Steve Macdonald
Encyclopedia
Steve Macdonald is a filk
musician (singer/songwriter) from Michigan
, who also appears at Renaissance Fair
es as "Gallamor the Bard". He served for several years as the Pegasus Award Evangelista, and was responsible for many changes in the award process that led to much greater participation among the voting base. He was inducted into the Filk Hall of Fame in 2006.
In September 2006 he emigrated to Germany
.
in North America
and Europe
to sing one song together, in celebration of the new millennium
. Steve Macdonald, the project's instigator, attended ten conventions during 2001, and recorded filkers singing "Many Hearts, One Voice", a song he composed for the project. The tracks were then merged electronically. A number of one-off CDs of raw mixes were sold as Interfilk auction items, but there has been no public release yet as of May 2008.
Singers were taped at all nine filk conventions held that year, in the United States
, in Canada
, the United Kingdom
, and Germany
, as well as the 2001 World Science Fiction Convention
in Philadelphia
. Altogether 436 singers were recorded, many at more than one convention.
Filk music
Filk is a musical culture, genre, and community tied to science fiction/fantasy fandom and a type of fan labor. The genre has been active since the early 1950s, and played primarily since the mid-1970s. The term predates 1955.-Definitions:As the Interfilk What Is Filk page demonstrates, there is...
musician (singer/songwriter) from Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, who also appears at Renaissance Fair
Renaissance Fair
A Renaissance fair, Renaissance faire, or Renaissance festival is an outdoor weekend gathering, usually held in the United States, open to the public and typically commercial in nature, which emulates a historic period for the amusement of its guests. Some are permanent theme parks, others are...
es as "Gallamor the Bard". He served for several years as the Pegasus Award Evangelista, and was responsible for many changes in the award process that led to much greater participation among the voting base. He was inducted into the Filk Hall of Fame in 2006.
In September 2006 he emigrated to Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
WorlDream
WorlDream was a project that organized hundreds of filkersFilk music
Filk is a musical culture, genre, and community tied to science fiction/fantasy fandom and a type of fan labor. The genre has been active since the early 1950s, and played primarily since the mid-1970s. The term predates 1955.-Definitions:As the Interfilk What Is Filk page demonstrates, there is...
in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
to sing one song together, in celebration of the new millennium
Millennium
A millennium is a period of time equal to one thousand years —from the Latin phrase , thousand, and , year—often but not necessarily related numerically to a particular dating system....
. Steve Macdonald, the project's instigator, attended ten conventions during 2001, and recorded filkers singing "Many Hearts, One Voice", a song he composed for the project. The tracks were then merged electronically. A number of one-off CDs of raw mixes were sold as Interfilk auction items, but there has been no public release yet as of May 2008.
Singers were taped at all nine filk conventions held that year, in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, as well as the 2001 World Science Fiction Convention
Worldcon
Worldcon, or more formally The World Science Fiction Convention, is a science fiction convention held each year since 1939 . It is the annual convention of the World Science Fiction Society...
in Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
. Altogether 436 singers were recorded, many at more than one convention.
Discography
- Songspinner, 1994, Dodeka Records
- Journey's Done, 1995, Dodeka Records
- Reap The Wind, 1999, Dodeka Records
- Crossroads, 2002, Dodeka Records
- Gather Day, 2004, Thin Ice Studios
- Drive By Barding, 2006, Thin Ice Studios
Pegasus Awards
- Best Filk Song 1995, Journey's Done
- Best Writer/Composer 1995
- Best Myth Song 1998, Cold Butcher
- Best Performer 1998
- Best Dorsai Song 2007, Shai! (with Steve Simmons)
External links
- Official Web Page
- WorlDream home page (not updated recently)
- Filk Hall of Fame Citation