Mary Vanhoozer

Multi-instrumentalist Mary Vanhoozer grew up in Edinburgh, Scotland, where she learned to play the Scottish fiddle and developed an enduring love of folk music. Traditional noëls from southern France played an equally formative role as they introduced her to the hurdy gurdy. Since acquiring her first gurdy, Mary has eagerly continued to research and perform a variety of repertoire on the instrument, from medieval dances to French baroque suites and sonatas. Her published anthology, Playford's Wheel, features 70 English country dance tunes, including second voice parts (her own compositions) transcribed and transposed for the hurdy gurdy. Performance highlights include touring with the critically acclaimed Ciaramella ensemble for the San Francisco Early Music Society and a live concert of renaissance dances broadcast in southern California on KUSC. A passionate educator and hurdy gurdy advocate, Mary curates concerts for educational institutions: her programs contain a variety of repertoire and are accompanied by slides and spoken introductions to musical selections. She also serves as co-director of the Wheel Song Hurdy Gurdy Festival. Mary holds degrees in piano performance from Wheaton College Conservatory (B.M.), the Eastman School of Music (M.M.), and the Cleveland Institute of Music (D.M.A).