Mark Alan Wade
National Dulcimer Champion, Mark Alan Wade performs in orchestra halls and music festivals alike with his characteristic mix of classical precision and raw traditional American style. Classically trained as a trumpeter with doctorate and master’s degrees in music from The Ohio State University, his unique style emerged as the technique and discipline of his formal training crossed over into his dulcimer playing. He earned his undergraduate degree in music at Ohio Wesleyan University. His performances bring world music to life and revitalize familiar classical pieces on hammered dulcimer.
Mark Alan Wade is based in Northeast Ohio, but his 25+ years performing have taken him all over the U.S., Europe and Asia. In 2013, he was a featured performer and lecturer at the World Cymbalom Congress in Taipei, Taiwan. 2014 found him playing trumpet in an orchestra on the very stages where Beethoven and Haydn performed near Vienna, Austria. Recently he premiered his Irish hymn suite for hammered dulcimer and orchestra with the Tuscarawas Philharmonic Orchestra and the Central Ohio Symphony Orchestra. His upcoming touring schedule includes performances in Los Angeles, Chicago, Orlando, Baton Rouge, and Oregon. On trumpet, he has also performed with the Beach Boys, the Buckinghams, and with numerous orchestras including the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, Central Ohio Symphony, Mansfield Symphony, Ashland Symphony, Springfield Symphony, Tuscarawas Philharmonic Orchestra, Lima Symphony, Newark-Granville Symphony, and the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra.
Despite his active performing schedule on multiple instruments, he maintains a thriving private studio with six of his students having also won the National Contest for hammered dulcimer. For 11 years, he served as the professor of trumpet, hammered dulcimer, music theory, and wind ensemble at Denison University before leaving to perform full time.
His eighth book for hammered dulcimer, “Classical Masterpieces for Hammered Dulcimer,” was recently released in 2020 with Mel Bay, Inc. Publishers. In addition, Mark has published seven hammered dulcimer CD albums, including Serenade, a collection of classical gems for hammered dulcimer. More information can be found at: