We just arrived home from spending nearly 2 weeks up in the Dayton, Ohio area. Matthew was invited by the Mountain Dulcimer Society of Dayton to perform a concert on Friday, with 3 workshops being held on the following day. Due to bad weather, the concert and workshops had to be postponed to the following weekend, which turned out okay for us, because Matthew is originally from the Dayton area. We were able to spend the week visiting with family and friends and making it a more relaxing trip than we had originally planned...

Matthew was able to help his brothers with snow removal on two separate nights due to weather. Then 6 of the older brothers were able to make a day of it and go skiing together. They really enjoyed that, although some of them came back pretty sore and banged up. We spent one day at the Columbus Zoo, which is a really cool zoo, just not when it's cold and rainy. -smile- Thankfully we brought our computers, so we were able to get some business work done while we were away for so long. Ben enjoyed seeing his cousins again and it was just nice to catch up with family.

When the weekend rolled around, Matthew was all ready for his concert. The concert was held at the Troy Hayner Cultural Center in the ballroom. Before the concert even began, there was standing room only, and the receptionist had to turn people away because there just wasn't any more room.

This was the first concert that Matthew performed where he was the only entertainment (or the headliner). He did GREAT! He chose songs that were entertaining and fun, songs that captured and held everyone's attention. He also kept everyone laughing at his silly one-liners along with his introduction of his new guitar player, Mac, his iPad. He had prerecorded guitar tracks onto Mac, and then played his dulcimer against them during the concert. I think everyone really enjoyed themselves and even gave him a standing ovation with shouts for an encore! I was so proud of him. Matthew received several glowing reports and compliments on both his concert and his workshops the next day.

The following review was sent in from Stephen Haines, an attendee at Friday’s concert:

"Matt's concert on January 19 was an eye opener!! I never knew the instrument was capable of such dynamic range."

For one of the songs, Matthew pulled out his guitar to sing and play "As I Skip Along". He invited some friends of ours, the Craig family, up on stage to sing with him, since they have a recording of his song on their album too. The girls did a lovely job of accompanying and harmonizing with Matthew. We appreciate them stepping in to help!

Ben fell asleep listening to us talk during lunch break.

Saturday's workshops started at 9:00 in the morning with a past beginner class. The second workshop was held after lunch for intermediate players, and he finished off the evening at 5:00 with an advanced class. The attendees were very attentive and Matthew enjoyed teaching each one. After the day was over, our hosts from the Mountain Dulcimer Society of Dayton graciously treated us to dinner at a delicious, local restaurant. We were so blessed to be able to be a part of their winter concert/workshops and glean advice from these experienced event planners.

Our trip was wonderful, despite the rough weather, and we all had a good time during our Dayton tour. Until next time....

A Concert, 3 Workshops & Family Time, Oh My!