This information is now current for Dulci-More
Festival 19 in 2013.
Dulci-More
Festival 19
Concert, Mini-Concert, Workshop Presenters
& Vendors
Note: Clicking on most of the photos on this page will open them in a new window in a higher resolution more appropriate for use in press releases. However, we do not have higher resolution photos of all of the artists, but there should be something appropriate for most press releases here.
Link to New
Online Registration Page
(Online registration page will be taken
offline around
Updated
(Some Presenters Will Only Be at the Festival One Day As
Indicated in the Schedule)
Concert, Mini-Concert,
& Workshop Presenters
Gary Gallier has been called “The Father of Flatpicking”
on the Mountain Dulcimer. For over 35 years he has remained on the leading edge
of innovation in style and creativity, not only in technique, but also in
composing, arranging, and instrument design. His musical touchstones range from
Traditional to Jazz and Classical to Rock, putting his signature ‘scalds’ on a
wide variety of music…a true signature sound. This is well reflected in his stage
performances. As expected,
As a
teacher,
This is
Mean Mary, international singer/songwriter & master of
11 instruments, is not really so mean—even Hank Williams Jr. called her a
"sweetheart." But she IS infamous for her alluring story songs,
incredible instrumental speed, & rich voice that can travel from deep
emotion to sparkling trills. She is also a book author, Sparrow Alone on the
Housetop (Novel) & The Sparrow and the Hawk (Banjo tablature book), and the
fun loving star of Nashville TV show, Never-Ending Street.
‘Mean Mary’ James, a Florida native now based in Nashville,
began life as a musical prodigy—could read music before she could read words
and co-wrote songs at age five. By age seven she was
proficient on the guitar, banjo, & violin, and entertained audiences across
the
Her life has been one long road show interspersed with TV,
radio, and film. She has performed more than 500 live TV shows and over 4,000
road shows—including national festivals, fairs, cruises, colleges, theatres,
clubs and house concerts.
This is Mean Mary’s first Dulci-More
Festival.
Why the hammered
dulcimer? Well, It started with banging on the table during family dinners
followed by my request to play the drum set. My parents were not to keen on
having my kitchen table-tapping magnified by the drums, so instead convinced me
to try the hammered dulcimer. They had one in the house because my mom was
interested in learning it, but its main purpose was catching dust. I didn’t
need much convincing to try it. I was ten years old, and pretty easygoing. They
found me a teacher, and I quickly realized I loved it.
I’ll never forget my
first performance. I was probably 11, and entered in a 4H talent contest. My
tune was a traditional folk piece called “
However, my fear of
playing in front of people didn’t last too long. Mark
Wade started teaching me shortly after, and was most encouraging. He
demystified performing for me, and explained that the more I do it, the more
comfortable I’ll be with it… just like anything else. I competed and won the
I began to
self-study when I was fourteen because Mark had moved away. I was also studying
piano and percussion at the time in order to learn music theory. Every
instrument I’ve picked up has had a strong influence on my dulcimer music. That
being said, the dulcimer was my first instrument, and retains much of my first
approach to music.
I am currently in
This past year, I
toured with several bands through the
This is the first
time that David will be joining us for a Dulci-More
Festival.
Aaron D. O’Rourke (that’s me in third person) was born
I began performing
on dulcimer in 2003 and began teaching at festivals the following year. I’ve
been fortunate enough to enjoy teaching at dulcimer camps across the country
and perform occasionally at new grass/rock, bluegrass, and folk festivals as a
solo performer and alongside Mike Snelling and Mickey
Abraham in the Aaron O’Rourke Trio (and now with Katie Geringer
as a duo and as part of the trio).
After winning a
small number of contests and earning a few credentials making me feel more
important than I really am (Florida Old-Time Dulcimer Champion, Southeastern
Regional Dulcimer Champion, and the 2012 National Dulcimer Champion), I
recorded two solo CDs and one with the Aaron O’Rourke Trio which received high
praise from the likes of David Grisman, Dulcimer
Players News, the World Picking Federation, and also my mom.
At this time I am
lucky to have the opportunity to travel, perform, and teach on mountain
dulcimer as well as fingerstyle guitar and banjola. In my travels, it is my goal to bring the dulcimer
to an audience that might not get to experience the instrument otherwise and
hopefully represent the potential of where this instrument could go. I love the
dulcimer for its ability to create an enjoyable musical outlet for someone who
may not have the benefit of putting a lot of time into working out the
technical demands required by many other instruments. I also love the technical
challenges this instrument demands when played in certain contexts. The broad
possibilities of this instrument on an artistic and technical level support the
potential for the dulcimer to play a more central role in the broader music
scene today in
This is Aaron’s
first time at our Dulci-More Festival.
Kendra Ward & Bob Bence are artists that communicate with honesty, wit, charm
and talent
Every Saturday
night, music could be heard coming from a little log
cabin deep in the hills of
When Bob Bence met Kendra back in 1983, he had no idea that his life
was about to make a hard left turn. In those days, Bob was entertaining
audiences as a member of an improvisational comedy group and performing
stand-up on the side. Guitar playing was just a hobby. However, after hearing
Kendra play, Bob was completely captivated, both by Kendra, and her amazing
hammered dulcimer! Before he even knew it, Bob had put his comedy career on the
shelf, and made "making music" his new full time gig. Nowadays, Bob's
offbeat sense of humor helps to keep his concert appearances with Kendra
unpredictable and uproariously funny.
While live
performances are certainly the best way to experience the magic of Kendra Ward
and Bob Bence, their music has been captured on
numerous recordings. These recordings have brought Appalachian music into homes
around the world.
Between touring,
recording, and publishing, Kendra and Bob also find time to carry on another
Ward family tradition - building mountain dulcimers. And together, Kendra and
Bob have earned a reputation as one of the most entertaining and accomplished
traditional music duos in the nation. They have appeared on stage with The Statler Brothers, Debbie Reynolds, Bill Monroe, Alison
Krauss, John Hartford, David Holt, and a host of other top performers. They
have toured the United States from coast to coast, and are international
favorites throughout
They were previously with us for Dulci-More
Festival 9 when they did workshops, performed for an evening concert, and
played for a Friday evening square dance along with Michael Allen (with square
dance caller Pamela Spence Allen).
Pam Temple & Spencer Funk are Wild Carrot. This
Cincinnati-based, award-winning duo has what it takes to please all types of
folk music fans. Chosen twice as Folk Music Ambassadors to
Wild Carrot’s entertaining, and moving performances have
something for everyone and have often been described as “honest, soothing,
uplifting and fun all at the same time”, moving an audience from laughter to
tears and back again in a way that makes the listener feel like they’re in a
conversation with old friends. All of this adds up to a performance that’s been
described as “seamless”, “life-sized complex, subtle and powerful”, and “a
joy”. They were with us for Dulci-More Festival 11.
Bill Schilling is a high-energy folk-style singer and
multi-instrumentalist who believes that this type of music should be inclusive.
He is the founder and leader of Dulci-More and the Dulci-More Festival and a member of many other groups,
which share or support the music. At Dulci-More
Festivals, he has performed solo and as Bill Schilling with Carol Ellis; Bill
Schilling, Linda Sigismondi, and Marge Diamond; Bill
Schilling & Folks; Threes Co.; Whistler's Lane; and presented his
Schilling's Slides, Songs, & Stories program. Bill has put together the
music that Dulci-More uses and has it available in
several volumes and formats: Dulci-More
Public Domain Songbooks -- Volumes 1, 2, 3, Christmas Volume (all with
numbers for lap dulcimer melody strings as well as music, chords, and lyrics),
Autoharp Volume (with melody chord numbers in place of the dulcimer
numbers), General Volume (with
DAA Numbers) which is the full size version of the four smaller
volumes plus much more material, Lyrics
with Chords for those who prefer not to have the written music, but want to
play along, and Lyrics Only for those
who just want to sing along. The full size version is over 300 pages with over
300 songs. Bill has released a CD, Songs from Canal Days, with Linda Sigismondi
and continues to threaten to release more recordings upon the world. Since 2005
with Dulci-More members Marcy and Dale Tudor, he has
been the Music Coordinator and a regular instructor for Folk
Music at Weatherbury Farm, the Tudor’s
award winning farm vacation bed and breakfast in
Dulci-More: Folk & Traditional Musicians is a club that
started in January 1993, at the First United Methodist Church of Salem. The
purposes of the club are to have fun with folk-style music and to share that
music with others. The club meets at 7:00 pm on the first Tuesday and Third
Tuesday (note: it was the third Wednesday until January, 2000) of each month
just off the sanctuary in the Unity Classroom of the First United Methodist
Church of Salem, 244 South Broadway, Salem, OH 44460. All levels of acoustic
instrumentalists and singers are always welcome at the meetings to jam, to
learn, to listen, or to perform. Call ahead if you are coming from far away
since performances or special meetings may be scheduled a few times a year on
regular meeting nights.
Todd Crowley began singing folk music as a boy. In 1981 he
lived with the legendary autoharp performer Bryan Bowers. At the end of their
year together,
A high school English teacher of 34 years, Todd received
his MA in the Teaching of Writing and Literature from
Todd performed regularly at The Folk Club of Reston-Herndon
in
Ever play a balalaika or balafon? Ever
blown into a didgeridoo or shofar? Ever strummed an
autoharp or plucked a psaltery? All of these traditional folk instruments and
about 100 more, covering the musical alphabet from accordian
to zampoya, are part of Todd's Musical Petting Zoo, a
fully interactive and hands-on exhibition that will be at Dulci-More
Festival 15. Children, young and old, along with musicians, novice to
professional, enjoy the Zoo Experience.
Todd's big Musical Petting Zoo has been an integral part of
Common Ground on the Hill's American Roots & Arts Festival for the several
years. Smaller zoos have been part of the Washington Folklore Society Midwinter
MiniFest and other fairs and folk festivals in the
greater Washington D. C. area. Since 2008 Todd has been taking his zoo on the
road to us and other festivals all over the country. Todd has said that one inspiration for creating the Petting Zoo was when he attended the Fort New Salem Dulcimer Festival at the
Depot in
I, Marge Diamond began playing dulcimer twenty-six years
ago. Without any musical background, but with tons of enthusiasm, I passed
through the beginner stage. Progress was slow and quite painful at times, but
persistence began to pay off. By attending dulcimer workshops when ever
possible and hanging out with other musicians I began to pick up some
technique, learned to keep a fairly good beat, and began making a few fiddle
tunes my own.
Learning to play was an amazing thing for me, but then there are the
fantastic people I have met along with the tunes. I just would never have
believed that adults could come together to share music and have so much fun.
There is nothing to compare. For twenty-seven years I have been doing this, and
it still feels new and fresh. I am still learning. There is love shared with
the learning of the music.
Currently Marge plays with The Oberlin Dulcimer Group and Dulci-More. Marge has performed and taught Dulcimer
workshops since 1987. She has been on hand teaching and performing at all of
the Dulci-More festivals, at most of the Fort New
Salem Festivals, at several of the Kent State Folk Festivals, and has been on
hand for some of the COFF festivals. Since retirement in 2003 Marge has been
pursuing her love of making art. With her business, Winsome Expressions, she makes airbrushed music themed shirts,
"Ultimate Totes", and other items for sale. Marge has one recording, Beyond Cabbage. which has
occasionally been available on CD.
For the past seven years, Matthew has been delighting audiences with his sweet and cheerful style of playing the hammered dulcimer.
He developed a keen interest in the instrument in his early teens after learning a variety of other instruments, including guitar and penny whistle. Celtic music led him to discover the unique and pleasant sound of the Hammered Dulcimer.
His first dulcimer
was one he built from scratch, and after teaching himself to play, he quickly
became an accomplished artist with the talent and skill necessary to win the Mideast Regional Hammered Dulcimer Competition in 2012.
Shortly after this achievement, he entered and won the National Hammered
Dulcimer Championship in 2012 at the Walnut Valley Festival in
With a genuine appreciation for great music and talent in multiple genres, he continues to reach for new heights in both style and performance as he joins the ranks of the best dulcimer players in the country.
Matthew lives in New
Lebanon, OH. This is his first Dulci-More Festival.
Jeff Fedan
Jeff
Fedan lives in
This will be Jeff’s
first time at Dulci-More Festival.
Janet Harriman
Janet Harriman is a Dulci-More member who moved from
Janet has always
loved music, and began her journey into its beauty and intricacies as a young
child, as there was always music around her in the home. Sixth grade found her
beginning flute in school, and from that she taught herself to play piano. High
school and college furthered her skills. Since that time she has played piano
for church singing, choirs, solos, and small groups. She has participated in
community bands and orchestras, as well as small folk music groups. She has
taught music in schools, and learned to play many instruments. It was in 2002
that she first heard the Hammered Dulcimer, and it was "Love at First
Hammer!"
She currently writes
and arranges music, as well as performs it, and teaches music, piano, music
theory classes, and workshops at festivals. She has written a book of hymn
arrangements for Hammered Dulcimer, as well as a book of original tunes. Her
latest endeavor has been a book on Music Theory for Hammered Dulcimer players.
She currently plays in "Striking Strings" out of the
The Hired Hands are a very local group
for our festival (living about a mile from the festival site) and have attended
some workshops at the festival in the past as well as a couple of Dulci-More meetings over the years. Their preference is for
Scottish music (with some Irish and other Celtic music mixed in). Dulci-More Festival 15 was the first time that some of the
group members gave workshops at a festival, and they were back for Dulci-More Festival 16, 17, and 18 (featured in an evening
concert that year). They also played for the Dulci-More
Concert series in December of 2012. They are returning for Dulci-More
Festival 19. These sisters from the Miller family include:
Allison Miller began her musical
career at age three with Suzuki piano lessons under the tutelage of Carol Wunderle, and although she continued to play piano for the
next thirteen years, she picked up the harp at age fourteen and began to
explore the traditional music scene. She attended workshops at the
Sairey
Miller, a graduate of
Laura Miller (age 18), finishing her
freshman year at Colorado Catholic College, has studied the Suzuki piano method
under Mary Louise Foster since age six, and picked up the violin at age 10. She
attended the
Micah Miller (age 17), finishing her freshamn year at Christendom College in Virginia, has
studied the Suzuki piano method under Mary Louis Foster for the past ten years
and picked up the Anglo concertina in 2005. With the concertina she is mainly
self-taught, learning tunes by listening to CDs and playing with her sisters.
In addition, however, she has had the chance to take workshops with brilliant
concertina players such as Grainne Hambly, Caroline Keene, and Frank Edgley.
The lighthearted tone of her concertina may be heard on several tracks on the
family CD and she often joins her sisters onstage.
Maggie Miller (age 14) began playing
the piano at age 6 and found her niche in the traditional music scene when she
picked up the tin whistle three years ago. She enjoys
performing with the family band and has attended tin whistle workshops at the
Celtic Roots Festival in
Gary & Toni Sager are from
Waverly,
Toni has been playing the autoharp for
about nine years, after getting an Oscar Schmidt as a Christmas present. She
had seen a lady playing one at the Fraley Mountain
Music Festival at Carter Caves State Resort in
Linda Sigismondi is a mountain
dulcimer player and folksinger from Gallipolis and director of the Fort New
Salem Dulcimer Festival. Her music includes traditional Appalachian tunes,
traditional and contemporary folk music, and some original compositions that
feature environmental themes. She has five mountain dulcimer books: Appalachian
Ballads & Songs, Songs from Canal Days, Christmas
Songs, Celtic Tunes, and Old Time and Fiddle Tunes.
Linda has released a recording, Songs
from Canal Days, with Bill Schilling and has companion
recordings for her other books. She also plays guitar, Native American flute, Kratz zither, and MacArthur harp.
Linda has taught workshops and performed at many folk music festivals in
Stringed Fantasy
Stringed Fantasy returns from the
Canton-Massillon and beyond area. Current members include Rosalind Wilson, Alma
Houston, Greg Zuder, Linda Hill, and Sue Wheeler with
hammered dulcimer, guitar, folk harp, violin, recorder, accordion, percussion,
etc. They enjoy playing Celtic, folk, civil war era, and a variety of music.
Several are Dulci-More members and some are members
of the Canton Folk Song Society. Sue and Roz started
giving workshops at Dulci-More Festival 2, and
Stringed Fantasy has been with us for Dulci-More
Festivals 3-11, 14, 15, & 18.
Three Old Dreamers with Guitars
Mac Kelly
and Ron Klies grew up just over the hill from each
other on Putney Ridge near Old Washington, OH. Mac met Walt Willey at church
camp in
Alice Whitehill is a Dulci-More member from
Additional Workshops by Tom Ball, Sharon Kirby, Joanne Laessig, Roger
Mace, John McAuliffe, Jim Stone, Dulci-More
Members (Lynn McLeish, Jim Miller, Kathy & Richard Small, Bonnie
& Jack Lutz), Festival Vendors
Performers & Performance Order
Subject to Change as Needed
Festival Vendors
Alice Whitehill (Stitches
& Strings)
Alice Ann Whitehill will be back
again for Dulci-More Festival 18 with stock from Stitches
and Strings.
Cloud Nine Musical Instruments
Michael Allen has
been with us a time or two before with his Cloud Nine hammered dulcimers and Marimbulas.
Michael C. Allen has been making wooden stringed musical instruments
including hammered dulcimers full time since 1977. He has also taught guitar
making, and invented his own version of Marimbula.
His workshop is known as ~Cloud Nine~ Musical
Instruments. Since 2004, Michael has been one of only three hammered dulcimer
makers selected to create an instrument as a prize in the National Hammered
Dulcimer Championship held in
Lynn McLeish
Lois and Ken Mountz operated a
framing gallery and art store in downtown
Prussia
Valley Dulcimers Acoustic Music Shop
Gary and Toni Sager were with us for the first time at Dulci-More Festival 12 and this will be their sixth year
with us. They have been vending at festivals around the country for several
years with the Prussia Valley Dulcimers that
Our love of the
bowed psaltery has inspired us (Terry & Sharon Kirby) to found Spring Creek Psalteries in the hope of
bringing the joy of playing the psaltery to all who love music. The psaltery
can be played by old and young alike and is one of the easiest instruments to
play. Every one of our psalteries is handcrafted by Terry at
our shop located in
Paul Conrad is from
Sara Mullins expects to have an area with some of the CDs
she has made over the years with her various instruments. She has called them In
Company of Friends. She was a vendor with us for many years along with her
husband, Jack, until he passed away. We look forward to welcoming her back to
the festival.
Marge Diamond will be back with Winsome Expressions including airbrushed music themed shirts and
other items for sale. Look for her latest "Ultimate Totes" with music
themes. Marge is based in
Contact Bill Schilling by e-mail.
Return to
Bill Schilling's Home Page.
Links to Other Home Pages Developed by Bill
Schilling
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Contact Information
Bill Schilling, Dulci-More Festival
Director
234-564-3852
234-564-DULC