The Spirit speaks directly to our hearts through music. That's why music has always had such power to move people into positive action. --Kenny Loggins
Carl Thor
A life-long musician since beginning to plunk out familiar tunes on the piano at the age of 3 or 4, Carl Thor took up the hammered dulcimer in 1990 and began performing in 1993. Although piano and dulcimer are his main instruments, he also plays autoharp, mountain dulcimer, mandolin, guitar, and hand percussion, and produces electronic music. He played euphonium (baritone horn) through his school years, including 3 years with the University of Illinois bands. Since 2001, he has pursued music full time, and has studied music theory and music technology at Clark College and Portland Community College (PCC), while working as a performer, teacher, composer/arranger, and sound engineer.
Musician
A founding member of the Vancouver Celtic and folk group Talisman and Portland contra dance band Hands4, Carl also plays in Cascade Crossing, the Portland Megaband, in other groupings for folk dancing, and as a soloist. He has provided hammered dulcimer accompaniment for the Aurora Chorus, the Portland Lesbian Choir, the Vancouver School of Arts and Academics, the Oregon Repertory Singers Youth Chamber Choir, and the Southminster Presbyterian Church choir.
In the past several years, Carl has been drawn back to his original instrument, the piano, playing for dances and jam sessions. He adds his driving yet precise rhythm to Hands4 and Cascade Crossing, has played keys with the show band at Portland Community College, and serves as an accompanist for the Michael Servetus Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Vancouver. He has also sung in several different choral groups over the past 15 years, most recently the Clark College Concert Choir. In the past few years, Carl has been experimenting with electronic music. And in 2003, he renovated his embouchure, after 27 years, to play double bell euphonium with the New Old-Time Chautauqua traveling vaudeville show.
Composer & Songwriter
Carl writes memorable tunes and songs in various styles, and his music has been performed by Talisman, Hands4, Cascade Crossing, Joyride, Mystic Spatula, the Portland Megaband, and the Portland Community College Jazz Band. His tune, "The Sidereal Shuffle," appears in Volume 2 of the Portland Collection. He has produced electronic music compositions for use by the PCC Multimedia department. He has published a book of his music entitled Come to the Dance Hall: A Collection of 50 Original Melodies for Diverse Musical Instruments, Suitable for Use in Country Dancing and Related Pastimes, and has begun to publish sheet music of his original pieces and arrangements for hammered dulcimer. Most recently, Deep Peace, a choral setting by Sara Martin and Carl Thor of a Gaelic blessing text, was performed by the July, 2007, Eliot Institute choir at Seabeck, Washington.
Teacher
Carl is recognized throughout the Pacific Northwest as a knowledgable, patient and inspiring teacher, and over the last twelve years has taught dulcimer in workshops at the Chatter Creek dulcimer festival, the Spring Fling Rendezvous, and the Prairie Dulcimer Club in Kansas City. He teaches private lessons at Artichoke Music in Portland, and group piano in the PCC Community Education program. In addition to two years of course work in music theory at Clark College in Vancouver, he has studied dulcimer with Steve Schneider, Linda Lowe Thompson, and Ken Kolodner, and brings a lifetime of musical experience with piano, bands and choirs to his playing and teaching. Carl can help you to get started, or to improve your skills if you already play. His goal as a music teacher is to help the student to create real music quickly, and to foster an understanding of music theory along with the ability to play the instrument. Among his many projects, he is currently working on a hammered dulcimer instruction book based on materials he has developed for his own students.
Sound Engineer
Carl has several years experience providing sound reinforcement for acoustic musicians. In addition to running sound for his own performing groups, he provides reliable and listenable live sound engineering services for contra dances and English Country dances, wedding receptions, concerts and other live music situations. He has acted as producer for all of Talisman's recordings and has recorded and produced song demos and band demos in his studio. In 2006, he engineered a CD project for the Michael Servetus Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, and he is currently involved in mixing for a new CD by Portland band, the Bull Dozers.
Promoter
In addition to handling promotion, booking, and management for Talisman since its inception in 1994, Carl was the promoter and organizer for Music at the Moon, a monthly acoustic music concert series that ran for two years (2004-2006) at August Moon in Vancouver, WA.
