Dulci-More:
Folk & Traditional Musicians
Updated January 13, 2012
with
information about Leela and Ellie Grace for the Dulci-More Concert Series (see below)
Dulci-More Festival
18 information has started to appear with evening concerts including:
Cathy
Barton & Dave Para, The Hired Hands, Heidi Muller & Bob Webb, Don Pedi,
Rick Thum, and Ed Trickett
Dulci-More Members Performing at
Dulci-More Festival 13, May 2007
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 by 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. Meetings
are generally run as song circles with most songs or tunes chosen from the
Dulci-More Public Domain Songbook with everyone joining in, but other choices
are permitted and usually welcome as well as solo or small group performances
for an individual's selection. Most members stay until at least 9:00 pm, but many members regularly stay much
later. Some come later when they need to. People should feel free to come and
go as needed without disturbing the group. A brief update of coming events and
items which may be of interest to members is done at some point during the
evening when the most people are likely to be in attendance. 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. The group averages over
two performances a month for festivals, fairs, schools, churches, clubs,
nursing homes, and others. A calendar which should be kept up to date regularly
showing Meetings, Concerts, Workshops, Festivals, Events, and More for
Dulci-More is available below or in a larger format at: Dulci-More Google Calendar for your convenience.
Dulci-More Festival
The Annual Dulci-More Festival has been held on Memorial Day Weekend since 1995. Check the link above for the most current
information. Check the Dulci-More Festival Home Page or the Dulci-More Festival 18 Performer Bios & Photos Page
for the most current information.
Link to DMF 18
Online Registration Page
(Online registration page will be taken
offline around noon on Wednesday, May 23 to allow final preregistration
information to be coordinated by the registrar)
Note: for best results in printing the brochures and the
program, on the print screen in Adobe Reader, change Page Scaling to Booklet Printing, and the proper formatting
for the pages should be applied.
Get Dulci-More Festival 18 Registration Forms in Adobe PDF
Format
Note: the pages below are from Dulci-More Festival 17 in 2011 and will
be updated to the ones for Dulci-More Festival
18 in 2012 as soon as the updates are available. We leave these posted so that
those unfamiliar with the festival can get an idea of how things work generally
at the festival.
Get Dulci-More Festival 17 Flyer in Adobe PDF Format
Get Dulci-More Festival 17 Small Brochure in Adobe PDF Format
Get
Dulci-More Festival 17 Full Brochure in Adobe PDF Format
Get
Dulci-More Festival 17 Workshop Grid in Adobe PDF Format
Get Dulci-More
Festival 17 Mini-Program in Adobe PDF Format
Get Dulci-More
Festival 17 Program in Adobe PDF Format
Information about performers from over the
years should soon be available on a separate page.
More information
about location, schedule, performers, activities, etc. is posted at the Dulci-More Festival Home
Page.
Dulci-More Anniversary Concerts
Dulci-More: Folk & Traditional Musicians will present their Nineteenth Anniversary Concert at 2:30 PM on Sunday, February 12, 2012 in the Sanctuary of the First United Methodist Church of Salem,
244 South Broadway, Salem, OH 44460 for free. The theme for the concert will
simply be Some of Our Favorites. Individual
Dulci-More members sing and/or play mountain
dulcimers, hammered dulcimers, guitars, autoharps, mandolins, banjos, ukuleles,
fiddles, bass, marimbula, harmonicas, recorders,
flutes, jug, and more. About 15-20 members are planning to perform. Several of
the favorites will be songs that most audience members will recognize and will be
welcome to sing along on while others will have easy to sing choruses or parts
with lyrics available in the programs with audience members encouraged to sing
along. No tickets or reservations are needed for this
concert. There is no charge. Everyone is welcome to attend. Cookies and punch will be served during intermission. For more information or
directions, contact Bill Schilling at 330-332-4420 or
bill@dulcimore.org or check on the web at www.dulcimore.org or at
www.billschilling.org for more information about the club.
Dulci-More: Folk & Traditional Musicians Anniversary Concerts
are generally presented in late January or early February in the Sanctuary of
the First United Methodist Church of Salem,
244 South Broadway, Salem, OH 44460 for free as a way for Dulci-More to say
thanks to the community and to let more people know what we are doing. The date
and information about the next one will be posted on the calendar as soon as we
have information about it.
The concert typically features
ensemble selections by Dulci-More and solo or small group numbers by a few of
our members. Individual Dulci-More members sing and/or play mountain dulcimers,
hammered dulcimers, guitars, autoharps, mandolins, banjos, fiddles, cello,
bass, harmonicas, recorders, flutes, jug and more. About 20 members or more
generally perform during these concerts and there are sometimes audiences of
about 200 in attendance.
From 2004-2011, the anniversary
concerts also featured some members of Dulci-More
Little Eagles, yearly groups of United Local Elementary students who played
mountain dulcimers in an after-school program led by Dulci-More members from
autumn 2003 through spring 2011.
No tickets or reservations are
needed for these concert. There is no charge. Everyone is welcome to attend. Cookies
or cake and punch are served during intermission. For more information or
directions, contact Bill Schilling at 330-332-4420 or
bill@dulcimore.org or check on the web at www.dulcimore.org or at
www.billschilling.org for more information about the club.
Dulci-More Workshops and
Concerts Featuring Special Guests
Dulci-More: Folk
& Traditional Musicians has also decided to sponsor occasional guest
artists to present their music to our members and the community in general.
These events have been held at the First United Methodist
Church of Salem, the Salem Historical Society, the First
Presbyterian Church of Salem, and the Kent Salem Campus. Performers from 2000
through 2009 (with several of them making return trips) have included, Tina Bergmann & Bryan Thomas from
Brady Lake, OH, Bryan Bowers from
Washington State, Patty Looman from West Virginia (joined by Marilyn & Tom Lashuay
from Kent, OH and Bill
Schilling in one of her appearances), Madeline MacNeil from
the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia (joined by Guy George from Concord, OH and Bill Schilling), Pete Morton from England, Stephen Seifert from
Tennessee, Bill Staines
from New Hampshire, Pat Travis &
Bill Matlack from Pittsburgh, PA, and Susan Trump from New York State, and Bob
Zentz from Norfolk, VA. Mark Alan Wade was snowed out for his April 2, 2005 appearance, and we have never managed to
reschedule that one.
Dulci-More:
Folk and Traditional Musicians welcome Leela
and Ellie Grace (originally from a traditional musical family in Missouri,
but now respectively from Portland,
Oregon
and Asheville,
North Carolina)
for the Dulci-More Concert Series. They will perform
in concert at 7:30 PM
on Saturday, January 14 in the Meeting Room of the Salem
Historical Society, 208 South Broadway, Salem,
OH 44460.
There is a $10 admission at the door, and advance reservations are not
required. A total of $5 more covers all the children in a family for the
concert. Refreshments will be served at the intermission. The Historical
Society is on the southeast corner of Broadway and Pershing, and the entrance
to the meeting room is through the back door on East Alley. More information is
available at www.dulcimore.org or from Bill Schilling at
bill@dulcimore.org or 330-332-4420.
Click on the photo below to open a high resolution photo
of Ellie and Leela in a new window. Photo by Seth Barr. Click
here to get your own copy of the concert poster to print.
Leela and
Ellie Grace are singers, multiinstrumentalists,
songwriters, and percussive dancers who grew up traveling across North America performing with their parents as The
Grace Family. For the past 13 years, they have been making a name for
themselves around the country as a duo, in addition to offering solo
appearances, and touring with nationally -known bands. Leela
(banjo, guitar) and Ellie (mandolin, guitar, fiddle) have been acclaimed by
audiences and fellow musicians alike for their powerful voices, close sisterly
harmonies, warm stage presence, and driving old-time instrumentals.
Leela and
Ellie's music has a strong grounding in traditional American and Old-time
string band styles, but crosses over into the contemporary folk realm,
including their own compelling original songs. They recorded three albums with
the Grace Family (in addition to doing studio work with other musicians) and
have released two recordings as a duo. The sisters have performed at
prestigious venues across the United States and Canada, ranging from the Winnipeg Folk
Festival to the Lincoln Center in New York City to the Summer Solstice Festival in Los Angeles.
In 2003, they
released their self-titled debut duo CD, which was acclaimed by folk critics
and fans and received widespread radio play on folk radio stations across the
country. In his review in Sing Out! Rich Warren said, "Leela
and Ellie Grace soar off this disc like a breath of fresh air in the smoky
atmosphere of singer-songwriters. This lively recording, exquisitely produced
by Pete Sutherland, is truly a joy to behold. . . If you’re hesitant to take a
chance on new artists, rest assured this CD will leave you in a state of
grace."
2006 saw Ellie
relocating from the sisters’ home state of Missouri to the musical mecca
of Asheville, North Carolina and touring with the Dirk Powell Band.
2007 was spent recording a new duo CD in the midst of a move to Portland, Oregon by the older sister. Leela and Ellie released their highly -anticipated new CD,
Where the Waters Run, at the beginning of 2008 and have since been meeting in Portland, Oregon, Asheville, North Carolina, and everywhere in between to make
beautiful music together in support of their new CD!
Find more
information about Leela and Ellie Grace at their
website at www.leelaandelliegrace.com,
or check out some of these YouTube videos of them in
performance:
Water,
Wood, and Wind (by Leela Grace): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gx3F16FvRdI
Common Ground (by Ellie Grace): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZypRd9AtrV4
Bridge
to the Other Side (by Leela Grace): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGVb33yHJkU
Let
Us Be (by Ellie Grace): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmSy-HBPSEQ
Wrap
Myself in You (by Leela Grace): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZqP_CzEXTo
Right
Now (by Ellie Grace): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNuye00Fuxw
Banjo
and percussive dance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lPJPTSlW7s
Goddess
(by Leela Grace): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-_ONJ5rr9E
Dulci-More
Performances
Since forming in January
of 1993, Dulci-More has averaged over two performances per month for civic
groups, nursing homes, churches, schools, coffee houses, festivals, and others
including opening for Bill Staines at the
Morley Performing Arts Pavilion in Mill Creek Park in the summer of 1996. The
club has also been involved in an autoharp recording project for the Stephen
Foster Museum
in Pittsburgh and others. There are
over 100 members in the club. Anywhere from eight to thirty members may sign up
for a given performance. Depending on which members perform, there may be
singing, mountain dulcimers, hammered dulcimers, autoharps, guitars,
harmonicas, whistles, flutes, recorders, fiddles, mandolins, banjos, bass,
bowed psaltery, cello, keyboard, percussion instruments, jug, or others.
Contact us to find out about performances for your group or event. Check the
Dulci-More Google Calendar to see if any are scheduled.
Dulci-More Potluck Jams
Dulci-More: Folk
& Traditional Musicians generally has met on a weekend afternoon twice
a year for jamming throughout the afternoon and evening with a break in the
early evening to share a potluck dinner and fun visiting time with some of our
members from farther away or those with other activities who cannot get to our
regular meetings. Since 2008, several potluck jams have been held on fifth
Tuesdays at the home of Bill Schilling rather than on a weekend afternoon.
Check the Dulci-More Google Calendar to see if there is one scheduled.
Dulci-More
Public Domain Songbooks
The Dulci-More
Public Domain Songbooks are designed to allow people a chance to learn and to
play some of the songs that Dulci-More plays regularly at meetings and events.
The arrangements give lyrics and melody lines in standard musical notation.
Accompaniment chords are included. Numbers for the melody string(s) for fretted
dulcimers are also shown (usually for dulcimers tuned in a DAA tuning). Click here to find
out more about the general songbooks or here to find out more
about the autoharp songbooks. Use
this link to open a printable Order
Form (in a new window) to send along with your order.
Dulci-More Little Eagles After
School Program
This program is
continuing during the 2009-2010 school year. Norma Firth and Bill
Schilling are working with the program this year.
In October 2003,
Dulci-More started working on an after school program at United
Local Elementary School
with students from grades 4, 5, & 6. In January 2004, students in those
grades and grade 3 were again invited to join the program, and over 15 had
taken part by early February 2004. The program was made possible when
Dulci-More Executive Committee member Lois Mountz heard that Principal Ruth Ann
Rinto was looking for new after school programs and contacted her about this.
Members of Dulci-More were aware that one of the teachers at United Local had
obtained a grant enabling her to buy and build cardboard dulcimer kits and then
to work with all the third grade students on playing them in 2003. Permission
was obtained to use those dulcimers. Dulci-More members Norma Firth, Doris
Tolley, Bonnie Lutz, and Bill Schilling
quickly agreed to join Lois Mountz in leading the group. The group was asked if
they would like to make their first public performance at the Dulci-More Eleventh
Anniversary Concert on February 5, 2004, and at least 12 of the students were
there to open each half of the concert (with Boil Them Cabbage Down and
with Rainbow Waltz with Dulci-More members joining them on Rainbow
Waltz after they had played it through a couple of times), and they did
great. Once again, Lois Mountz had been thinking ahead, and she had asked for
funding from Dulci-More to get T-shirts for the students. A quick discussion
let us know that sports teams and others at United Local Elementary are known
as the Little Eagles, and our group then became the Dulci-More Little Eagles
with the great drawing and lettering and design done by three generations of
the Mountz family including Paige (one of the Little Eagles), her father Steve,
and her grandmother Lois. The program continued through the school year, and we
heard the Dulci-More Little Eagles in performance again at Dulci-More Festival
10. The program has continued each school year since then to the present (now
working with Principal Christina Hughes). Members of the club would probably be
available to join in partnership with other local schools for similar programs.
Dulci-More member Sue Sabatino helped lead the
program for several years with Norma Firth and Bill Schilling.
Dulci-More Leader Led Harmonica
Play Along for Guinness World Record in 2007
On Sunday, September 23, 2007, 1882 people gathered at the Rocky River Reservation and Frostville Museum part of Cleveland Metroparks
for the Cedar Valley Settler’s Celebration. One of the highlights of the
festival was the second attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the most
people playing harmonica together with Bill Schilling (that’s I) leading everyone. When the first
attempt was made at the same festival in 2006, we were impressed to have 684
participants, but knew it was far too few to break the record of 1706 in
Seattle in 2005 (I think those are the correct facts, but I am relying on
memory for them, and I may have forgotten some of that). Rather than being
discouraged, the people at Cleveland Metroparks,
started planning earlier for the second attempt, changed the way that several
things including my workshop would be done, and ordered more harmonicas than
they had ever ordered before.
I determined that we would once again use Frere Jacques (Are You Sleeping) as the song for everyone
to play together. I chose the song for several reasons. I wanted something that
almost everyone would recognize so that I would be teaching how to play the
song rather than teaching the song and how to play it. I wanted something short
enough and with enough repetition that I would have time to break it apart and
teach it in very recognizable segments. I wanted something that I could create
some arrangement for (thought about ahead of time, but done on the fly once I
heard how well people were picking it up). I wanted something that I could play
and lead without thinking much about it (very necessary since I am not really a
harmonica player, but I understand the instrument well enough that I have
taught thousands of people the basics of playing one).
Longtime Dulci-More member and harmonica
player Don Blair (also the most recent leader of the Steel Valley Harmonica
Players and leader of the Grooving Grandpas Harmonica Group), went along and
organized a few other excellent harmonica players from around the area to join
us at the microphones on the stage to help keep everyone together and sounding
good. During the five minutes that we needed to play the song to establish the
record, everyone played together a few times, just the men, just the women,
just the children all played on
their own, and the whole group did the song as a round as well. Photos, a
description of the event, and a link to a YouTube
video taken from a crane looking down on the event are available at http://www.clemetparks.com/events/guiness.asp.
It was a fun event, and I was very pleased to continue a long association with
that festival and its predecessor and to be a part in establishing the official
Guinness World Record for the
Largest Harmonica Play-Along up to that time.
Directions to the First
United Methodist
Church
of Salem
The First
United Methodist Church of Salem is located at 244 South
Broadway in Salem. The main parking
lot for the church is most easily reached by taking East Alley from Pershing
Street between Broadway and Lundy. 1) Those coming
into town from the west on State Street
(State Route 14) can stay on State Street
to Broadway in the center of downtown Salem.
Turn south (left) at the traffic light on Broadway for one block to a four way
stop at Pershing (the black stone church visible ahead on the left is it). Turn
east (left) on Pershing for half a block to a south (right) turn on East Alley
(with a sign for the Salem Historical Society and a smaller one below it for
the First United
Methodist Church)
and from there into the church parking lot. There is also on street parking on
Broadway and in other parking lots nearby. 2) Those coming into town from the
east on State Street (State Route 14) are not permitted to turn south (left)
onto Broadway in the center of downtown Salem. Thus, they should turn south
(left) at the traffic light on South Lincoln for one
block to a traffic light at Pershing. Turn west (right) on Pershing and
continue for two and one half blocks (past the four way stop at Lundy, but
before the four way stop at Broadway) to a south (left) turn on East Alley
(with a sign for the Salem Historical Society and a smaller one below it for the
First United Methodist Church) and from there into the church parking lot.
There is also on street parking on Broadway and in other parking lots nearby.
3) If coming from the north on US 62, do not take the bypass. Instead continue
straight and that will be North Lincoln. Continue
straight south on Lincoln through the traffic light at State Street (State
Route 14) onto South Lincoln for one block to a traffic light at Pershing. Turn
west (right) on Pershing and continue for two and one half blocks (past the
four way stop at Lundy, but before the four way stop at Broadway) to a south
(left) turn on East Alley (with a sign for the Salem Historical Society and a
smaller one below it for the First United Methodist Church) and from there into
the church parking lot. There is also on street parking on Broadway and in
other parking lots nearby. 4) If coming from the north on State Route 45
continue straight rather than taking the bypass and that will be North
Ellsworth. Continue on Ellsworth through the traffic light at State
Street (State Route 14) onto South Ellsworth for
one block to a four way stop at Pershing. Turn east (left) on Pershing and
continue for one and one half blocks (past the four way stop at Broadwy, but before the four way stop at Lundy) to a south
(right) turn on East Alley (with a sign for the Salem Historical Society and a
smaller one below it for the First United Methodist Church) and from there into
the church parking lot. There is also on street parking on Broadway and in
other parking lots nearby. 5) If coming from the south on State Route 45, do
not take the bypass, but continue straight and that will be South
Lincoln. Continue on South Lincoln to a
traffic light at Pershing. Turn west (left) on Pershing and continue for two
and one half blocks (past the four way stop at Lundy, but before the four way
stop at Broadway) to a south (left) turn on East Alley (with a sign for the
Salem Historical Society and a smaller one below it for the First United
Methodist Church) and from there into the church parking lot. There is also on
street parking on Broadway and in other parking lots nearby.
Links
A Dulci-More member
with her own home page which describes her dulcimer playing, books, recordings,
and the Fort New Salem Dulcimer Festival which she directs is Linda Sigismondi.
Her home page is at http://lindasigismondi.com
for those who want to know more.
Dulci-More members
Marcy and Dale Tudor have a great farm vacation bed and breakfast called
Weatherbury Farm in Avella, PA.
Find information about it at www.weatherburyfarm.com
to plan your stay southwest of Pittsburgh.
Sheep Fest started there in 2002. Plans are being made to have Folk Arts on the
Farm there, which started a concert series and jam sessions in 2004 with Bill
Schilling and will continue in 2005 with long term workshops on various
instruments. Nigel Tudor also has his forge on the farm. His web page is at www.tudorironworks.com/.
Dulci-More shares a
link with the community which is our home base. Click here to find out more
about Salem, OH.
Dulci-More has been
an organizational member of Folknet: the Northeast
Ohio Folk & Traditional Music and Dance Society, We have cosponsored events
with Folknet, and our members have helped at Folknet events. Go to www.folknet.org
to find out more about Folknet. Its monthly
newsletter, Continuum, lists hundreds of acoustic events in the northeast Ohio
area and beyond each month. Folknet regularly
sponsors concerts, house concerts, educational events, dances, and other
activities. Membership forms can be printed out from the web site.
We also share a link
with the Mountain Rose Concert Series
centered at the Roy Smith Shelter in Fred
Fuller Park
in Kent, Ohio.
They offer second Sunday concerts most months by folk artists from our area and
beyond in a wonderful small room setting as well as running or supporting
festivals in the area. Find out what's on the schedule by checking their home
page. They also are responsible for the weekly radio program, Just
Plain Folk on WAPS-FM, 91.3, The Summit in Akron.
They have been generous in their support of Dulci-More by having Bill
Schilling in 2000; Michael Johnathon
and Bill Schilling in 2001; Guy George,
Demetrius Steinmetz, and Bill Schilling in
2002; Bill Schilling and Linda Sigismondi in
2003, Bill Schilling in 2004, Susie Large and Bill
Schilling in 2005, Leanna Mathes
and Bill Schilling in 2006, Bing
Futch and Bill Schilling in
2007, and Bill Schilling in 2008 and 2009 on
the program the weekend of Dulci-More Festival to help us let more people know
about the festival. Since 2003, they also later broadcast the interviews they
have done at our Festivals. They also regularly have as guests on the radio
program and in the concert series many of the same artists featured at
Dulci-More Festivals. Check www.wapsfm.com
for the broadcast times for Just Plain Folk. The webcast can be heard live on www.wapsfm.com anywhere.
Contact
Bill Schilling by e-mail.
Return to Bill Schilling's
Home Page.
Links to Other Home Pages Developed by Bill
Schilling
Contact Information
Bill
Schilling
984 Homewood Avenue
Salem, Ohio 44460-3816
330-332-4420
bill@billschilling.org
bill@dulcimore.org
