Weddings, Concerts, Dances and more…
  I can provide music for weddings, parties, dances and other events upon request.  I work with a number of different musicians and can provide music for an event ranging from Appalachian music, classical, baroque, French, Celtic, and more.  Feel free to call to discuss details.
   I play hammered dulcimer, recorder, whistles (including the French 3-holed galubet), Tambour de Bearne (a french string drum), percussion of various sorts and more.  I am working on Scottish lowland bagpipes and the bassoon too, but don't expect to see them on stage anytime soon.

Ensemble Tympanon

Old World Music from the Heart of Europe

Ensemble Tympanon features Nick Blanton and Paul Oorts and plays a lively and eclectic repertoire ranging from peasant dances to urban musette waltzes of the Parisian café, from the classical court compositions of Lully to the rousing fife and drum music of Provence in the south of France.
  Tympanon is the French word for hammered dulcimer; and the original inspiration for the ensemble came from an 18th century hammered dulcimer tunebook from the French royal archive, Aires Propres Pour Le Tympanon or "Music for the Dulcimer", which encompassed music from court ballets to peasant clog dances.  Other music sources for the duo's repertoire come from the galoubet and tambourin (tabor pipe and drum) tradition of southern France and the hurdy-gurdy music of central France, Flemish hommel (fretted dulcimer) music, and the contra dances of  Wallonia.
  Nick Blanton plays hammered dulcimer, the three holed whistle called a galoubet and the tambourin (drum), small-pipes, a variety of whistles and the tambour de Bearn, a string drum, the earliest form of the hammered dulcimer (see picture).
  Paul Oorts , a master string player from Flanders, brings his talents to the cittern, hommel (Flemish fretted dulcimer), guitar, mandolin and musette accordion. 

Feel free to contact us for bookings!