Nancy Thym stammt aus Auburn, Kalifornien. Nach Tanz- und Schauspielausbildung studierte sie Volkskunde und Musik-Ethnologie. Ihre Kenntnisse vertiefte sie mit Volksliedforschung direkt in Irland, Schottland und England. Für traditionelles schottisches Harfenspiel hat Nancy Thym mehrmals den ersten Preis gewonnen, z.B.: 1984 und 1987 bei den Santa Rosa Scottish Highland Games sowie beim Golden Gate Scottish and Irisch Festival in Kalifornien. Zur Geschichte der Harfe hat Nancy Thym mehrere Artikel veröffentlicht. Instrumentenbaukurse führten sie 1977/78 nach Bayern, wo sie jetzt mit ihrem Mann und 4 Kindern lebt.

NANCY THYM is Germany's leading storyteller/harper/singer. She is one of the rare performers who successfully weaves harp music, song and stories together into a spellbinding web of enchantment which transports the listeners into a magical world.

NANCY THYM, a native of California who has lived in Germany since 1978, studied Theater, Dance and Anthropology at the University of California at Berkeley before going on to receive her Master's Degree in Folklore from the University of California at Los Angeles. During this time she built her rod puppet "Jack" with which she enhances her children's programs. She deepened her knowledge of traditional music and narrative with field studies of singers and storytellers in Scotland and Ireland.

NANCY THYM has concentrated on medieval and Scottish songs and ballads and the role of the harp in traditional narrative and song as well as unique areas such as the repertoire of the wandering German hook harp players and the music of the Norwegian Krogharpe.

Most often the harp plays an important role in her stories which range from medieval romances and lays to traditional tales from the German and Celtic regions. She also performs stories for children with the rod puppet "Jack". Music and songs from the respective countries and periods are carefully selected and performed on appropriate instruments from her vast collection of historical harps.

In California she has won prizes for her traditional Scottish harp playing including first place (1984) and the Caledonian Trophy (1987) at the Santa Rosa Highland Games as well as first place at the 1987 Golden Gate Scottish and Irish Festival. She played various medieval harps in the Bavarian State Theater production "Minne, Minne, Minne" in the Marstall Theater in Munich. For the productions "Die Stadt" and "The Hostage" at the Nordhausen Theater (formerly DDR) she sang and played Gothic harp and Clairseach.

NANCY THYM is a regular lecturer and faculty member at the Historical Harp Conference & Workshop held every summer in Amherst, Massachusetts. She is often invited to give workshops on the use of harp and other instruments with storytelling. Through the Museum and Archive for Harp History in Freising, Germany she provides information on historical harps for harp builders, players, journalists, museum collections, libraries, etc. She has published numerous articles on the history of the harp and has lectured and performed at many international harp conferences and festivals, including the World Harp Congresses in Paris (1990), Copenhagen (1993) and Prague (1999) as well as the International Conference of Folk Harpers and Craftsmen, San Diego (1984 and 1992) and Los Angeles (1986).

Because she finds contrasts exciting, she also sings early Rock & Roll and Blues songs to the harp. Harp and Rock & Roll? A rather unusual musical style for an instrument which is usually expected to produce "angelic" tones! But NANCY THYM has worked extensively with Rock & Roll and Blues, which she accompanies in a rhythmic, almost dance-like manner.

NANCY THYM has produced two records; her third recording, Noah's Dove, is available on LP and CD. "The Faithful Wife", a medieval tale with voice and harp, is available on cassette . She can also be heard playing various medieval harps on Margie Butler's latest release "Magic of the Celtic Harp II -Lure of the Sea Maiden".