About Phyllis Dunne

Phyllis Dunne. the 1985 Woody Guthrie Folk Singing Champion, 1986 and 1988 Midwest Dulcimer Playing Champion and 1991 National Traditional Performer of the Year for Lap Dulcimer, is no stranger to the sweet sounds of music. Her experiences as international recording artist and performer, music teacher and artist-in-residence have given her an eclectic approach to music. Phyllis, a Schmoeller Music Scholarship winner at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and a Nebraska Federation of Music Clubs scholarship winner to the Dalcroze Institute at Julliard in New York, was recently featured on the cover of the UNO Alum magazine.

Joyously Dunne, Phyllis’ Christmas CD which features her angelic voice and stellar dulcimer stylings along with the considerable talents of Peter Ostroushko, Beppe Gambetta, Radim Zenkl, Art Kershaw and Mark Nelson, was selected as "best local recording" of 1995 by Tony Moton of the Omaha World Herald. Previous recordings include Simply Dunne, Dunne Lovin’ You, A Dunne Deal and You Can Sing Too: Vocal Warmups with Phyllis Dunne.

Ms. Dunne is an approved Master artist with the Nebraska Arts Council and the former Metropolitan Arts Council of Omaha. Phyllis is also a member of the Nebraska Touring Arts Program, the Nebraska Humanities Council Speakers Bureau and the Mid-America Arts Alliance. She is the immediate past president of the Nebraska Federation of Music Clubs.

Ms. Dunne also wrote and published the book A Scared Bug: A Guide to Overcoming Stagefright based on her experiences in teaching and performing . Her mountain dulcimer fingerpicking introduction and arrangements have been published in the Hal Leonard Dulcimer Method Book and Hits of the Beatles. Her arrangements of the musical score for the play Papa’s Angels have been published by the Samuel French Company. Phyllis has also composed music for Teknikolour Radio and several other theater productions. Phyllis acted in the Australian film Love at Project Zero. Phyllis currently teaches private music lessons in her Omaha studio and facilitates group workshops.

Phyllis has toured Europe three times performing in Germany, Austria, England, Italy. the Czech Republic and Lithuania with Beppe Gambetta, Dan Crary, Druha Trava, Peppino D'Augustino, and Virgis Stekanas. Other performance highlights include Good Morning, Lithuania (Labas Rytas), the prestigious Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, Kansas; the Philadelphia Folk Song Society, the Shrine of Music in South Dakota, the Old Time Country Music and Pioneer Exposition in Iowa, the Nebraska State Fair, and the Western Heritage and Joslyn Museums in Omaha.