Songs from Canal Days CD with Linda Sigismondi
Folk-Style Music; Slides, Songs,
& Stories; Folk Service
Bill Schilling with Carol Gaj; Bill Schilling
& Folks
Dulci-More: Folk & Traditional Musicians
Folk Music at
Weatherbury Farm
Available
for Concerts, Programs, Artist in Residence, Workshops, Lessons
Updated
Bill Schilling
has been singing and playing various folk instruments for over 30 years. He has
performed for audiences of all ages in many settings from coast to coast. His
high-energy performances may include songs, slide programs, and/or stories
selected specifically for your group. His performances often involve members of
your group with audience participation songs or activities. Bill Schilling with
Carol Gaj; Bill Schilling, Linda Sigismondi, & Marge Diamond; or Bill
Schilling & Folks provide harmonies or more combinations of instruments.
Since Bill believes that his music should be inclusive, he is involved in many
groups which share music. Check the home page of Dulci-More: Folk & Traditional Musicians (Bill is the
founder and leader (called Fearless Leader) of this group); of the annual Dulci-More Festival (Bill is the
director); of the Canton
Folk Song Society (Bill is one of the original members); of the Dulcimer Society of Trumbull County (Bill has
reorganized and leads this group); of the Salem Music Study Club (Bill has been Program Chairperson
and President); of Folknet (Bill is
a charter Executive Committee Member & Vice-President); or Folk Music at
Weatherbury Farm (Bill is the Music Coordinator and a Workshop Leader
for these resident workshops at a Farm Vacation Bed & Breakfast in Avella,
PA starting in 2005); for information
about one of these groups. Bill has also been the leader of the Folk Service at the First United
Methodist Church of Warren, a member of Wings of Fire, a praise team at the
First United Methodist Church of Lisbon, and currently serves as music leader
and part of a worship team at a Saturday evening Vespers Service and at the
early service (during the summer months) at the First United Methodist Church
of Lisbon.
If you would like to print out flyers or
brochures for Dulci-More Festival 10, it is probably easiest to do them with
the links here, however they do require that you have a copy of Adobe Acrobat
Reader. Free downloads are available from www.Adobe.com if you
need it
Digital Photo
Albums from Bill Schilling
Get
Dulci-More Festival 11 Flyer in Adobe PDF Format
Get
Dulci-More Festival 11 Brochure in Adobe PDF Format
Get Dulci-More Festival 11
Workshop Grid in Adobe PDF Format
Digital Photo Albums of
Dulci-More
Concerts
Bill plays 6 and
12 string guitars, autoharp, hammered and fretted dulcimers, bowed psalteries,
banjo guitar, National steel guitar, ukuleles, recorders, digital horn, jug,
and an assortment of inexpensive or homemade instruments. His large repertoire
of songs includes old favorites or more recent ones by some of today's
singer-songwriters; many to bring a laugh or some to bring a tear to the
listener; ones with special emphasis for particular audiences; or the
occasional original. The concerts become complete as Bill talks about
instruments, songwriters, locations, and other related information on the
songs; or tells stories about the songs, his personal experiences, or many
other subjects. Most of Bill's engagements are for concerts, and he has
performed them in a wide variety of settings all across the country.
Folk Music at Weatherbury
Farm
Folk Music at Weatherbury
Farm is Bill’s newest venture. Developed along with Dulci-More members
Marcy, Dale, and Nigel Tudor at their Weatherbury Farm Vacation Bed &
Breakfast in Avella, PA, the project will offer week long and weekend folk
music workshops led by performers from across the country. Only one course will
run at a time so that participants can immerse themselves in the music while
still managing to Escape to Tranquility! as the slogan at Weatherbury
Farm says. Packages include lodging and all meals (although local participants
can register for just the workshops) and start from $495 for Sunday-Friday
courses or $190 for Friday-Sunday Courses. Wednesday evening concerts by the
workshop leaders will be presented at Meadowcroft Rockshelter and Museum of
Rural Life in Avella. These concerts will be open to the public and may be
combined with special tours of Meadowcroft Rockshelter and Museum of Rural
Life. The spring 2005 lineup includes Bill Schilling doing beginning workshops
for Autoharp (March 13 - March 16), Mountain Dulcimer (April 10 - April 15),
Hammered Dulcimer (April 15 – April 17), Stephen Seifert with Intermediate
Mountain Dulcimer Workshops (April 22-24 and April 24-29), Guy George with an
Intermediate Hammered Dulcimer Workshop (April 29 – May 1), Les Gustafson-Zook
with an Intermediate Autoharp Workshop (May 1 – May 6), and Madeline MacNeil
with Intermediate Hammered Dulcimer Workshops (May 8 – May 13 and May 13- May
15). This link connects to the home pages of Folk Music at
Weatherbury Farm with all of the information and registration forms.
Schilling's Slides, Songs, & Stories
The unique
combination of pictures and folk-style music which is Schilling's Slides, Songs, &
Stories uses a cassette tape to
control a dissolve unit with two or more slide projectors for flowing,
interesting changes between slides, not the harsh changes associated with single
projector shows. The programs include Bill's own spectacular natural world
photography with live and taped performances of songs which compliment the
slides.
Finally
available as of
To order: Send check or money order for $17.00 per CD ($15.00
for CD plus $2.00 for shipping/handling) to Bill or Linda. Use this link to
open a printable Order Form (in a new
window) to send along with your order.
|
Bill
Schilling |
Linda
Sigismondi |
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330-332-4420 |
740-446-9244 |
Several other
recordings are partially completed or are in the active planning stages with
work to begin whenever possible. Another recording with Linda is under
consideration. Another recording may feature Bill Schilling with Carol Gaj.
Bill will also do some companion tapes on his own and/or with Dulci-More
members for the Public Domain Songbooks. The design of these tapes will be
mostly relatively simple accompaniment with the words and tunes to help those
who learn more by ear than by written music to build their repertoire with a
lot of good old songs. Bill is also working on recordings of songs as he does
them in concert, songs as they appear on his slide shows with multi-tracking
for more instruments, and still someday thinking about a video of the Schilling's Slides,
Songs, & Stories programs.
Bill has six
books available presently, 5.5" X 8.5" soft cover copies of Dulci-More Folk
& Traditional Musicians Public Domain Songbook -- Volumes 1, 2, 3 and
Christmas Volume, and 8.5" X
11" loose leaf copies of Autoharp Volume (with Melody Chord
Numbers) and General Volume
(with DAA Dulcimer Numbers). The
general volume was updated to include over 300 pages in July, 2002. The
autoharp volume was updated to include the same songs and is now available.
Check the Dulci-More Public Domain Songbook page or the Dulci-More Public Domain Autoharp
Songbook page for more information,
song samples, and indices. He has done the computer layout and design for
another book and welcomes questions about your project. Use this link to open a
printable Order Form (in a new
window) to send along with your order.
The Dulci-More Public
Domain Songbook and the Dulci-More
Public Domain Autoharp Songbook are
both available from Elderly Instruments for those who would like to order with credit cards.
They say, “Huge songbook---almost 300 titles---with melody, lyrics, guitar
chords and numbers for dulcimers tuned D-A-A. Chord charts for D-A-A, D-A-D and
D-G-G-tuned dulcimers, too, as well as notes about basic theory and harmony.
All songs are in the public domain, including 45 songs for Advent and
Christmas. Great for singers and other instruments, too! Spiral-bound.” And
“2002 Revision. Huge songbook---295 titles, including 45 for
Christmas---with melody, lyrics, chords and a special numbered tablature for
autoharps of all kinds! Play chords or melody-style on hundreds of familiar
songs, plus detailed notes about basic theory and harmony, a section on
chord-button configurations and lots more. All songs are in the public domain
-- great for singers and other instruments, too! Spiral-bound.”
Bill Schilling and Linda Sigismondi
Bill Schilling
and Linda Sigismondi released a CD of Songs from Canal Days in July of 2001 on
which they had been working for some time. For about 10 years before that, Bill
and Linda had been singing around campfires, during workshops, and in concerts
together at various dulcimer and folk festivals and other events where they
could get together (which wasn’t always convenient since they live five hours
apart). They drew from similar sources for different arrangements of many songs
and found ways to make them work together, never knowing what they might end up
with. They have been featured together (and with others) at several festivals,
concerts, and other events. They started the project of Songs from Canal Days
thanks to a storyteller who wanted to do a video as canaler, singer,
storyteller, songwriter Pearl R. Nye who spent his life on the Ohio & Erie
Canal. When the storyteller moved on without making the video, Bill and Linda
decided to continue with a CD of the material. They are currently working on a
second CD with original material. They have performed at the Central Ohio Folk
Festival, Defeated Creek Old Time – Fun Time Jam, Dulci-More Festival, Emerald
City Folk Festival, Fort New Salem Dulcimer Weekend, Hale Farm’s Music in the
Valley, Hockhocking Folk Festival, Kent State Folk Festival, Opening Night in
Warren, and Roscoe Village Dulcimer Days.
Bill Schilling, Linda Sigismondi, & Marge Diamond
This trio from
all over the state of
Bill Schilling
and Carol Gaj are long-time friends and singing partners. Carol adds close
harmonies to Bill's lead singing and takes the lead on some songs. Carol also
plays autoharp, bowed psaltery, hammered dulcimer, and more in performance.
Their material is drawn from songs of the folk revival, those of contemporary
singer-songwriters, and traditional sources. Bill and Carol share some of the warmth of their friendship in
their performances.
Bill enjoys
sharing music with many other performers. When you want something a little
more, Bill asks other musicians to help him out. Friends who who sing and play
many instruments have joined Bill for performances as Bill Schilling &
Folks.
Artist
in Residence
With ten years of
experience as a classroom teacher, Bill can enrich your elementary school,
youth group, club, organization, camp, or other event through short-term artist
in residence programs featuring music, sound, or multimedia performances and
experiences for your students, members, guests, campers, or (even) adults.
Bill's Workshop
Subjects include: Beginning/Intermediate Autoharp; Beginning/Intermediate
Fretted Dulcimer; Beginning Hammered Dulcimer; Beginning Instrumental
Accompaniment Styles; Campfire Songs, Skits, & Stories; Children's Songs;
Folk-Revival Songs; Folk-Style Songs & Instruments; Humorous Songs; Jugs,
Tubs, Kazoos, Whistles, Washboards, Shakes, & More; Multi-Media Programs;
Shaker Songs; Singer/Songfinders; Songs from Canal Days; Songs from the
Appalachians, Songs of Land & Water; Songs of Love; Songs of Peace; Songs
with Good Choruses; Traditional Songs; and Vocal Styles. If there are other
subjects you would like covered, let Bill know since the creative part of
putting these workshops together is great fun for him. Go to Workshop
descriptions.
Lessons
Bill is available
to give lessons on most of the instruments he plays and presently gives lessons
at two locations in the
Select
Featured Performances and/or Workshops
Bill has led a
week-long beginning autoharp workshop at the John C. Campbell
Folk School in
Some of the
events where Bill and/or Bill with one of his groups have performed concerts
and/or given workshops include: Algonquin Mill Craft Festival, Beaver Creek State
Park, Buckeye Dulcimer Festival, Canfield Fair, Central Ohio Dulcimer Festival,
Central Ohio Folk Festival, Chestnut Ridge Dulcimer Festival, Cleveland
Metroparks Art in the Park at Chagrin Reservation, Columbiana County Fair,
Columbiana County Historical Society, Defeated Creek Dulcimer & Old Time
Music Fest, Dulci-More Festival,
Emerald City Folk Festival, Fort New Salem Dulcimer Weekend, Great Dulcimer
Round-up, Hale Farm's Music in the Valley, Harmony Harvest Campout, Hockhocking
Folk Festival, Johnny Appleseed Festival, Kent State Folk Festival, Lawrence
County Fair, Lisbon Historical Society, Little Mountain Folk Festival, McKinley
Museum Celebrations, Mill Creek Park and Morley Performing Arts Pavilion at Mill
Creek Park (opening for Bill Staines), Mound Builders Folk Music Day,
Music-nic, Roscoe Village Dulcimer Days, Salem Heritage Days, Salem Historical
Society, Salem Jubilee, Sheepfest, Spring Fever Folk Festival, Warren's Opening
Night, West Virginia State Folk Festival, WAPS FM Just Plain Folk, WERE Night
Owls, WEWS Morning Exchange and Weekend Exchange, WKSU Cabin Fever Festival,
Winona Flax Scutching Festival, and Worley Gardner Memorial Festival. Click here for
some of the upcoming or recent appearances by Bill Schilling.
Musical
& Performance Affiliations
Bill is the
Founder and Leader of Dulci-More: Folk & Traditional Musicians, director of the annual Dulci-More Festival, a Charter Executive Board Member &
Vice-President of FOLKNET: Northeastern Ohio Folk & Traditional Music
& Dance Society, Leader of the Dulcimer Society of Trumbull County, a Founding Member of the Canton
Folksong Society, the Mountaineer
Dulcimer Club, a Member of the Salem First United Methodist Church Choir, and a
Member of the Salem Music Study Club (past President and Program Chairperson and
Counselor for the Salem Junior Music Study Club). Bill has been the instructor
for a Continuing Education Course, Folk-Style Songs and Instruments, at the
Kent/Salem University Branch, Folk Service Director at First United Methodist Church of Warren,
a member of Wings of Fire, a member of the Kent/Salem Community Choir, a member
of the Kent State Folk Festival Committee, the North Canton Hammers &
Harmonies Hammered Dulcimer Club, Psst Storytelling Guild, and the Salem First United Methodist Church Brass,
Woodwind, & Percussion Ensemble. Bill has volunteered at the Mountain Rose
Coffee House and served on committees for the Cuyahoga Valley Heritage Festival
and other festivals. Bill originated, managed, and was resident performer at a
coffee house in the
Links
to Other Home Pages Developed by Bill Schilling
Links
to Other Pages
These links may
be to other organizations Bill is involved with, other sites that have agreed
to share a link with Bill and/or to include this page in their listings, other
sites that have provided a service to this page, other sites in which Bill has
an interest, or other favorite sites of Bill's.
Contact
Information
