SC Irish Arts Weekend 2008 Instructor
David Shelley
David Shelley grew up in Greenville , SC , and began playing Irish and traditional American Music in high school – 17 years ago and counting. His primary instrument, the hammered dulcimer, is not an Irish instrument but adapts very well to Irish music in America . His "secondary" instrument is the bodhran. During his music career, David has performed and taught both instruments in South Carolina , North Carolina , and New Mexico . He also is fond of singing, and has extensively studied both vocal performance and music theory at the Greenville County School District 's Fine Arts Center as well as Furman University . In addition to these concentrations, David dabbles in tin whistle and mountain dulcimer; he is also an avid dancer who enjoys everything from Irish sets to contra to swing and more.
In his civilian disguise, David wears a ranger uniform as the education specialist at the Old-Growth Bottomland Forest Research and Education Center at Congaree National Park . He finished a Ph.D. in geology at the University of South Carolina in fall of 2007, where he worked with Congaree National Park and the South Carolina Geological Survey studying the Congaree River Valley right here in SC! Essentially, he studied how all of the sand and clay stack up and how the river has moved across the landscape over time. He is happily married to Maria Shelley, a Ph.D. sociologist and middle school friend. David and Maria are the proud parents of John Lawton Shelley, a brilliant and wonderful two-year old with a love of vacuums, tents, and chocolate.