Steve Macdonald is an American
filk
Filk music is a musical culture, genre, and community tied to science fiction, fantasy, and horror fandom and a type of fan labor. The genre has existed since the early 1950s and been played primarily since the mid-1970s.
Etymology and defin ...
singer/songwriter, who also appears at
Renaissance Fair
A Renaissance fair, Renaissance faire or Renaissance festival is an outdoor gathering open to the public and typically commercial in nature, which purportedly recreates a historical setting for the amusement of its guests. Some are permanent the ...
es as "Gallamor the Bard". He served for several years as the
Pegasus Award
The Pegasus Award is the premier award for filk music
and is annually hosted at the Ohio Valley Filk Fest (OVFF).
Awards
The Pegasus Awards were founded to recognize and honor excellence in filking. As science fiction (sci-fi) became better kn ...
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,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
.
WorlDream
WorlDream was a project that organized hundreds of
filkers
Filk music is a musical culture, genre, and community tied to science fiction, fantasy, and horror fandom and a type of fan labor. The genre has existed since the early 1950s and been played primarily since the mid-1970s.
Etymology and defin ...
in
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
and
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
to sing one song together, in celebration of the new
millennium
A millennium (plural millennia or millenniums) is a period of one thousand years, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting point (ini ...
. 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 due to lost tapes and technical difficulties, public release only happened in January 2021, celebrating the 20th anniversary of the project.
Singers were taped at all nine filk conventions held in 2001, in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
, and
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, as well as the 2001
World Science Fiction Convention
Worldcon, or more formally the World Science Fiction Convention, the annual convention of the World Science Fiction Society (WSFS), is a science fiction convention. It has been held each year since 1939 (except for the years 1942 to 1945, during ...
in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
. 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
* ''Rowan & Storm'' (as part of the duo "Twotonic"), 2014, Mystic Fig Studio
Pegasus Award
The Pegasus Award is the premier award for filk music
and is annually hosted at the Ohio Valley Filk Fest (OVFF).
Awards
The Pegasus Awards were founded to recognize and honor excellence in filking. As science fiction (sci-fi) became better kn ...
s
* 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)
* Best Adapted Song 2015, ''Grabthar's Silver Hammer''
* Best Song About Community 2018, ''Many Hearts, One Voice''
* Best Performer 2018 – as part of the duo ''Twotonic''
External links
Official Web PageWorlDream home pageFilk Hall of Fame Citation
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Macdonald, Steve
Filkers
Renaissance fair performers
Living people
American expatriates in Germany
Year of birth missing (living people)