Autoharp
Les is known nationally for his expressive and energetic autoharp playing. One of the world’s leading autoharp players, he’s performed and given autoharp workshops at festivals across the country, including:
- Augusta Heritage Center, Elkins, WV
- Mountain Laurel Autoharp Gathering, Newport, PA
- Mini Mountain Laurel Concert Series, Newport, PA
- John C. Campbell Folk School, Brasstown, NC
- Evart Dulcimer Funfest, Evart, MI
- Sore Fingers Week, Chipping Norton, UK
- Kentucky Music Week, Bardstown, KY
- Ozark Folk Center, Mountain View, AR
- Walnut Valley Festival, Winfield, KS
- Northwest Folklife Festival, Seattle, WA
- California Autoharp Gathering, Dunlap, CA
- Cranberry Dulcimer Gathering, Binghamton, NY
- Northwest Autoharp Gathering, North Bend, WA
- Willamette Valley Autoharp Gathering, Salem, OR
Les is the 2001 and 2018 International Autoharp Champion at Winfield, Kansas and the 1989 National Autoharp Champion. He’s also the 2023 Winner of the prestigious Mountain Laurel Autoharp Championships and was inducted into the Autoharp Hall of Fame in 2014. Before moving to Indiana, he taught autoharp for five years at Linn Benton Community College in Corvallis, OR and helped found and lead the Willamette Valley Autoharp Gathering during it’s 20 year history. Les also gives private lessons online and in his studio in Goshen, IN.
