of this beloved community.
IMPORTANT: When you checkout, download your ticket immediately from your order confirmation page.
FREE BOOK OF MUSIC
Every ticket comes with a book of music. This collection is new for 2026. It contains a mix of MD tablature and standard notation donated by this years performers, plus a few more great standards donated in years past.
For a list of what’s included, click here.
Also Included:
30% OFF coupon for Winter Fest shirts!
Meet the Performers
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![Randy Clepper]()
Randy Clepper & John Sherman
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Molly McCormack
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Timothy Seaman
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Joe Collins
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Ilace Mears
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Stephen Seifert
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Katie Moritz
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Jessica Comeau
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Mark Alan Wade
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Steve and Ruth Smith
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Program
Performers Listed in Concert Order
Molly McCormack
Molly McCormack is a folk musician from Louisville, Kentucky. She began her dulcimer journey in 1989 after hearing the mountain dulcimer at a local craft fair. Soon after, she found the dulcimer community in Louisville, and the rest, they say, is history.
Molly's repertoire spans the range from traditional folk music, jazz, and blues, to original tunes. Her performances include both instrumental and vocal selections. Molly performs solo and teaches at festivals around the country. She also performs in Louisville with The Blind Dog String Band and The Upbeats Jazz Combo.
Timothy Seaman
Timothy Seaman has lived in Williamsburg, Virginia since he arrived at the College of William & Mary to study English 55 years ago; but he's a proud native of West Virginia and loves the mountains! His hammered dulcimer approach is evocative of meaningful narratives, complex adventures, and distinct themes -- offset by a conscious simplicity when he's playing mountain dulcimer.
Tim is actually a Scots-Irish American, so his many Irish selections on hammered dulcimer, penny whistle, and bamboo flute have a certain 'Ulster-ish' dramatic flair, as you can sense in his albums such as Celtic Airs, Wayfaring Stranger, and Virginia Wildlife. His love of lyricism, harmony, beauty, and profound emotion come through especially fully in his Irish arrangements!
Joe Collins
Joe Collins has been playing the mountain dulcimer since 1978. He started with hymns and folk music, but in the 1990s he fell in love with Celtic music and began focusing a lot of energy on it with the mountain dulcimer. Since that time, he has produced three books of Celtic tablature – Simply Celtic, Volumes 1 & 2 and Irish Charms. He has developed many Celtic repertoire workshops and workshops on techniques for playing Celtic music that he has taught across the country and in QDF. Multiple Celtic tunes appear in five of his six CDs. Many have benefitted from scores of Celtic tunes available in his monthly free tabs.
Ilace Mears
In 1737, the last of Ilace's Irish-born ancestors set sail from County Donegal for adventures in the New World. There's no documentation of a hammered dulcimer on that voyage, but she likes to think there might have been one. There's definitely a genetic predilection toward fine Irish tunes, poetry, and potatoes - and no snakes.
Ilace is joyfully celebrating 20 years of adventures in the dulcimer world this summer and the 10th anniversary of her National Hammered Dulcimer Championship. As a resident of Southwest Missouri (Branson/Springfield), she enjoys entertaining insects and humans at the Butterfly Palace in Branson as well as teaching and performing here and there. Irish tunes are well-represented in her recordings and arrangements, available at ilacemears.com.
Stephen Seifert
Stephen Seifert's teaching and playing has made him a favorite with dulcimer players all over the country since 1991. In that time, he's been a featured performer at hundreds of dulcimer festivals and other music events including Kentucky Music Week in Bardstown, KY; Black Mountain Music Festival in Black Mountain, NC; Augusta Heritage Center in Elkins, WV; John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, NC; Ozark Folk Center in Mountain View, AR; Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, KS; Nonsuch in England, and the Tono American Music Festival, in Tono, Japan.
Katie Moritz
Katie Moritz (Healy) has long honored her Irish heritage through music. Raised on the sounds of traditional Irish melodies, the Celtic lilt remains woven into her playing. A lifelong musician, her journey into traditional music began as a high school student, when she picked up a penny whistle at a gift shop in Donegal, Ireland. That simple purchase sparked a lifelong devotion to traditional music. Over time, her passion led her to the hammered dulcimer, an instrument that, as she jokes, her husband and dogs tolerated much better than the whistle.
Katie has since traveled across the United States and abroad, performing and teaching at festivals, concerts, and workshops. She is a National Hammered Dulcimer Champion, and a seven-time recipient of Folk Arts grants from the Illinois Arts Council, awarded in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts.
Jessica Comeau
Jessica Comeau is a native of Pensacola, Florida, and has been playing the mountain dulcimer since 2003. As a lover of music and literature, Jessica Comeau is passionate about the ability of music to nurture hope and affirm the goodness and beauty of life. Music and storytelling are in Jessica’s Irish bloodline. Her ancestors in the O’Daly family (on her mother’s side) were based in Westmeath, Ireland, and many were famed as bards and poets, a tradition that she carries on in her own way as a musician and singer-songwriter. Irish music frequently inspires the theme for her online mountain dulcimer workshops, and she has recently published an ebook of her original arrangements of Irish music entitled Irish Emeralds for Mountain Dulcimer.
Mark Alan Wade
Mark Wade is an accomplished musician whose passion for Irish music took root in 2004 through his collaboration with Irish bouzoukist Randy Clepper. Since then, his performing career has taken him across three continents, captivating audiences with dynamic and stylistically authentic performances.
With more than 30 years of experience in traditional hammered dulcimer, Mark blends deep folk roots with formal classical training in trumpet and piano. He is the author of the acclaimed two-volume series Playing with an Irish Accent: Session Tunes and Ornamentation for Hammered Dulcimer, which carefully interprets Irish stylistic nuance and ornamentation for dulcimer players. These books equip American players to authentically navigate Irish sessions, introducing repertoire staples and stylistic elements often overlooked in the dulcimer world.
A dedicated educator and prolific composer, Mark has published ten additional dulcimer books, written numerous works for dulcimer and orchestra, and released seven CDs. He resides in Akron, Ohio, with his wife and two sons, continuing to inspire audiences and students alike through his performances, scholarship, and deep commitment to Irish musical tradition.
Steve and Ruth Smith
Steve and Ruth Smith, from the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, play a
unique blend of Celtic, Appalachian and original music featuring hammered dulcimer and
guitar. As Ruth began her dulcimer journey, she and Steve were both inspired by the great Irish
tunes and enjoyed playing them from the start. Dirty Linen Folk & World Music
Magazine says “Ruth Smith’s touch on the hammered dulcimer is absolutely magical,
with exquisite phrasing, highlighting the range of the instrument especially on her own
pieces.” Steve is an ASCAP award-winning songwriter. Dulcimer Players News says, “He is a
master storyteller and the perfect vocalist to convey the meaning of his lyrics. His songs
stand out for their imagery and melodic strength, on par with John Denver’s songs.”
Steve adds fingerstyle guitar and vocals to the duo.
Steve and Ruth have been playing music together for over 50 years and are both prolific
songwriters and composers. They have performed their music extensively in the U.S. and
internationally. Check out their CDs and sheet music that include some of their favorite
Irish tunes on their website: www.steveandruth.com.
Randy Clepper and John Sherman
John Sherman and Randy Clepper are two acclaimed performers of Irish traditional music from central Ohio. Both are consummate multi-instrumentalists, and together they perform arranged Irish and Celtic tunes on fingerstyle guitar, bouzouki, and tenor banjo. John and Randy’s latest recording, “Finally Tuned”, has been described as "a fine and finely tuned album that is intricate in its arrangement and delivery" (TradConnect.com, Ireland) and was ranked in the top 10 in three instrumental and traditional album categories by Folk Festival, WDCB Public Radio, Chicago. John and Randy have taught multi-instrumental workshops at festivals across the US. They have performed as showcase artists at the Northeast, Southeast and Midwest regional Folk Alliance conferences, and have been regular performers for over a decade at the renowned Dublin Irish Festival in Dublin, Ohio. Their music is regularly featured on Irish music radio programs across the US and in Ireland.