Mark Stone got his start in Irish music with the All-Ireland winning band, St. James’s Gate. He is best known for his work with the renowned Irish fiddler, James Kelly and guitarist Zan McLeod. Mark’s recording credits include James Kelly’s critically-acclaimed solo fiddle album for Capelhouse Records and with the group Ceoltiori on their award-winning Women of Ireland CD for Maggie’s Music Records. Mark was a founding member of PMF and still performs with them on a regular basis. Mark recently produced The Curlews for Irish hammer dulcimer player Cliff Moses. Mark was born in the coastal city of Corpus Christi, Texas into a family steeped in Irish tradition. He still resides in Texas, living in San Antonio with his wife, Cheryl, and two sons, Colin Michael and James Brendan. As a teacher, Mark has taught workshops and master classes across the continent. He has taught for many years at the Augusta Heritage Center’s “Irish Week” in Elkins, WV, The Swannanoa Gathering’s “Celtic Week” in Asheville, NC, and The Mississippi River Celtic Music Festival’s “Tionol” in St. Louis along with classes in Nova Scotia, Milwaukee, Los Angeles, and Dallas. Mark teaches both beginning and intermediate/advanced classes specializing in techniques involving the use of both hands to fully explore all of the intricacies of a tune with the ultimate goal of “playing” the tune along with the lead instruments. Mark's personal web page can be found here.